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98 2.0 with possible BHG.

Letsride

CEG'er
Joined
Jan 10, 2009
Messages
38
Hi everyone!

I've been lurking for a few days and its a great site.......very informative! I am the new owner of a 98 GL that I believe has a BHG. Has anyone on here done a write up of any sorts?

I tried searching but came up empty.

Thanks again for a great site.

P
 
Welcome.
I'm not sure about a write up but have you tried to search for "zetec head gasket"? You should probably get some good results with that. Sometimes you need to fool with your wording when you are doing a search. ;)

Got some pictures for us?
 
Welcome to ya n00b :cool:

I'm in NC myself as well, just outside of Hickory.



Shannon
 
Thanks for the welcome guys!! I'll search again:) I'll have some pics up tomorrow.
 
Well got a chance to look at the car a little more. Symptoms.....car had a bad temp sender so replaced that and drove for a bit. The temp would get to about the a on the gauge and then you would see a cloud of white smoke behind you.

Pulled the plugs and did a compression test....

The results....

1 - 182
2 - 197
3 - 197
4 - 195

So I think my problem lies somewhere around number 1...LOL

How dificult is it to replace the Head Gasket? Any gotcha's? I'll go grab a Haynes today as well....
 
Last edited by a moderator:
98 2.0 with possible BHG.

Hey everyone.....I am new here and had this in the newbie section....http://contour.org/ceg-vb/showthread.php?t=40619

What does everyone think? Is this a comon problem with the head gaskets or could it be worse and have a cracked head? The oil is still very clean and no signs of anything in the coolant....

Any help would be appreciated.....thanks!!
 
Moving to troubleshooting forum for advice.
 
Hey everyone.....I am new here and had this in the newbie section....http://contour.org/ceg-vb/showthread.php?t=40619

What does everyone think? Is this a comon problem with the head gaskets or could it be worse and have a cracked head? The oil is still very clean and no signs of anything in the coolant....

Any help would be appreciated.....thanks!!

Before you take it apart...

Pull the plugs and inspect the piston tops. If none are clean, have someone follow you to be sure it's coming from the tailpipe (or let it sit idling). Check for expulsion elsewhere including the expansion tank overflow.

Maybe you're lucky and it's just a bad water pump.
 
honestly those numbers don't sounds bad at all. there are all within 20% of each other which I believe is the rule of thumb.

you need to run a leak down test to confirm if there is a bad head gasket. however it isn't a common failure on the zetec.

best to get a ford service manual. that will ahve step by step instructions on how to change the headgasket.
 
I am with
Brapple on this one. I would do a leak down test first before I started pulling the head. You say there is no water in the oil and the the smoke starts after it gets hot correct. When you say hot do you mean normal temp or does the heat gauge go off (overheating)
 
OK, let me back up some.

I just got the car (a week or so) and what was told to me was they think it has a Blown Head gasket. When I started to look at it I noticed the oil was clean as well as the antifreeze. It also has a leking valve cover. So I put a new battery in it and started it up.

I noticed that the temp gauge was not waorking and the fans were not coming on unless I put it in AC mode.

I change both of the sensors on the thermostat housing and now the gauge works but I dont think the fans are still coming on.

I take it for a drive around the block and notice that the temp would get to about the A in normal on the gauge. Then all of a sudden you will see a huge cloud of white smoke coming from the exhaust.

I pull over and put the heater on and it seems to go away. I did a comp test yesterday and you see the results. I did not disconnect the fuel relay or hold it WOT. I guess I may have to do it again.

The plug on #1 cylinder seems to be burning a little lean.

Hope this sheds more light on the situation.

Pete
 
When you do the comp test remove the relay. No need for the WOT. You just dont want any fuel in the cly when you do your test. Should take about 5 rotations of the engine to get the highest comp on the gauge. When you change cly turn at same # of rotations to get your reading. If you notice #1 leaking down on the gauge and not holding then let us know.
 
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