que dramitic music.......I dont have a SPI but I think your motor is done...the dropped valve seats

 

Well know just take the head to a machine shop and have them fix it up and you should be good to go.

 

So what caused you to take off the head? The part when you heard clunking/rattling or when the engine stopped? Just wondering, but it looks like she ate a couple valve seats.

This just makes me feel worse every time I see this. And with the way I beat ok the engine sometimes, I think I'm getting there.

 

look i just had that problem i have a spare spi head i got bc i thought it was a valve problem but the connecting rods got bent when that happened i have my motor in the machince shop and right now im paying $470 to have it bored over bc of scared cylinder walls, new pistons and connecting rods, polishing the crank, and new freeze plugs.

 

Slightly confused by your terminology. The bases are the pistons and they are supposed to be offset. Not all pistons fire at the same time.

 

no but two cylinders will always be in the same place but on different strokes because they are companion cylinders

 

Your valve seat's have NOT dropped. Any of you who think the valve seat's dropped have never seen what it really looks like.

Your valve are open on those two cylenders, because the cam is in the head.

There's coolent in your cylenders because it looks like you did'nt drain enough coolent out before you pulled the head off, so it spilt in as soon as you removed the head.

The two pistons are lower then the other two becuase thats what a crank shaft does.

If you over heated the motor, look for cracks in the head right inbetween the intake and exhaust valves.

 

Ignore all other reply's and listen to the above!

Karysma, you sound very new to engines, do you have any experience working on cars? Watch this video in this link for a good lesson on how your engine works, its not exactly the SPI in YOUR car but its very close.

http://www.focusfanatics.com/forum/showthread.php?t=60070

 

check your block with a good level block

 

So ther must be 2 threads for this. Here is my post from the other thread.
http://www.focusfanatics.com/forum/showthread.php?t=218618


The piston position looks normal.

You have coolant in the cylinders now because you didn't drain the engine before you pulled the head.

The pistons look normal, posibly a little oil fowling in the #4 cylinder. The one on the right.

The head gasket bent when you pulled the head because it was sealed to both the block and the head.

I agree with the others that the cam is probably holding the valves partialy open. Wich would be normal by the position of the crank.

 

Thanks for all the replies. You're right, I am new to engines. I read over a few articles today about engines and realized that my pistons are in a normal position, like many of you have said. Also, as mentioned by a few members (thanks), the valve seats have not dropped, the valve has simply been opened by the cam(normal).

So at this point, After checking the level and for cracks in the head block, (there are no cracks in the cylinders as far as I can see, and hopefully none will be in the block), should I just wipe out the coolant in the cylinders, buy a new a gasket and head bolts, and put the engine back together?

By the way, I tried to kill that bug in your sig focusin. lol.

 

yes, make sure all coolant is cleaned out of the engine, cylinders wtc, you want to clean the gasket mating surface on both the head and block, clean that before cleaning the coolant out of the cylinders to prevent having to clean them twice.

new gasket, head bolts, proper TQ specs and sequence...

 

Don't forget to change the oil, and be sure to bleed the air from the cooling system.

 

Be sure to read in your manual how to properly torque everything, and of course clean it all up so that none of the old gasket material or crud is left on the mating surfaces of the block or head. Double check everything you do, no matter how simple it is, or how sure you are of what you did.

 

With the head already removed, I would have the seats machined. I wouldn't want to drop a seat after just having it all apart.

 

Buy a manual!! - it's cheap! Haynes, clymer whatever is avail. to match your car!
You NEED proper assembly info. or at BEST it won't work when you put it back together!
Engine timing needs to be set, and proper torque values for head bolts etc.
engine SHOULD have been at TDC #1 before disassembly, the piston position shows it wasn't! read, take your time, and you'll learn a lot about engines.
looks like you may have had a blown gasket between cyls., clean surfaces B4 reassembly...

 

Thanks guys. I started without the manual as you recognized sailor, but have one now. All the info is extremely helpful. I will update with the status.

Thanks

 

So the cylinder head block is level and I've cleaned all the surfaces for reinstall.

Anyone know where I can get a head gasket and bolts in Ontario by Wednesday aside from a Ford Dealer?

Also, if a failed gasket wasn't my problem, what could be? Symptoms were: Bubbles in coolant reservoir (no matter how long I left the cap off it still bubbled), Car would idle fine, then conk when I put it in Drive or Neutral, If I did get it into drive, I would be able to drive it for a few minutes and then it would stall, and the check engine and battery light flicker as its stalling out (Already tried new battery)

Thanks

 

Also, if a failed gasket wasn't my problem, what could be? Symptoms were: Bubbles in coolant reservoir (no matter how long I left the cap off it still bubbled),

If the motor was over heated, the head will crack right in between the intake and exshaust valve.

Any time you remove a aluminum head, your suppose to resurface the head. The iron block is indestructable, never seen one needed machine work.
But it would be foolish to not have better valve seats installed now that it's all apart.

 

did the CEL stay on? If so pull the code.

 

Hi Norcal, The CEL didn't stay on.

 

So why did you pull the head? if the car started and ran fine in park, then died in drive or nurtral, its not an engine problem.

 

Let's just say I was more adventurous than I should have been and leaped before I looked. But, everything is a learning process, sometimes we just learn the hard way lol. Any idea where the bubbles could be coming from?

 

Air bubbles? Are you saying that it bubbles when running, not running, hot, cold? The first thing is to give us all the details about what the car is doing.

 

I try to start the car but it takes a while to actually start turning on its own (have to hold it in start for at least 10 seconds).

When its started, bubbles start to form in my coolant reservoir regardless of whether the engine is hot or cold.

It will idle in Park, but when I put it in Drive, it starts to rumble, the CEL and Battery Light start to flash, and the car stalls.

At one point I was getting liquid coming out of the muffler and a little bit of smoke, but those symptoms stopped.

 

Sounds like a vacume leak.

A small amount of water from the exhaust is normal. As the catalytic converter does it's job it creates condensation, resulting in water dripping from the tailpipe.

The bubbe in the coolant could be formed by nomal circulation of the water.

 

No, typically any kind of bubble formulation in coolant is the result of a serious compression loss into the cooling system via a bad head gasket. And if you have smoke and liquid coming out of the exhaust, more than the normal condensation that happens, the head gasket is done for. Two serious sypmtoms point to it.

 

the top of cyl 3 looks very clean as it is possible that is the problem cyl (blown head gasket). just from pic there is no carbon on it.