i have a 98 F150 4x4 3 door with the 4.6L 190,000 Mi.....ok...so as of a couple hours ago i looked into my coolant res only to find pitch black oily coolant . which has to mean bad head gaskets because it WAS NOT LIKE THIS a month ago..grrrr... any ways,,, if i put new head gaskets on will it make my bottom end wear out faster...cuz thats what i hear...but idk...is that true or not... and should i just buy a new engine because this one already has a shiz load of miles on it....how much would one cost me?

 

at this point i think its time to consider what is the truck worth to you.

can you replace the head gasket yourself? takin it to a shop could cost you quite a bit and you have to find someone you can trust.

it will be cheaper than a swap but do you want to spend that kind of money on your truck?

personally, i would do a swap at this point.

 

I say if you plan on keeping the truck for a while, spend the dough on a swap. If you are on budget and don't plan on putting a bunch of miles on the truck, change the head gaskets and do an engine flush.

Just my .02

 

Have you confirmed that it's engine oil ? It's not trans or PS oil. Transmission oil or power steering reveals a bad rad. CC oil could be a bad radiator also if the radiator includes an engine oil cooler. Not sure about your 4six, but the 5fours had the remote system w/oil cooler set up 97-98.

Prolly is a head gasket tho. If theres oil in the water, you may have water in the oil. Pull out the dipstick look for bubbles on the stick or look under the oil filler / bubbly foam. If that's case , then it's history IMO.

 

>>>>>>when i drained the coolant it was black and foamy....i did check the motor oil and it was a lil low but didnt show me any signs of water in it

 

I dont even want to touch my valve covers let alone a head. Figure in the cost of all the gaskets required, intake and what not. Than the TTY head bolts, then the risk of breaking off exhaust studs while removing manifolds.


5.4 swap time

 

At 190,000 I would go with a low mile or new replacement motor if your planing on keeping the truck for a wile.
To do a proper head gasket job,,,you need to pull the motor anyway!

Phil

 

194k i pulled my 4.6 for a blown 5.4 for the skinny pedal fun. might be right up your alley too!

 

Yea those exhaust studs suck - Mine were replace a little over year after I purchased the truck new. Then the engine blew a little after that - in 2000 - That was messy - After the new motor, about 6 years after / I pulled the lower intake and found a whole lot of piston shrapnel in there. That thing really went! - They never cleaned the lower before re-assembly

But to this day, that Ford reman engine never leaked one drop of oil and now has 246,000 miles on it - It's leaked coolant tho, just about everywhere except for the radiator hoses, there stock! The intake manifold gaskets are notorious for going bad @ the front around the water jackets. They discintigrate and make little holes/pits in the heads. I had to fill those w/aluminum filler. This happens in allot of 97-98's , but I have seen it happen in the 2000 - 01's as well (The plastic maifolds) The plastic manifolds have cracked in the past , right up front on the passenger side usually. Our aluminum ones don't have the cracking problem.

 

i agree with everyone about a swap. i'd prefer a lightning swap. there is alot to think about. you have 190000 miles on the lower end and pistons and rings and such. i wouldnt touch it. and if you do then it would only be like $100-$200 in seals and gaskets and some sensors. but then laber i'm gonna guess somewhere over $1000 or more. i'd do a swap.