Hey guys, I've got a popped head gasket between the #5 and 6 cylinders on our 1990 F150 4x4 with the 5.0, and was wondering what the best way to attack the repair is. Should I pull the engine, pull the doghouse, or just remove the hood and dive in there and remove the upper and lower intakes and head with engine still in the truck? Any tips or advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

There is no "doghouse" in a pickup - only in vans. I'd pull the engine - any other way will be a LOT of extra work & hassle. Plus, it'll give you the opportunity to FIND and fix any other problems, like oil pan gasket, oil pump pickup, oil pump, freeze plugs, engine mounts...

 

I decided just to dive in there and pull the intake and heads with engine still in the truck. No wonder I had lost so much compression on the #5 and #6 cylinders!





I've got two sets of fresh E7TE Mustang heads sitting in the garage I'm gonna bolt on instead of the E6's that came on the truck. I already deleted the air injection pump, and would like to delete the EGR while I've got everything apart. I'm gonna fab up a cover to bolt to the intake in lieu of the EGR valve. Any problems created with doing this? Thanks.

 

Discussion of illegal activities is prohibited on this forum, including deleting or altering required emissions systems.