I have been spending a lot of mechanic time/money trying to diagnose this problem. I have a 1992 F-150 Nite, 5.0, 72k miles. It started with thinking I had fuel in the oil because of a "gassy" smell on the dip stick and over full on the dip stick. Had the injectors pulled and pressure tested and all was good even though fuel pressure is leaking back to the fuel cell (not a big concern at this point). Determined that smell was probably because of the short runs that I make with this pick-up daily. Drained the oil and definitely found water in the oil. Very noticable just after 35 miles on fresh oil change. Mechanic determined was probably head gaskets. He took it apart that far and found that it does not look like head gasket problem. Any ideas anyone? Thanks in advance.

 

Cracked head? Probably doesn't matter now, because the crank bearings are probably shot from all the water in the oil. Crate motor time

 

Did he check the FPR for fuel leaks? Did he check the timing cover & throttle-body heater for water leaks?

 

in addition to the heads there are several; other leak paths

intake manifold water cross over passages- if it was a GM I would almost guarantee that this is the guilty party

certainly the timing coverr to block interface


I am not familiar with the throttle body and water passages


MY 97 has the towing package which has an oil to water cooler(heat exchanger) that mounts to the timing cover. Leaks in this design cooler are a known problem

 

There was no oil cooler available in '92, and the few on '94-96 are not known to leak water->oil.

The throttle body heater doesn't directly contact oil, but it's conceivable for it to leak into the PCV intake, which is nearby.

 

didn't say 92 s had water coolers- if they did that was a place to look

the tube and shell oil/coolant heat exchangers in general have leakage problems- if you have ever worked on cummins, cat or IHC diesel you know what I am talking about. the Ford oil cooler is of the same design

 

Thank-you all for your input. As of right now, mechanic has put engine back together and pressurized the cooling system to 13 lbs for 8 hours with no water coming out of the pan. Either he has unknowingly fixed it, or it only leaks when engine is running. I don't know....he doesn't know. Thought pressurizing it would rule out timing chain plate leak.