Where is the water coming from, head??

[scgamecock]

Last night I pulled the intake manifold and this is what I saw.  Cylinder #8 had been fouling plugs and I suspected water was getting in the cylinder but I dont know where its coming from.  The intake port for #8 was crusty with rust even more so then what you see now.  I ran my finger over it and it flaked off.  So where is the water coming from?  There's no water passage around the intake manifold in that location so am I looking at a head gasket?

 

[Carolina_Mountain_Mustangs]

Has the car sat outside much? Do not think water could get there from a head gasket. With the manifold off I would do a compression check before you pull the heads. If fouling plug on one cylinder can be a broke ring or bad valve stem seal. If you pull head for sure change the valve stem seals. The old umbrella style like original were bad to break apart and cause oil pump issues. If there are pieces of the seals missing or laying in the head I would pull engine and clean out the pan. Then the snow ball has started where do you stop, lol.

 

[scgamecock]

Has the car sat outside much? Do not think water could get there from a head gasket. With the manifold off I would do a compression check before you pull the heads. If fouling plug on one cylinder can be a broke ring or bad valve stem seal. If you pull head for sure change the valve stem seals. The old umbrella style like original were bad to break apart and cause oil pump issues. If there are pieces of the seals missing or laying in the head I would pull engine and clean out the pan. Then the snow ball has started where do you stop, lol.

David,

The car did sit for a long time before I bought it.  What I did not post was a picture of the top(outside) of the intake.  It was covered in rust.  Could water seep into the intake runner and into the cylinder??

I do plan on doing a compression check before pulling the head.

You are right about the "snow ball".  I call it the "While I'm at it" syndrome.  I am already trying to decide how far to go with it.  Right now I am at a cross road.

1. remove the head and swap head gasket if compression check fails.

2. remove both heads have then checked, hot tanked and machined for screw in studs and guide plates.

3. Install the roller cam I have.

4. Pull the motor and go through it and clean and paint engine bay a motor.

5. Pull the motor and completely tear it down even though it was rebuilt before I bought it and the intake valley really proves that as spotlessly clean it is.

It's a hell of a predicament I am in at which way to go.  The plus side is I have decided to use the iron heads and abandon the aluminum head ideea.  Waste of money for what I intend to do with the car.

 

[Don C]

Because the engine tilts down at the back any condensation will run to the back of the turkey pan and intake manifold. An engine collects a lot of condensation due to the metal mass and resulting temperature differential between the atmosphere and engine.

Have you drained the oil yet? When you pull the drain plug there will likely be water coming out first. Condensation also also settles in the bearings, pitting them. After an engine has set outside for a long time, whether in the car or not, it's prudent to pull it down and replace the bearings and check the crankshaft journals and cylinder walls for rust damage. Just because the engine turns over doesn't mean it has no rust in the cylinders.

 

[jowens1126]

wow that looks like no fun at all. Well on the bright side, when your done it will be one less thing to do. I had the same problem with my Bronco. I pulled the motor to reseal it because of all the oil leaks. Once I got the intake off there was so much sludge and rust inside the motor I just said to hell with it and went up the road and picked up a long block. Of course snow balls only run down hill. One thing led to another, and $6500 later, I have a new engine, and transmission and a months worth of work I put into the engine bay and all kinds of other small projects that add up. But it runs and drives like a new truck. Its been 4 years of trouble free operation. Almost time to do the same thing on my 71 mach 1.