250 Oh noes, help with diag

I have a thread in the "other" section. Recently purchased a '77 Granada cheap. Had to tow it home; would barely run. Car has 60K on it and sat too long. Gunked up carb, rusty radiator, gas tank and brake systems. Got it running and took it for a spin after addressing the aforementioned concerns. When it warmed up I started seeing a veritable plethora of white smoke out the tail pipe I think when the Tstat opened up.
This is what I've found so far. Radiator has a rebuild tag on it. I'd already taken it in for a boil out and pressure test. It's now clean. Took the head off. Bowed in the center. It got too hot. When I picked it up from Sunwest in Medical Lake, Wa (BTW these guys are the best I've ever seen!), I was informed it had recently been rebuilt. 87 bucks to vac check it, mill it and mag it, not bad. The bores look typical of a 60K engine, don't think it's been out. and there isn't any oversize stamps on the pistons
On further insp. I can see the rad had a fan shroud at one point as evidenced by the clips and speed nuts. And why is the fan, non clutch type, 2 inches from the radiator? Did it have a fan clutch at one time? Did some hammed handed Chevy guy pull the fan clutch and shroud thinking it's better?
I'm trying to think of all possibilities BEFORE putting a good head on a block that's maybe only good as a dock anchor. I don't see anything obvious in the bores or on the outside. Any ideas?

it sounds like you have already found the problem, the warped head. i think once it is machined, and the top of the block leveled, when you put a new gasket on things will be taken care of.

Pull & Save North in Spoakne has a white Fairmont wagon with the fan shroud, you need the shroud to bring more air across the radiator.

stanyon":2tr32aq3 said:

Pull & Save North in Spoakne has a white Fairmont wagon with the fan shroud, you need the shroud to bring more air across the radiator.

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Thanks for the tip. Didn't even look when I pulled the fuel tank sending unit. That's one I shoulda got a pic of before I put it I. Let's just say I did a bit of creative bending, robbing some 5-16 fuel line from my pack rat stash and using some rubber fuel hose to get it close. It works and is accurate until a Granada ends up in P&S.

I'm also thinking about mounting this one that's in my '59 F100. I really don't want a puller fan wired backward as a pusher, but it won't quite clear my w/pump pulley. That'll give me an excuse to get a coupla 10's for it. Then I got room for an AC condenser. And it's about a year from being done anyhow. I have a slight case of get-it-done-it is with the Granada

Finally found some time to work on this thang today. I decided to go with the 16" electric fan. But I will NOT use them push pins. You can see on the fan how two failed and put it into a w/pump pulley on my '65 240 (WHY DID I SELL THAT TRUCK?). It also put holes in the rad. I elected to go with a Derale relay kit that has a 1/8 NPT Tstat. The hole was already started on the Tstat housing. Just a matter of drilling it thru and threading it. Already have a 1/4 to 1/8 NPT reducer. IMO that's the best place for a fan Tstat anyhoo

this is where the EGR used to live. 3/8 6061 aluminum plate with a hole drilled and tapped for 1/4 NPT. That's where the brake booster and vac modulator will hook up.


I don't understand why Ford had the oil fill in the back. Hood is in the way. Good way to get oil all over my driveway. I got a valve cover @ P&S off an old E-van. PCV in the back and oil fill in the front, thank you very much.

Make your own. I slapped the 1963 170 cylinder head on my 1981 Fox Mustang, and noticed the same things.






The oil filler was a compromise since the 3.3 version had no hood space to run the front mounted oil filler. So both the 4.1 and 3.3 from 1975 got the rear mounted oil filler.

The brake booster was always in the same spot, and that's how Ford did things all years. In 1980 to 1983, the 3.3 got the booster signal taken off the front section of the log, further away. All the vac EVAC lines got front mounted, yet the oil filler was still at the back, and the booster now had a three foot steel line to the front.

xc I didn't even think about hood clearance. This is the old school breather oil filler with the big tube sticking out. opsie: I'll set it on in the AM. Got the head on and torqued, pushrods cleaned and checked for true, got the rocker shaft on and torqued, I better make sure while the rad is out and I can crawl up in there to see what I have. That's if my fat butt will fit in there.
Thanks for the inadvertent heads up

Ha! I pull the pcv valve and put a narrow neck funnel in there to put oil in the engine.
I don't remember the last time I had the oil cap off.

Sorry, I had the head off anyway. Valve covers are cheap at P&S. Here's some of my low tech redneck methods of dealing with the oil filler, PCV issue. You can see I used the hole on the manifold for the PCV. I also eliminated some vac line for the modulator. Goes right in on the bottom of that stock fitting that used to live where the PCV fitting now resides. I had the 3/8 aluminum plate, yes, from another project. Great for an EGR block off plate. The other unused port will just get a cap. Great place to hook up the vac gauge for tuning.
Man, I gotta clean off some of that thread sealant!!!

This is how the other end of the booster line looks. Shortened the metal line a whole bunch and the hose by about 8". I actually had to BUY some 5/16 hard line :arg:

This shows my low tech redneck method of keeping water out of the crank case when I was pressure washing stuff before paint. Hey, it was left over from another project and located right under the drill press. Us low tech rednecks don't throw anything that can be used away.
Wonder if Modsquad would consider changing my username to something like, say, Lowtekrednek.......

OOPS

If you look at the 2nd pic I posted today, you can see my low tech redneck choke stove. Ain't done with that yet. But it amounts to a tin can and a chunk of brake line I had left over from the F100 project. Free is good IMO

this will give you a better idea now that I have the (redundant) choke stove done. Lotsa clearance except the PCV hose is a bit close to the A/T kick down bracket. I gotta BUY a piece of hose!!!! Wish I could just add an inch (DON'T GO THERE!!!)

Did you have the head milled to compensate for a thicker head gasket?

69.5Mav":2kkhnbim said:

Did you have the head milled to compensate for a thicker head gasket?

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No. My engine guy said it had already been done. He just took off the minimum amount to get it true. Also, I realized when I went to put the Tstat in that it had been installed backwards. No wonder it warped (damn Chebbie hacks )

Fired it up today. Tons of white smoke right away. Let it run for 30 seconds and got even thicker. Shut it down, popped the rad cap and had coolant everywhere!!. Something is amiss. Plugged block?

Sounds like maybe a cracked head or a faulty head gasket.Hey,stuff happens.Ask me how I know .
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo

woodbutcher":1dhtmerg said:

Sounds like maybe a cracked head or a faulty head gasket.Hey,stuff happens.Ask me how I know .
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo

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Maybe a faulty head gasket. Cracked head can be ruled out. I had Sunwest magnaflux, vacuum test, boil it out and mill the bottom.

If the head has been milled a couple of times and maybe a little crud at the bottom of the bolt hole in the block, you might be bottoming out the bolts and not clamping the head. Chase the threads with a bottoming tap again and clean the bottom using a screw driver that fits and air. Get some head bolt washers or just go to Fastenall and get hard washers. .060 might not be enough if the head has been milled a couple of times. I might be paranoid enough to get new head bolts after all you've been through too.
Clean, lube threads lightly, and torque in the proper pattern starting 20 ft lbs bellow final specified torque repeating the complete pattern in 10 lb increases to final specified torque.
Gotta think you eliminated faulty head issues, and with todays thick multi layer head gaskets sealing should not be an issue. I spray a couple of coats of that copper gasket stuff on the gasket cause that's how I always did it, but not so sure that's even necessary.
Good luck----On second thought lucks got nothing to do with it
My way