Block cracked after coolant flush

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I thought heater cores "always" had coolant flow through them? No diverter valve, instead they use an air mixing valve. Wondering why turning heat on would cause gurgling.

How hard is it to replace the heater core on this car? My own wild guess is if it was making noise and the PO found out the cost, they might have ditched it.

Sorry OP. Often one can save money on a used car, but every so often one will lose the bet.
 
To many variables out in the ether on this to prove who did what or is responsible. The way life goes sometimes.
 
Looking at the crud around the plug itself, that doesn't appear to be opened recently nor does the crack look new. I think when they flushed it, the block sealant that was dumped in to stop the leak was washed out and that caused it to start leaking bad.
 
Originally Posted by CKN
The car was cheap and at a auction for a reason.

You found it.


Bingo! It's not the shops fault, Even if the engine severely over-heated that is not a likely spot that would crack anyway. There would still be far more heat around the cylinders and heads than this area. The OP said the car was perfect before this? So you drove it for 800 miles and deemed it perfect? I'd say the previous owner/dealer gave it enough stop leak to unload on someone else, sorry but that's a risk you take with used cars, and buying them sight unseen. (not that anyone could have spotted that anyway) it's bad luck, but immoral and a lie to try and hold the shop responsible.
 
Originally Posted by Blkstanger
Just a wild guess but I have seen people fill the cooling system with stop leak to sell a vehicle. The new owner flushes the system as they want to take care of their new to them car.
With all the stop leak flushed out engine leaks bad. New owner is left to foot the bill for repairs.


Happened to me. Bought a Cadillac Northstar not knowing about the head gasket issues. Seemed to run fine although it ran hotter than normal to me. Started on some maintenance by flushing and changing the coolant. Right afterwards it started smoking (steam) like a freight train.
 
Ever since buying the Rat, I've been paying attention to Ford. Combined with a 25 yr old problem a buddy had with a rebuilt 390. Ford's metallurgy is just barely adequate. Jeep engines in the AMC era were junk internally, but the castings were good. This is merely an observation. OP, I suspect you bought a car with a bad engine, It was patched with a block seal the worked until it was removed.by the flush. One of my BMWs. came to me with horrible looking brown coolant. I back flushed the system. I was refilling it with coolant and noticed the radiator. The core had sprouted so many pinholes,they were beyond count.
grin2.gif
 
I am not trying to just blame the shop. My point of view was that the heat and car worked as should, right until they flushed it. Stop leak didnt cross my mind, and could certainly be the cause. Or they could have left air in it. I'll never know.

The old motor is gone and a newer one is put in and its done. I had a warranty that was going to cover it until they realized their own fine print states that you need to drive 1000 miles before it takes affect. Took them 2 weeks to realize it and tell me I'm screwed.
I bought the car from a private seller, no auction or dealership. Still has CA plates.
 
Originally Posted by andyd
Ever since buying the Rat, I've been paying attention to Ford. Combined with a 25 yr old problem a buddy had with a rebuilt 390. Ford's metallurgy is just barely adequate. Jeep engines in the AMC era were junk internally, but the castings were good. This is merely an observation. OP, I suspect you bought a car with a bad engine, It was patched with a block seal the worked until it was removed.by the flush. One of my BMWs. came to me with horrible looking brown coolant. I back flushed the system. I was refilling it with coolant and noticed the radiator. The core had sprouted so many pinholes,they were beyond count.
grin2.gif

The number of weird issues I've had with aluminum Ford cylinder heads in the past, even when they were made in the USA, nothing would surprise me!
 
Originally Posted by Rochev
I am not trying to just blame the shop. My point of view was that the heat and car worked as should, right until they flushed it. Stop leak didnt cross my mind, and could certainly be the cause. Or they could have left air in it. I'll never know.

The old motor is gone and a newer one is put in and its done. I had a warranty that was going to cover it until they realized their own fine print states that you need to drive 1000 miles before it takes affect. Took them 2 weeks to realize it and tell me I'm screwed.
I bought the car from a private seller, no auction or dealership. Still has CA plates.


Not trying to stir the pot-just wanted to know the motivation for buying a car on the opposite coast of which you are located? I find it hard to believe somewhere in between there wasn't another suitable vehicle.......
 
That plug there is either a drain plug or a coolant passage/oil gallery plug. Ford's current V6 is a "flexible" platform as it can be used as an Ecoboost motor with DI and turbos and that plug might have been there as a provision to supply coolant or oil to the turbos.

But still, either the car had stop leak added as a stop-gap before trade-in or the auction or whoever did service the cooling system didn't take care to ensure all the air is out of the system or carelessly used a coolant "flush" machine. The Japanese OEMs aren't fans of coolant exchangers. Right now, a lawyer versed in consumer law is probably the guy you need, not us for any recourse.
 
CKN,
Any car in the Rust belt is or will be junk. My 2016 has a ton of scaly rust underneath. I bought it from CA and had it undercoated. Ive had 30 something cars, ALL of which were retired early from rotting out. So from now on I'll have to take a risk with buying sight unseen from rust free areas, though this might have ruined that plan!
 
Originally Posted by nthach
That plug there is either a drain plug or a coolant passage/oil gallery plug. Ford's current V6 is a "flexible" platform as it can be used as an Ecoboost motor with DI and turbos and that plug might have been there as a provision to supply coolant or oil to the turbos.

But still, either the car had stop leak added as a stop-gap before trade-in or the auction or whoever did service the cooling system didn't take care to ensure all the air is out of the system or carelessly used a coolant "flush" machine. The Japanese OEMs aren't fans of coolant exchangers. Right now, a lawyer versed in consumer law is probably the guy you need, not us for any recourse.


I'm installing a engine in a 2013 Ford F150 (3.7L).....The plug appears to be the Main Oil Galley as it's right above the Main Saddles. I should have pulled the plug to verify but I was making money at the time.

I never saw the crack in the OP's pictures......I highlighted where I believe coolant flows at the back of the engine.

[Linked Image]
 
Originally Posted by Rochev
CKN,
Any car in the Rust belt is or will be junk. My 2016 has a ton of scaly rust underneath. I bought it from CA and had it undercoated. Ive had 30 something cars, ALL of which were retired early from rotting out. So from now on I'll have to take a risk with buying sight unseen from rust free areas, though this might have ruined that plan!


Just a thought since I'm an ex-Southern California resident who (due to my job) has logged over a million miles on the freeway system. Any car -while being rust free that has any amount of miles on it-you can bet many of those miles are at idle sitting in the massive traffic. So-unless there is an hour counter (like on my Silverado) you don't know what that motor has been through.
 
Dumb question--when you drain coolant that has stop-leak in it, what color is the coolant? I'm wondering if a shop (or anyone for the matter) were to see black/brown/whatever pouring out on a flush--if that shouldn't be a big ole red flag that bad things are around the corner.
 
Clinebarger,
The crack is along the housing for that bolt.
I actually thought of how often it was in traffic, AFTER I bought it, lol.
The coolant was the original orange Ford stuff and they didnt mention anything when draining it. I still have a lot of questions for when I pick it up and will post any resolutions or explanations here.
 
I confirmed that the plug IS for the Oil Galley that feeds the Main Bearings. The hole right above that plug is the Valley Drain, If coolant were to leak into the Valley of the engine....It would drain out the hole & between the engine & trans. The Coolant Inlet Pipe & it's Seals could do just that.



[Linked Image]

[Linked Image]
 
Looking at the photo with the dripping coolant, it looks green? I don't think the shop even replaced it with the proper coolant.
 
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