85 2.8L water leak....internal

[twcarico]

Hello all,
I just bought a pristine 85 with the 2.8l auto tranny with 92,000 original miles. The truck had been sitting for 5-6 years. All that “was” wrong that I could find was an oil leak. We have been chasing it for a couple weeks and this weekend the water started going down in the cooling system. It is internal. My question is could the oil leak and the water loss be related i.e. intake gasket or am I looking at something more serious. I have good power and compression even after the water started dropping. No visible water in the oil but maybe some oil in the cooling system! Any help or thoughts greatly appreciated!!!

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[JerryC]

Try the rubber glove test for a head gasket leak.
put a rubber glove over the radiator cap opening and if the glove inflates you know you have a head gasket leak.

If yes, do a leak down test on the cylinders to find out what head gasket is bad.

How much coolant is lost over how much time?

 

[twcarico]

Well it’s a cracked head and I am looking to source heads. Anybody got a recommendation?


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[twcarico]

Thanks Jerryc for the input


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[JerryC]

Check LMC , they used to sell heads.

 

[Bruce33905]

The last head I bought was for a 2.3 in a 97 ranger. I got mine from Clearwater cylinder head in Clearwater Florida. They ship and also sale on eBay. I drove there and picked up mine


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