Hi all, been lurkin for a long time! lol

my lil 95 3.0 is really rusted on the drivers side engine. anybody else have this problem? the reason i ask is ive owned the truck for 2 years, not shure of maintenance. but had a spark plug rust out on me! as in i came off the interstate and the plug blew out!

i am a retired mechanic and have never seen this before, Grew up in the north, moved to the south and have never seen this anywhere!

ive so far busted five exhaust manifold bolts due to rust, plus the spark plug blowing out .

I decided to get a new head!

just wandering?

 

Rust occurs to all metal, it is the same chemical process as Fire, oxidation, Oxygen EATS metal, and just FYI it also releases the same Heat as fire, just happens so slowly the heat isn't noticed, so don't grab a bag of marshmallows and head out to that old tractor sitting in the field, you would have to be there a long long time to roast one, lol.

Contact with oxygen is what starts the rusting, this is why under coat and/or paint is so important, it prevents contact with oxygen.

A liquid speeds up the process, so we associate wet with more rust, which is true, if rust has already started, but on a sealed surface wet won't start rust.
Minerals speed up rust, i.e. salts, add wet + salt and you have a recipe for very fast rusting.

If rust has started it is hard to stop it, best method is to clean it as best you can and then use a chemical that changes and seals the rust.
Naval Jelly has a chemical that does that, it also eats paint so be careful.

On the side of the engine or engine bay it could be there is an inner fender opening allowing that side of the engine to stay wet all the time, and once the rust started it will just continue.
Surface cleaning won't help.
You need to clean and then apply Naval jelly, mix it a around several times and let it do it's thing, converting the rust to non-rust.
Rinse it off and do it again if you want.
After it is TOTALLY dry use a primer to coat the area, primer sticks to metal but is not a good sealer.
Then after it drys paint the primer, paint doesn't stick to metal very well but does stick to primer, and paint is a good sealer

 

thanks for the reply ron d! others might find this helpfull, but i dont.

im not trying to be a jerk. i was just wondering if anybody else has had the isue of the left side is rusted way worse than the right side.

in my 25+ years of wrenching (north and south) i have never seen a spark plug rust that bad!

 

That was kind of the point.

My guess would be that something on that side of the engine, engine bay caused the rust to start, and once it started it was never cleaned off so just kept spreading.
Could be a previous owner never change coolant because there was a leak, so just kept adding water and the leak started the rust and kept it going

Can't seeing it being specific to a model or brand of vehicle, like you said, you have seen a lot of engines, but not this, so wouldn't be a Ford or Ranger issue

 

I bought a new edge 3.0 in 04 and noticed slight surface rust on drivers side block, but you only noticed when truck was on hoist.. did not bother me ..sold it five years later

 

The thing of it is, is that the block and heads are cast iron and have a high carbon content.
It takes decades for cast iron to rust out, even in the harshest of environments.
Did the plug blow out because the plug itself was rusted or were the threads in the head compromised by rust ?
And if the spark plug is seated in there properly, how did the rust even begin.
How close is the water jacket to the spark plug hole/threads, may be the head is cracked just enough to allow water to come in contact with the plug ???

My exhausts studs came out not too bad, but one I had to use the acetylene torch to get enough heat to break the rust and it was on the drivers side.
One is twisted off on the passengers side from some other impatient wrencher.

 

nah the entire side is rusted bad. did ford stop painting there engines? before i remove the old head i will use naval jelly and soap and water then paint it, the new head will also get painted to, as well as the metal on the new plugs

 

don't bother painting the plugs. any plug thats worth a hoot wont rust.

 

All the blocks/heads were painted, intakes were aluminum so are not painted

 

Like really cheap Chinese plugs made of tin and reclaimed contaminated metal ???

The OP's problem is really bizarre.

At the back of the property where I work it was owned by this hoarder, it was full of old cars and car parts, including engine blocks.
There was even one out of a Packard, it was aluminum.
The cast iron ones were in the dirt for years and years and they just had surface rust on the them, even the exposed parts weren't that bad.

I remember the day when he sold the property and the big clean up began.

 

Yeah, those. Although I'd argue the only plugs that should go into a Ford engine ought to be motorcraft, unless you're running a performance ignition system.

His block must be some sort of cheap chinese block or something. I dont get it.

 

the old plug that blew out was motorcraft, as well as the other 5 that i pulled.
motor craft will be going back in. thats why i ask about the rust issue, i have never seen rust this bad on a 16 year old vehicle

 

I would be curious to see the condition of the plug threads when you pull the head off.
You haven't taken any photos yet, do you have a camera ?

 

when the pics post, first are the plugs, new one one that didnt blow and the one that did
second is the rust on left side

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5o...ew?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B5...1yZUs1ZmpQQlRj

 

still trying to get the exhaust manifold off due to the rust issue. when i finally get it off i will take closer better pics

 

There was a time when I used to struggle with rusted parts.
Got ahold of some oxy/ac gauges and had them rebuilt/certified and bought my own small tanks.
Best money I ever spent _ the hours of frustration I saved...

 

lol ikr

 

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B5...1yZUs1ZmpQQlRj

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B5...Vzcm53THFldlRr

 

WOW !!!
Never seen anything like that !
If I hadn't of seen the photos, I would have never believed it.
Notice that it's worse at the front of the exhaust manifold compared to the rear and the dip stick is unaffected.

It looks like there some sort of electrolytic action going on just more then simple rust.
You need to find out what's caused this before repairing anything, it's not just a coincidence that it's worse at the front.

I bet the threads are shot in that front cylinder too _ I'm assuming that's where the plug blew out.
A good machine ship can add an insert to save the head, but I'm guessing that the water jacket inside will be in bad shape too, so a replacement may be your only option.

Rolls-Royce had a problem like that in their early fifties cars with the rads being eaten, they ended up adding another ground strap at the front of the engine to the radiator and then to the frame.
Even though the block was grounded the rad wasn't.

 

Holy CRAP! Gotta agree with you, Jeff; I've never seen anything like that either!

+1 on the electrolysis. Although, perhaps someone was messing with acid and it spilled there, primarily?

Either way, I'd be getting new parts. Jeeeeeeez!

 

that's what im sayin! lol if the rain holds off ill try to get a close up pic! the ground strap idea is a good suggestion! i haven't thought about electrolytic process to cause it but that would explane it! and the battery is right there as well!

 

yep the next thing im thinkin is a new exhaust manifold and a new dip stick tube, so roc auto here i come

 

Here's another theory.
How old is your battery, hydrochloric acid fumes would cause that, but any aluminum would be gone by now too ?
Just a thought though.
I would be curious what Ron would have to say about this.

The exhaust manifold is eaten up a bit, but if it's still thick and not burned out, why replace it ?

 

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B5...hyUERZdm9TZzhB

 

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B5...hqOFd4QnZiVG5n