About a month ago, don't worry it's been sitting, I noticed an oil leak. I drove it one last time and noticed I was beginning to push blue smoke.

Finally got around to diagnosing it, we believe I've burned through the exhaust valves and we need to do a headgasket and valves. I'm at 157k miles.

Here's the thing, I've never gone this deep before and I'm super nervous. I can't afford to mess it up, nor can I afford for someone else to do it for me.

I picked up another Haynes manual since I lost mine in the move to Indianapolis.

Anyone know of a good walk through and parts/tools list I can go over?

Thanks!

(I'm on mobile and my searches aren't turning up results.)

 

Oil can't get into a cylinder to be burned(blue smoke) via a head gasket, or exhaust valves.

It can leak down old/cracked valve guide seals on the intake valves and be pulled into a cylinder to be burned, this can be fixed without removing heads

Or it can leak passed piston rings.

First do the Glove Test to check if head gasket is an issue.
get a Latex Glove and rubber band, or a balloon
Remove radiator cap
remove overflow hose
Put Latex Glove over rad cap opening, seal it tight with rubber band, or use balloon instead
Block overflow outlet, hose with bolt in it or Gum or Putty.......
Cooling system is now sealed

Disconnect Coil Pack wire connector, on the coil, passenger side rear, top of engine, you want a No Start.

Now crank the engine, i.e. engage starter motor
If you have a head gasket leak(or cracked head) the Glove/Balloon will start to bounce, each time the cylinder with the leak is on its compression stroke it will push pressure into cooling system and inflate the Glove/Balloon.
It won't just move once, it will bounce up and down.

If there is no movement then head gasket is not your problem.


Oil leak into cylinder.
Remove each spark plug and inspect it for oil burning, keep track of the cylinder each plug came from.
Google: Spark plug tip images

Look at a few of the images and see what your spark plugs tell you.

To test if Rings are the problem, you first need to do a compression test.
You can rent a compression gauge.
This gauge screws into the spark plug hole.
You need to have all spark plugs removed for the test
You should open the throttle as well, so put something on the gas pedal, engine won't start with no spark plugs

4.0l OHV engine should have 9.0:1 compression ratio
That would put its compression at 160psi between sea level and 2,000ft

With gauge installed on one cylinder crank the engine, you will hear engine slow each time the cylinder with the gauge installed hits its compression stroke, you need to hear this at least 4 times to get an accurate reading.
Write down the results
Like
cylinder 1 = 155psi
cylinder 2 = 162
cylinder 3 = 160
ect...

Remove gauge and push it's button to release pressure, install in the next cylinder.

A compression test is not strictly about getting high numbers, gauges are not always exact and battery condition make slow crank speed.
What you are looking for is a 10% difference on one or more cylinders.
To get an average remove highest and lowest number from test
Add up the other 4 numbers and then divide that number by 4, and that is the average.

If average is 154 then 10% is 15.4
If you have 1 cylinder with 130psi then it has a problem.

retest that cylinder to confirm 130psi.
Now put a teaspoon of oil down that cylinders spark plug hole, I use a straw.
Put gauge back in and retest
If it jumps up to above 150psi then it is a ring issue so engine will need to be pulled out.
Any cylinder's pressure will go up when oil is added, but not 20psi



EDIT:
To answer original question, lol.
You need a set of metric wrenches and sockets
A ford fan clutch removal tool set, 2 wrenches
Labeling tape or..??, and take plenty of pictures, you WILL NOT remember where that goes, lol
Torque wrench

If I have a running vehicle I will take it to my local muffler shop and tell them I will be pulling the heads and they will remove and replace any broken exhaust bolts that i will have to deal with, and then reinstall them "snug" not tight.
Most I have ever paid was $60
You can spend hours and hours trying to get out rounded off or broken exhaust bolts, it takes them less than an hour to do ALL the bolts.

 

Thanks, as soon as I get some time I'll run a better diagnosis.

I only wish I was more confident and knowledgeable on tearing down an engine.

 

If truck is not drive-able for long distances now, whats the worse that can happen if you F-up, nothing, same/same.

They say you learn more from mistakes than successes.
Never fear making a mistake, fear not learning from a mistake

 

Did the poor mans head gasket check it's good. No fluctuation of air.

I cleaned up around the top and couldn't find an oil leak, I do have charring and buildup around the exhaust manifold seals though.

I ran her longer than needed for hot air, lost track honestly.

The only leak I could find was at the rear lower engine connecting to transmission. I chased it up both sides cleaning as I went, but it kept leaking from the bottom, couldn't find any origin of the leak above it.:(

I had very little oil burn on the engine and it all but disappeared into an occasional whisp.

There was no blue smoke, there was the first time I ran a quick run through, although it had sat a bit longer before I first got to it.

As much as I'd love to fix it, I do not have the time, money or tools to pull the engine completely out.

I called and checked with the shop that I had do the only change almost 4-5 months ago to double check that the oil was conventional.

They said it was, and quoted me the correct weight: 5w30.

So now I guess I need to clean her out, clean her up, and say goodbye to my first truck that survived 95k miles with me.

Is there any hope?

PS: Thanks Ron, you're absolutely right.

 

Good news about the head gaskets.

Probably the rear main seal leaking oil, but that shouldn't usually cause any oil residue on the upper rear of engine.
Underside of trans yes.

valve cover gasket leaks are usually at the rear lower side because that's where the oil sits in the head/valve train, and that gets on the exhaust.
Not a hard fix but does take time to remove everything to get to valve covers.
Use cork gaskets not rubber.
Rubber is used when you will be removing the valve covers from time to time as they can be reused.
Cork is better for more permanent use because it will swell over time as it absorbs some of the oil, so kind of self sealing.
Make sure to flatten valve cover gasket seats when they are off, they can get deformed near bolt holes so you won't get good pressure across the surface unless they are straightened.

There are oil treatments like Lucas oil treatment, these do work up to a point, they have a chemical that softens and swells rubber used in engine seals like the rear main seal, or valve guide seals.
But it isn't "a fix", transmission needs to be dropped down out of the way and flywheel/flexplate removed to replace rear main seal.


Also the '98 4.0l will have a cam syncronizer at the rear top of the engine, it has a gasket that could leak oil down rear of engine.

A 10w-40 oil won't hurt and is thicker at operating temp so can reduce leaks a bit.

 

This is where it's leaking from.

Video: http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Hawk...D130F.mp4.html

 

I've begun the process to remove valve covers, they ended up leaking after the engine cooled.

Should I check and clean the valves while I'm in there since I had some oil burn? Should I do that without removing the head?