[fordtruckin89]

so my 5.0's got a boo boo i think...i recently got it running, the history is this...
it has been sitting for 5-6 years, not been ran, the guy i got it from went out and dry started it before asking me, it ran but very shitty. it runs good now, plenty of power, my problem is this-after it warms up, when it is shut off it cranks VERY slowly, its not locked up, or 99% sure its not seizing...but after it cools down it starts right back up. just put a new freeze plug in passenger side cylinder head, put motor shit back together, and it ran good, didnt overheat, until today. filled radiator up with water to go to parts store and cash my check, noticed it was getting hot, and then cooling down, i was on the highway most of the time, never went above 3/4 of the way, so i figured it had a bubble or somethin, i went to turn into the bank, pushed the clutch in and it died...wouldnt crank, like barely at all, extremely struggling slow. pushed it, popped the hood, opened the radiator overflow, and the radiator, and it was HALF FULL of rusty slush. when i left the house it was full to the top of clear water. i waited for my buddy to show up with his roadmaster (about a half hour), i thought i blew a battery, so he jumped it and it started! then i shut it off and it started again. but the problem is persistant. after it warms up. i noted that the oil filler cap has "milk" around it...the oil is clean. i took off both radiator hoses, ran it with the top one off the thermo housing, it bubbles but thats about it...water pump bad?? my buddy told me the head gaskets are going he thinks, and its vapor locking or something, please tell me this isnt so...he also said that if thats it that the motor needs to be rebuilt, the bottom end, head gaskets wont do it...im lookin for advice on what my problem could be and also what a remedy would be...i really like the car so if i do a rebuild im gonna go for a 347...its a learing thing..ASAP RESPONSES WILL BE GREATLY APPRECIATED..

[grnstang]

could of had a bunch of nasty shit in your hoses/water pump/radiator from it sitting for so long. i would totally flush it

[fordtruckin89]

yes but does that doesnt exactly explain why its overheating and if its starting to seize, or whats going on, unless your saying its overheating and doin exactly that...

[Iwannagofast]

yeah its sounds like the pump may have locked up when it got all the crap goin thru it since you said its not pumping any more water....hope its not a head gasket

[J0rn3z]

Originally Posted by Iwannagofast yeah its sounds like the pump may have locked up when it got all the crap goin thru it since you said its not pumping any more water....hope its not a head gasket

I agree, i didnt have that problem out my mustang, but my brothers z did that when the pump went out

Biggest bitch to replace, thankfully i went with a mustang :]

[89lx]

how about from siiting for years with water in it it plugged the rad most of the way off, take both uppper and lower rad hose off and stick a hose in the top one and see what kinda flow you get

[Smirnoff]

the hot start issue could be the starter itself

[gotn20]

When it does the slow crank, take your belt of and see if it does to elimintate your accessorys. And plus one on the flush and stop using straight water.

[fordtruckin89]

pulled the top and bottom hoses off, first thing i did was flush the shit out of the radiator and motor, as best as possible. radiator seems fine, but i have a spare one off the 4 popper i could throw in..the thing that gets me is when the top hose is off and motor is running, is bubbles water out the housing but DOES not have a "steady flow"...i dont know if its cuz its not pressurized or cuz the pump is bad...i would think that if it was a head gasket you would have milky oil after a while wouldnt you? the problem persists when serpentine is off...also!!!-with all hoses off, filled thermo housing from top and turned water pump either way (without belt) and no flow of water through motor it seems, im not sure if its cuz its not spinnin fast enough, but i would think it still would, thermo would be open cuz it was hot, *note*water pump feels like its got ball bearings, spins free as hell, no resistance...is it locked up internally and the shaft is spinning or pump assembly shot? im at my wits end on this...its driving me nuts! im hoping the pump and or radiator are doneskie and not a set of head gaskets, plus, theres no reason the rest of the motor would be shot and need a rebuild if a set of head gaskets went out would there?? PLEASE HELP, this sucks!!

[dr.gonzo!]

When you filled it up the first time was the car running with the heat on high?

It sounds like you need a water pump, but if its bubbling when you take off your radiator cap then its most likely a head gasket. I would flush the system, then do a tune up and replace the water pump.

I have never flushed mine before but does anyone know if it also flush out the water passages in the heads? Also how is you oil pump doing?

Have you taken your lower intake off and checked for any big rusty chunks in the heads?

[fordtruckin89]

no it was bubbling out the thermo housing, not the cap, and the system wasnt pressurized..ive tried filling it with motor running, draining it, filling with motor running (to eliminate air pockets, yes), but it seems like its not pumping much of anything out the housing, like its barely overflowing the top at all, i guess im asking if that means its a bad pump or if its cuz theres no pressure on the system...even if it was bubbling couldnt that just be because of the heat and steam, im only running water, because buying more than 10 gallons of antifreeze starts getting expensive. also the heater core is bypassed with a hose so no pockets in heater core.

[dr.gonzo!]

If your coolant/water is disappearing, and its bubbling, im betting its your head gasket. have you tried to fill it up while your on a steep incline or ramps?

Does it bubble when the engine is cold?

[fordtruckin89]

have not tried the incline yet, not so much LOSING water, its gettin so damn hot that it boils out the cap when i pull it off, and steams everywhere...thermostat is just stuck in the back of my head, stupid question...i just replaced the passenger freeze plug on the head, this wouldnt have anything to do with it right? plus i would think that my oil would get milky or waterry if i had a bad head gasket. some condensation but i think thats from it sitting 6 years.

[88-gt-t-top]

Was there just water in it while it was sitting for the 5-6yrs? Is it possible there's just a shit load of rust coming from the block cloging up the thermostat... or the thermostat is not opening or closing... does the car smoke while running? just thinking out loud.

[fordtruckin89]

well its been like 40-45 degrees last couple of days, chilly, so i cant really tell if its smoking...but yeah there was water in it, barely any when i loaded it on the dolley to take it home, so im guessing yes, that would explain the rusty mush that looks EXACTLY like a poop-slushy. seriously. icee thing. what gets me is when i was driving it the first time before it happened, i was on the highway turnin like 1500, it would jump up then go down and fluctuate, but NEVER went above 3/4 hot. i would be SO happy if it was the thermo, i already bought one and a gasket, but im at work till 11 tonight, CONSTANTLY researching this shit. ANYTHING! luckily i have a 4th job where i can sit on the comp constantly. all your help is GREATLY appreciated, you dont even know!

[fordtruckin89]

+ i thought 87 was the last year for t tops?

[highrider407]

i just tore apart my HO and the coolant compartments were nasty. there are small allan rench threaded plugs, one on each side of your block, take them out, if you can get to them. then take your thermostat out, take a look inside, all looks so so good, take a hose and put it in there and turn on a little water and watch those 2 plugs. if water comes out both of them, then you have coolant flow. if you can, pressure flush with the plugs out, if you can't, i wouldn't worry about it as long as their not pluged.
if you have good flow, then put the plugs back in and look at your water pump and radiator. and spend what? 5 bucks and put a new thermostat in.

hard turn over, not sure but i just had the same problem and for me, it was the power steering pump. the loud gringing noise gave it away though...LOL...

i sure hope you have a garage to do all this stuff in...

[fordtruckin89]

HOLY SHIT, that last picture!! thats crazy, ive worked on older master crafts (ski boats), with 289s, 302s, 351s, and a 24' liberator with a 460, but even with fresh water intake and our sandy bottoms around here in the lakes, ive NEVER seen anything that clogged! sand yeah and rust chunks sure, but wow, i wonder what mine looks like, and that should be fun to get to..its easier on boats. ha, yah i have a shop but its just as easy to work on it in my yard, it aint too bad...thanks for that, i didnt even think of it. but you say yours was doin the same starting problem and all??? and the head gaskets were fine, they looked fine from the pictures. THANK You so much!!!

[ryans88gt]

head gasket.

[highrider407]

it was just something that i thought of that could eliminate one question. glad i could suggest something thats useful.

i'm in michigan and the car that block came out of came from florida where it set for about 4 years, and that "poop slushy" you mentioned, the left side of the block was full of it, and it had just blown a soft plug on the same side before i pulled it. just for the record, the day the soft plug popped a hole, it was starting to over haet. i redline it alot though.

from what i read, i highly dubt you have a blown head. i beleive it's in your coolant flow. i'd put my money on the water pump. but i've lost alot of money on trial and error jobs. put a new pump on and the worst case is you still have a problem but you have a new pump.