Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Maintenance & Servicing head gasket replacement 1.8 ford zetec

HI I am new to this posting idea but I have a engine problem

Today for no obvious reason the engine started misfiring

Taking the spark plug leads out I see water in the pots. I conclude head gasket problem.

I am looking for pointers on replacement. I would go and get a Haynes manual - but which one would be best for a 1996 ford Zetec - a mondeo one?

Are you sure that it's not rain which has collected in the plug wells? Dry them out and see what happens.

Steve, water can bypass the seals on the plug caps. As DaveW says, try drying everything out first. Zetecs are not prone to HGF (unlike some engines I can think of!).

As for manual there are downloadable copies of the Haynes Mondeo manual that cover the engine as fitted to 4/4.

Steve,

Put the plugs back in, start the motor and with the radiator cap removed, and standing back, rev the motor up. if the head gasket is blown between the cylinder and the water jacket, you will see bubbles and possibly water come outr the top of the radiator cap. If not then I would suggest the water in the plug holes is the answer for the misfire. The water will flow into the pots as you take the plug out.

You would also see steam (Sweet white smoke) out your exhaust if the gasket is shot.

recent experience provides me with this information.

Look at the top of the oil filler cap too - has it "white gunk" on it? If so looks like the head gasket.

Graeme: are you on the road yet?

You can get 'white gunk' with an ok head gasket. Lots of short trips that don't warm the engine up enough to drive off the water. Generally not so at this time of year, but I bet it has occurred.

Oil in the coolant tends to hang around, and you don't need much to see it - and it floats. If you ever do need to replace a head gasket cos water is getting into the oil or visa versa, you do need to quite thoroughly clean the cooling system otherwise you'll be worried for ages that the new gasket is leaking too.

Hi and many thanks. The top of the filler cap was my first thought but it was clean I dried the plugs/post but still have misfiring so need to look at other options. Water in the pots is still really odd as the car does not get that wet even when I wash it

If you have coil packs - check the coil packs because they can fail. If not - check distributor cap, rotor etc etc.

Pop down to your local garage and get them to pressurise the cooling system that should show if the HG is gone because the system won't hold the pressure.

Steve,
my experience is that the Zetec is sensitive to even the slightest defects in the ignition system due to the very lean mixture settings. My (silver top) Zetec misfired when I gave it to much throttle. I changed leads and plugs and have had no problems since...