My in-laws have a 2000 Taurus with the 3.0 V6. It has over 160K on the clock. They ended up giving it to their son after my mother-in-law got a new car, and he has since run the thing into the ground and has not performed any maintenance.

Recently, it overheated on him and began running badly. After a quick check, coolant in the oil and vice-versa. The first inclination was head gasket. So my father-in-law ordered one of those miracle "Head Gasket Repair Kits" that uses a mixture that is run through the cooling system. I told him it won't work, but he wouldn't listen.

Anyways, the first step was to drain the radiator and oil, replace fluids and flush the radiator. But this is where the head gasket idea went out the window. Coolant went into the reservoir, down into the radiator and immediately into the oilpan. With the engine off... [sm=insomnia.gif]

To me, this sounds much more serious than a head gasket issue. I stopped at that point and once again told him that this miracle chemical cocktail isn't going to fix whatever is wrong with this car.

There are no external leaks, it's all internal.

Any ideas or suggestions? Would it still be the head gasket or is my suspicion correct as it being something far worse?

Thanks in advance!

 

You might try pulling the spark plugs and cranking the engine over and see if any coolant is expelled from the holes.. If none, then it could be the lower intake manifold is blown internal at the coolant crossovers, or possibly the front/timing cover as an infection point.. Generally any cracked head/s, cylinderdamage, or severe head gasket leaks will show up in the combustion chambers/s and will usually require some run time/pressure to make it's way to the pan.. Or if a cylinder/s is suspect, you can use compressed air throuhg the plug holes to pressurizeeach cylinder to help pinpoint coolantbleeds..

 

That's assuming it is a 3.0 (2V)?

 

Yes, it's the 3.0.

And thanks for the info. I've given up on the idea of fixing it. My bro-in-law is an ungrateful little bastard and was almost demanding I clear my schedule to fix his car. He can fix it himself.

Thanks for the help, though. I appreciate it.