ford 302 engine question (coolant/oil mixing)
 

ok, my one bronco has an issue somewhere in the cooling syste,. As of now, i'm suspecting the head gasket, but i havent pulled it apart yet so im not sure. And it doesnt blow white smoke, so i have my doubts. I was wondering if anyone has more knowledge with the ford engines and if there are other common problems that would cause a mix of the coolant into the oil. Supposedly the engine has only about 500 hours of run time since a rebuild. Im thinking of just pulling the heads and checking the gaskets, i'm hoping i will be able to tell if it is blown in any area. I'm also thinking it could be something with the timing cover, i did a timing cover swap on my friends stang a while back, but im pretty sure it is cheap cast aluminum and maybe that cracked and is leaking coolant into the motor. I'd rather not have to strip the motor down to the block and rebuild it, but i may have no choice. id appreciate any help. just try to keep it on topic

get at me on AIM Blacktoprecs

It's a ford so it's got less bolts sealing the gasket... then again those blocks have been known to crack. For your sake I hope it's the gasket. Remember, a blown head gasket leaks between the combustion chamber and oil or coolant passage. A leaking gasket can be isolated to just the oil drain and coolant passage. This happens a lot when the rebuilt block and/or head doesn't get a good cleaning of the machined surafes.