Innocently went to change spark plugs today and noticed liquid in #3. I taped a "Q-tip" onto a screwdriver to investigate and it came out green. *%#@! No oil in the coolant and no coolant in the oil. Coolant just seeped in while the car has been sitting for the past few months. So, it's time to pull the head. Anyone want to take a stab at what I am gonna find? As long as it's just a gasket I can cope, otherwise... Unfortunately the silver lining bug bit me and now I am thinking of doing some head work and maybe a header. The "bag of snakes" is the only one I know on the market. Any suggestions (please don't say dump it for a 20V, more than I want to tackle right now)? I have also heard mixed reviews on the merits of porting and polishing on Ford 4 cylinders, but would be glad to hear what you all have to say about that on this engine; any experience out there? I don't think I want to change cams, so I won't get that much more power out of this tragedy; assuming I don't have a cracked _____! Then all bets are off.

The law of diminishing returns comes into play if you wish to save a cracked WX head.

I might have a line on the rebuilt head 10v MC1 head off my first car, its still local. There was only 2-3k miles on it when I stopped drivin it. I guess just pull it and go from there. If the head is good I would still strip it and have it trued and switch over to ARP studs, they are $125 worth of cheap insurance.

Going hydraulic wont cost you any horsepower to speak of and will likely gain you some drivable torque.

Finding a good WX head is like finding the holy grail. Later hydraulic heads, like the MC need modifications to fit.

This is the classic scenario that leads to motor swaps...

As to the "bag of snakes" header that you are referring to, that is generally what the 20V NA (7A code) engine is called. That is not at all compatible with a 10V turbo. If your head is good, I wouldn't mess with it other than refreshing it. It seems that ALL WX heads eventually crack, so I wouldn't throw money at it. If you want to build a 10V engine, start with something more robust, like an MC.

I'm gonna start pulling the head tonight. The suspense is killing me. Thanks for the info, need all I can get. Yeah, I got to looking at that header last night, and there aint no way it was made for my engine.

This is almost enough to convince me to pull out my low mile MC2 and put in the 20v thats been sitting in my garage for 2 years...