Ford Aerostar :: Rough Idle And Obvious Misfire - Head Gasket Blown

Well I was afraid this was going to happen. About a two years ago, several months after I replaced the heads on the van that at the time was my brothers, the ignored a squeaking pulley. One day that pulley seized and broke the belt. My brother was not watching the gauges closely, and didn't realize anything was wrong other than the clunk noise that happened when the belt was thrown. That was until he went to turn, and the power steering was gone. He looked at the gauges at that point, and the heat was pegged out on the gauge. So he pulled it over and shut it down. I came and towed him to a shop where it could be fixed.

But I fully understand that when an engine gets overheated, especially if the heat build up was rapid, the heads warp. I also understand that the head gasket will usually seal anyway, so the failure does not often happen at the time of the overheat.

Well, it finally let go the other day. Started noticing a rough idle and an obvious misfire. Removed the cap and there is a steady stream of small bubbles when the engine is running. There is also more corrosion than should be in the cooling system for how recently the coolant was replaced.

It is not overheating right now, but isn't this a lovely time for a major problem to occur. Anyway, I took it in, and hopefully they will have it finished before I need it again. My van performs truck roles, including towing and all of my fathers trucks are either too small or on deaths door. I'm sure it would drive most of you nuts anyway, but do not ignore squeaking pulleys.