Hey guys I'm new to this forum and am looking for an answer of why I might be getting Oil in my coolant. I have a newly rebuilt EBV 239 Y in my 55' F350.  I have flushed the cooling system 3 - 4 times thinking I might have some residual oil in the block but oil keeps coming back. It is only a small amount leaking  because my Engine oil on the dip stick is not dropping. I have re tightened all bolts and done a compression test  with the results bellow. Any of you guys ever had this happen or have an answer of what might be causing this. 
 

Two things come to mind; one being a faulty head gasket and the other being a crack in the  head or block from an oil passage to the coolant jacket.  Other suggestions always welcome.

Lorena, Texas (South of Waco)

A 239 requires a 239 head gasket if you are using steel shim gaskets.  272/292/312 steel shim gaskets will not work.  The water passages are located differently between the two designs.  Composition gaskets stop the water/oil problem, but I'm not sure about the coolant hole matchup.

John - "The Hoosier Hurricane"

Gramps55.  I'm thinking John (Hoosier Huricane) has nailed the issue.  My memory is that the '54 1st generation engine block was different.  Dennis, 'PintoPlumber', recounted in a thread what he had to do to use later heads on his '54 truck's engine and there was info about water passageways and their differences.

I'm noticing that many of the gasket sets listed on eBay indicate that they are for '54 through '64 y-blocks.  Perhaps they are including different gasket choices for the variations in the early and second generation blocks.

Click the link below for a set of '54 only cylinder head gaskets presently listed on eBay.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/NOS-Victor-1954-Mercury-Ford-Truck-V8-256-Cylinder-Head-Gaskets/302089129043?epid=1758769663&hash=item4655ea4c53:g:9FgAAMXQXTZRe3lC

Hope this helps. 


NoShortcuts
a.k.a. Charlie Brown
near Syracuse, New York

I just wanted to point out those Gaskets on Ebay are for a 256 not 239.

  

Is it possible that 256 and 239 head gaskets are similar?


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1955 F-600/272/E4OD// Disclaimer: No animals were injured while test driving my F-600 except the ones I ran over intentionally!

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Thanks for the help guys. Just wanted to update you'all. Sounds like the common theme is the head gasket so  I ordered new gaskets from Egge Pistons and going to try that route. You'll get an another update when I get it all put back together. Wish me luck! Thanks again. 

according to fel pro all y blocks from 55 up take the same gaskets.i remember gasket sets years ago that had 239 to 312 for 55 up listed on the box.ever the 54 256 takes the later head gasgets.only the 54 239 is different on cars at any rate trucks i dont know as some were suppose to be different

Pulled the head off of the right side of the engine today hoping to find an obvious explanation of why I might be getting small amounts of oil in my coolant. I based this decision on the lower compression values in cylinders 2-3-4 that I posted earlier. Unfortunately nothing stood out to me. I took a few pictures. Do you guys see anything that might be suspect? Is it common for the tops of the pistons and heads to be blackened already with less than 50 miles of road time? Other than the lower compression and oil in the coolant the truck has ran great since the rebuild. My rebuilder guy has not had any explanations to this point but I am going to share the pictures with him also. Otherwise I will just put it back together and hope for the best.

It does look like the gasket was not clamped sufficiently between 2, 3, and 4.  The dark spots are the clue.  It looks like it's about 1 1/2" long between 3 and 4 and maybe 1" between 2 and 3.  The relatively clean #1 piston could be a sign that coolant is getting into that cylinder.  It does look like coolant may be making it's way from the passage just above to that cylinder and possibly to the oil drain into the valley.

The block does not look like it had been surfaced.  Clean all of the gasket material off and then check the head and block surfaces with a straight edge




Lawrenceville, GA