Hey guys! I started my '86 thunderbird up today, and it was smoking like crazy. Its been sitting for a while cuz it was overheating, and I wanted to see if it would start. It had been overheating, and we thought it was a head gasket. Anyways, It ran fine for a few minutes then started pouring out white smoke from the exhaust. I think the left cylinder head has a blown gasket, would this cause the white smoke? Checked the oil, its fine. We also thought it might be the radiator, but I checked the radiator and it was full, along with the coolant overflow. If it had a blown head gasket, wouldn't it burn off the water/coolant mixture? On a side note, there were little black pieces of rust that came from the muffler also. Could this be from the moisture from burning the coolant? Should I replace it also? Thanks for any help you guys can give me, I'm relatively new to this site as a poster, but I have learned alot here at AF.com

BTW, its an '86 Thunderbird, 3.6L V-6, EFI. Not the strongest of engines, wanting to put in a 5.0L V-8. Does anyone know if there would be excessive fabrication needed to swap in a manual tranny? Got a friend that will help me, if it wouldn't be an incredibly long process.

Definately sounds like a blown head gasket to me.has there been any decrease in water level in the header tank?Also check the oil and see if there is any "gooey" stuff in it-it would look kind of milky :smokin: .This would be a good indication to whether the head gasket was blown.

Definately sounds like a blown head gasket to me.has there been any decrease in water level in the header tank?Also check the oil and see if there is any "gooey" stuff in it-it would look kind of milky :smokin: .This would be a good indication to whether the head gasket was blown.

A friend of mine that works in a garage tells me that the Ford 3.6
engine is notorious for blowing head gaskets. Joe

Hmmm, figured it was most likely the head gasket. The oil shows no sign of being discolored or milky at all tho. Thanks for the help guys, I should be able to replace it within a couple of weeks. Anyone have any suggestions on the rusty exhaust pipe? Will it be ok or should I replace it too? My parents are trying to decide if they'll give me their '96 thunderbird with a 4.6 V-8. The 3.6L is just too weak, and not much aftermarket available.

Are the heads aluminum on the three six?

not sure, cant check til tomorrow, my dad has the keys right now : \