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Gasket in his pic.

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The other layer of the gasket (it's a MLS gasket)

Were you actually losing coolant or did you just hear gurgling sounds? You can get kits at parts stores that test for exhaust gasses in the coolant. If there is none then I guess you were hearing something unrelated. Loss of compression and the white smoke does sound like a head gasket problem though. Any chance the head itself is cracked? How do the valves and guides look? Hard to tell from the first pic but the valves in the middle two cylinders do look like they've seen some steam. How do the tops of the pistons look?

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>>2969387
There may have been some coolant loss.
I've heard about those kits, but unfortunately I just bought a gauge to measure the compression and thought that would be enough. Some of the pistons look like they've seen some steam too (see picrel).
How do I check the valves guides? I need to remove the valves?

>>2969391
valve guides aren't causing a coolant leak. 100 to 1 it was the gasket. if not that, then it's a crack in the head or even the block somewhere.
valves in 2 & 3 definitely look steam cleaned, but the pistons don't. i don't see anywhere in the pics that had an obvious leak but pics don't always tell the whole story.
but if you're getting coolant in your cylinders, it stands to reason you're also getting exhaust in your coolant. which could explain the gurgling. there could even be some fuel in it from the compression stroke. did your coolant smell like gas at all? because in the #2 cylinder pic, that coolant port at 11 o'clock look like it was seeing some exhaust gas. could just be the lighting/angle.
is that one of those gaskets that has like a crushable seal in it around the piston bore? those are good, but they're real touchy when it comes to the torque specs and the tightening order.
either way, without any hard evidence, all you can do at this point is put the head back on and check compression.

>>2969400
>did your coolant smell like gas at all?
Not that I've noticed. But I wasn't aware that was a thing, so I didn't smell the coolant.
The gasket is composed of two steel sheets. And I do believe they have a seal around the bore that bites into the block and head.
If it probably was the gasket, should it be visible where the water was crossing that seal?

>>2969367
Check the head for flatness and if it's not acceptable, then grind it with a big piece of sandpaper and a large flat tile. (there's a bunch of decent videos of how to do this on youtube).

Using a leakdown tester might have helped to diagnose the issue before disassembly, but it's a little late for that now.

>>2969402
>so I didn't smell the coolant
you would have noticed.
>gasket is composed of two steel sheets. And I do believe they have a seal around the bore
well it looks like your head has a groove for that seal to sit in, which is what made me ask. all heads/gaskets have something there (to protect the gasket from the combustion process), but some heads (usually racing/performance heads) have are made for gaskets with crushable seals there. so maybe? maybe not. usually only at ≥10:1 compression.
i had a SBF once upon a time with trick flow heads made for that style of gasket. like i said, they're real touchy about how you torque them down. if you don't do it right, that seal might not sit in the groove right or crush all the way and you end up without a proper cylinder seal. if this is the first time you had it apart, it's probably a non-issue until you put it back together.
>If it probably was the gasket, should it be visible where the water was crossing that seal?
you would think, but not 100% always every single time. especially if it was a very small leak over a long period of time. a catastrophic failure is one thing, but in a case where it's leaking just enough for you not to notice or put together that you're losing X amount of coolant over Y period of time, then maybe not.

>>2969367
What's the engine? It's not a ford ecoboost, is it?

>>2969456
>ford ecoboost
Nop. But, it's a ford focus. What's wrong with the ecoboost?
Anyway, yesterday and today I didn't have time to do anything on this project. My plan now is to remove the valves and inspect the space behind the valves, around the valve stems, to look for cracks or signs of steam cleaning. Maybe today or tomorrow. Thanks to anyone who has posted so far. I'll keep updating

>>2969566
Ford 4 bangers of the late 2010 era are known for warping the engine block between cylinders 2 and 3. No fix but to replace the engine.

>>2969571
>Ford 4 bangers
I don't know this term. I know that at least the focus mk1 (mine) has a severe heating problem. They placed the thermostat on the lower hose (the cold one) instead of the upper hose, like every other engine, and this causes the engine to overheat even if all the parts of the cooling system are working fine

>>2969575
The thermostat is heated by the block, anon. There is no "cold" hose.

>>2969391
Can we get a single image of the entire deck, Picasso?

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id clean it up. scuff it for grip. and glue i the gasket with permatex copper headgasket sealant. then probably sell it pronto
and quit running straight water for coolant you cheapnigger. antifeeze ain expensive and rust growth fucks all sorts of shit up

>>2969571
ding ding ding we have a winner.
either the head or the block will warp, and you get symptoms resembling head gasket failure in cyls 2-3. google it and you'll find tons of people with the same problem.
the only fix is either a new engine, or have both the block and head machined, which requires pulling and disassembling the engine anyways.

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>>2969659
>Picasso
lol

Yesterday, I checked the head with a straight edge and a 20um feeler blade. Couldn't find any warp

>>2969669
>and quit running straight water for coolant
For 20 years I've used 20% antifreeze. Recently, I changed to 50%, as instructed by Haynes. The engine never had straight water

>>2969591
Isn't the thermostat heated by the water?
Isn't the bottom hose colder than the top hose?
Why do most cars have the thermostat on the top hose, where the water leaves the engine?

>>2969790
>Why do most cars have the thermostat on the top hose, where the water leaves the engine?
So that the heat of the water causes it to open and allows that hot water access to the radiator to be cooled. If the thermostat was located on the return side it would be delayed in opening and would be shut by the inflow of cooled coolant. There's also flow by the thermostat even before it opens because of the bypass for the heater core, which isn't present at the radiator return.

>>2969788
>I've used 20% antifreeze
How cold does it get in your cunt?

>>2969790
It's heated and actuated by the water already inside the block, anon. When the temp inside the block heats the water there to a certain point 180-195 usually, it opens and lets the water circulate. It's not actuated by the water from the radiator.

It's in the top hose because that is typically easier to get to and also because the feed hose (the "cold" one) goes directly to the water pump inlet. The top hose gets hot first because it's the return to the radiator.

>>2969796
>If the thermostat was located on the return side it would be delayed in opening and would be shut by the inflow of cooled coolant.
Well, in my car, it is located on the return side. And I think this is what caused this entire mess.
Anyway, this weekend I'll be resurfacing the head. Will post picture next week

>>2969387
>How do the valves and guides look?
Disassembled 2 valves yesterday. The seats and the stems look pretty pristine. There is some carbon buildup on the back of the valve

>>2969951
The stat is always located on the return side, anon. Don't listen to that idiot.

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OP here.
We ended up not machining the head, because the machinist said it had no warp at all and we could never make it this flat if we tried to skim it.
In the meanwhile I measured the gap between the pistons and cylinders. See pic.
The gap is huge: 0,4mm at least. Haynes says it should be around 30 -40 micrometers

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Also, in picrel you can see the segment through the gap. You can actually push the piston back and forward. The left-right gap seems to be around 0,2mm. Any thoughts, anyone?

>>2970946
>0,4mm at least. Haynes says it should be around 30 -40 micrometers
Stop mixing units, it is very confusing. I've converted it to inches for everyone's benefit: should be 0.0016", actually is 0.016".

>>2970947
Need new liners, perhaps. Check the pistons themselves for size

It's really starting to sound like a bad block, though, anon. Has all the signs.

>>2970946
That's not where you measure the piston clearance. It is measured below the rings. Pull a piston.

>>2970990
It's not the correct way but if he can actually visibly see the piston moving back and forth, he's got a problem.

>>2969790
>Isn't the bottom hose colder than the top hose?
Not by any appreciable amount. Closed coolant systems with that little coolant tend to have a pretty homogeneous coolant temp due to flow rates.
>>2970968
How are they mixing units? Those are both metric.
>>2970946
How did they check it if it's still covered in gasket shit, and still in the engine bay?

>>2971076
>How are they mixing units? Those are both metric.
Not him, but he didn't say he was mixing systems. Millimeters and microns are indeed different units.

>>2971091
In the same way that 10mm and 1cm are different units, sure. That's not really "mixing" units though, at least in this kind of application, it's common to swap back and forth depending on the sizes you're talking about.

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>>2971094
>thinking microns are acceptable division for a shitbox thats old enough to vote
lol
lmfao even

>>2970976
Yes, the cylinders are definitely worn out and oval.
I can't remove the block and I'm not going to remove the pistons. It's beyond what I'm willing to do to this shitty engine/car.
Still, the gap and ovality don't explain why I hear a gurgling sound inside the car.

>>2971076
>How did they check it if it's still covered in gasket shit, and still in the engine bay?
We will not skim the head.
Yes, the block is still in the engine bay and covered with gasket shit. I'll clean it soon and check it for flatness

>>2970990
>That's not where you measure the piston clearance
Thanks for the tip.
Not gonna remove a piston, though. It's beyond what I'm willing to do with this car.

>>2971131
>I can't remove the block and I'm not going to remove the pistons.
So are you going to part-out the car, or scrap it?

>>2971131
>Still, the gap and ovality don't explain why I hear a gurgling sound inside the car.
A bad block would. Cylinders do not wear like that normally. If the block is warped, it would cause the block liner wear like you describe and also cause your combustion leak/coolant burning problems because the lack of flatness acts just like a head gasket/warped head.

This is common in the 4 cylinder ecoboosts, but I think less common in the zetecs (you said earlier it wasn't en ecoboost), but that is what it sounds like, anon.

>>2971150
>So are you going to part-out the car, or scrap it?
Nope. After all the work I had chasing this problem, I'll buy a new gasket, assemble everything and get the engine running again, just to see if the problem was the gasket or not.
>>2971206
Today I cleaned the top face of the block and checked it for flatness with a straight edge and feeler gauge. Looks perfect. I've also run my finger inside each cylinder, looking for cracks. Couldn't find any.
So, I guess I still don't know where the problem is coming from.
I know that the head has reached 126 centigrade a couple of times. That's 259 fahrenheit. Maybe that could explain something.
And it is a zetec, not an ecoboost. From what I've read online, they really fucked up with the ecoboost.

>>2969367
>-gurgling sound heard inside cabin (sounded like air bubbles in the water running through the heater matrix)
If the engine has an EGR valve, replace it in the process. They don't last more than 75k miles and will make this noise or sound like you have an exhaust leak.
You can temporarily fix the noise by cleaning the EGR valve with brake cleaner.

>>2972045
>and will make this noise or sound like you have an exhaust leak.
Thanks. It's useful to know this, but this car doesn't have EGR

>>2969367
Ask your mom, she is an expert at giving me a head. She had nice and tight compression as well. She really enjoys my piston.

>>2970946
can you tell if one of the pistons isn't coming up as high as the others?
if you have a bent rod it may only be bent just enough that it'd run poorly or miss on that cylinder.
I had a kubota deisel bend a rod and it was only 1.5-2mm shy from the other pistons and it was not hitting on that cylinder.

>>2971131
>I can't remove the block and I'm not going to remove the pistons.
I don't think a set of pistons and a 30 over is really that expensive.
you can hoist the motor out with a tree it's not a big deal.

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>>2972700
I've been cleaning the engine block surface.
I used 180 grit and did it by hand. Turns out I created some highs and lows and I'm gonna have to find some sort of lap to remove those.

>can you tell if one of the pistons isn't coming up as high as the others?
I'll try that when I finish cleaning the surface. I've put a little bit of grease around the pistons so that abrasive won't fall on the segments, so I don't want to move them right now.

>>2972702
you can hoist the motor out with a tree it's not a big deal.
Kek. I live in a city. Getting the car under a tree is not so easy

>>2973146
>lapping a block
Not going to work. You are nearing the sunk cost limit here, anon. If you aren't willing to yank and plane it, you just wasting your time. People will haul it away for nothing or just part it out.

>>2973147
>Not going to work
Why not? People make things flat by hand, either with an abrasive or a scraper

>>2973152
>things
Those things don't include something trying to contain the force of a gasoline explosion.
>muh valves are lapped
The force of said explosion works in the favor as it compresses the valve in the port. If you try to lap the block, it works opposite.

>>2973146
>turns out I created some highs and lows and I'm gonna have to find some sort of lap to remove those.
seen crackheads get a sheet of glass and wrap sand paper around it and put something heavy on it and just flatten it out, you could probably do that

>>2973167
Has to be thick glass, though. 1/4". Don't try that with a pane of glass from lowes.

>>2973167
People do it for lapping CPU dies down to bare silicon. Fucking terrifying what they'll do for cooling.

>>2973153
Then why are heads frequently lapped during re-builds?