oldsalt

have 93 topaz 2.3, no power when put in gear. I mean nil, guttless.

engine getting hot in very smal amount of running time, checked cat converter, not getting hot there. cooling fan not cutting in either, buddy said
egr valve is fine.
noticed oil coming from head where it is seated to block, see it leaking at two front ends of head
Is head gasket gone?
Is it hard to replace head gasket on a 93topaz 2.3?

Don't mind doing it myself if no special tools are needed.
Am I on the right track?
Lot of ques. I know, but like this car.

Have already changed distributer, and module, starts no problem.
runs rough on idle but runs good when rev up a bit.

LunaticSVT

Not too hard to do. If you have a good set of spanners and time then I say go for it. Did a gasket replacement on a 2.3 Ranger. Fairly straight forward.

Rough idle you may want to play with the timing a hair.

dagr8tim

A head gasket replacement is slightly different on a tempo. The ranger 2.3 has an OHC and the tempo 2.3 is OHV.

Beside having a torque wrench, a head gasket is fairly easy. Obviously the upper intake manifold has to come off, then the fuel rail with regulator needs to me removed from the lower intake manifold and set off to the side (I wrapped the fuel rail and injectors in an old towel to protect them), drain most of the coolant from the petcock at the bottom of the radiator, remove the thermastat housing, remove the lower intake manifold (kind of a PITA), remove the head to exhaust manifold bolts, remove the valve cover, and IIRC the bolts on the head if they are stock are a 13mm 12 point. You need a 12 point socket as a 6 point will not fit the bolts.

Reassembily is the reverse.

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oldsalt

Thanks for the replies, will give installing the head gasket a whirl, like doing things myself. Great site here