Well the $h! has hit the fan and things have taken a turn for the decidedly worse.
Went over today to help put the hood back on the car to mark the completion of the conversion.
There was a minor issue where the plenum was cracked at the base of the PCV hose attachment, but I could just get a replacement for that when I got back from Carlisle.
I got to hear it run and it sounded good besides the little sputter from the crack.
I followed him back to my normal mechanic's shop. I noticed that the exhaust was visible and white-ish gray. Figured maybe it was burn-off or something.
Once we got there and talked with my mechanic, he asked me to give him a ride back, which was not a problem.
I noticed when I revved the car I could hear fluid flowing through the car...the Mercury does that sometimes...dunno what it means.
Came to a stop light after about a mile, and the car hesitated to move. He figured maybe the transmission was low on fluid. Go another half a mile and suddenly the temp gauge has swung up to almost the red line!
I pull off to side street, turn the car off and we pop the hood. At first we don't see anything beside some steam. He opens the coolant reservoir cap, and to our horror, what comes spewing out is a yellow-green soup. I check the dipstick and it is also the same yellow-green soup. So great..oil in the antifreeze and antifreeze in the oil. I mea, I've seen anrifreeze mix with oil, but the oil was still milky brown. Using someone's garden hose, he flushes it with water to cool it down enough, and we limp it the 1/3 mile back to his shop. It's worth noting that the engine never actually overheated. The needle stayed between the 3rd and last marker...but still.
So great, all that work, $945 engine, $1100 for the labor and I'm worse off than I was with the 2.7.
First thought was either cracked block or bad headgasket.