engine mileage
 

I recently had someone give me a '90 LX Coupe with a 2.3 liter 4 cylinder. The car appears to have a blown head gasket. The car is in very good shape except for the engine problem. The odometer reads approximately 150,000 miles. Since I paid nothing for the car I could eventually replace the engine. What I would like to do for now is check for cracks and replace the head gasket hoping that cures the problem. My question is, how many miles can a person expect from these engines? My '91 5.0 has over 120,000 miles and still runs very strong.
Anyone with suggestions or opinons?

As long as nobody tried to limp the car anyplace after blowing the head gasket you should be fine with just replacing it and having the head checked at a machine shop.. If they did try to limp it home and the head gasket was badly blown, you can expect the possibility of much more work, I.E., wiped bearings if water got in the oil, possible cylinder damage, But until you pull it apart you won't know.

As far as how long they will last, well that depends on how well they are maintained; mainly oil change, coolant change and basic tuneup. Either way you got it for free so go into it with the thought that it's an interesting project.

2.3 engine life expectancy is problematic but then, these engines are very cheap to find in salvage yards as Ford made hundreds of thousands of them and most people want the 5 0. not the 2.3 so some junkyards will almost give them away.