03 3.8 Under Power Issue

[seneeb]

I recently inherited my late mother's 03 3.8 auto convertible with about 55k miles on it. Last summer the car overheated on her (she shut it off at about 3/4 on the guage) and it had a cylinder head over temp code. It was low on coolant, but I couldnt tell where it was leaking, so we just filled her up, bled the system and I'd check it for her at our weekly lunches. Well, since her death in December, the car hasnt been used much. That is, until this last month, when my new wife and I drove it a few weeks before our honeymoon and on our honeymoon, which we drove on our normal commute for 2 weeks, then from the Dayton, Ohio area to the Great Smokey Mountains to Atlanta, GA, to Stuart Fl (about 100 miles north of Miami), in total about 3000 miles in a month, with less than a half gallon of coolant loss and about 1 quart of oil loss (the 1q of oil I feel is about typical of a Ford engine in 3000 miles)

Symptoms:
Oily coolant in both radiator and overflow tank.
Lack of power below 3,000 rpm.
Reduced fuel mileage (about 15-17 city; 22ish top up ac off highway, last time i drove it on a regular basis i had almost 20 city)
Intermittent loud ticking noise from valvetrain, sounds like a collapsed lifter. Takes about 5-7 minutes to go away. While noise is present feels like it's running on 5 cylinders.

Repair history related to engine:
Has had the lower intake gaskets done twice. Once was the standard OEM kit, second time was with the redesigned OEM kit.
Still on original plugs/wires.

Tests I have performed:
Chemical Block test, which showed combustion in the cooling system.

I have yet to do a compression check as since we got back from our honeymoon we still need to use the car for DD purposes as our Accord decided it didnt like not being used for almost a month and now has an engine noise (93 with 250k extremely hard miles).

Just kind of fishing for ideas. I'm thinking head gaskets, and even possibly the lower intake being warped. I plan on doing a compression test this weekend.

 

[g96v6-250k]

i would start by continuity checking wires and changing plugs. maybe start it cold and idle it for 30 seconds then check plugs for coolant or fuel. do you see or smell coolant coming from tail pipe? my v6 makes noise for about 5 seconds after sitting 8+ hours. i have used kero and diesel in the oil to clean up lifter and exh. valve guides. add 1/2 to 1 quart of diesel/kero to oil and drive VERY gently with moderate rpm for 50 miles then change oil with a good brand. if all else fails possibly the maf is dirty or failed. if it sat long the fuel might have gone bad and dirty up the valve stems, also ethenol pull moisture from the air and pollutes the fuel tank, try a water remover. another thing you can try is starting it cold without the belt to see if anything changes. 3.8 is a PITA but if you hang in there you might be verry happy with it, except for head gasket problems.