Ford 300 I-6/Bronco help

[hondariderdylan]

well i came home today and had to wash my bronco and my dads ranger well i moved the ranger up by the hose to be washed and then i pulled the bronco up behind it and let it run for a few, well about 20 minutes later i shut it off, then it ran rough when i cranked it to move it up to be washed, then when i got done washing it it wont crank at all. i pulled the radiator cap off and it spewed coolant. it will turn over for a second and then quit. we had to end up pushing it back to where it is always parked. my buddy said blown head gasket or cracked block/head. it is a 1992 Bronco XLT with a 300 c.i sraight six with a little over 215,000 miles on it and a 4-speed

3 questions:

1.what do you guys think happened?
2.im driving it to school this fall, what would be easier? small block or rebuild the I-6?
3. would the small block swap be hard? (302,351)

[Guy400]

Coolant spewing out of the neck when you remove the radiator cap is completely normal when an engine is hot (you said you let it run for 20 minutes). This doesn't mean you blew a head gasket or cracked a block. If you blew a head gasket while it was running than the truck would've started pumping white smoke and you'd definitely smell antifreeze burning. Pull one spark plug out at a time and crank the engine, see if any spit antifreeze. Without actually seeing it I'd be willing to bet it's got nothing to do with the cooling system.

[hondariderdylan]

i actually worded that one wrong, my bad
i did let it run for 20 minutes but then i cut it off for probably about 15 and then it ran for maybe a minute and then sat another 20-30 with cool water running down it, the temp gauge was all the way down by cold:(

*edit*
and it still wont crank
its been 4 hours:scary:

[Guy400]

When you say it won't crank are you saying when you turn the key the engine physically doesn't turn over or are you saying the engine turns over but won't fire?

[hondariderdylan]

it turns over for a second then it seems like the starter doesnt want to do it anymore and gives up and almost sounds like it kicks back a little

the volts are around 9-10
i thought that might be the problem but then agian it ran like crap before it wouldnt crank and started fine

its started to fire once and then when i gave it a little gas it died

[hardkoratvmxr]

9-10 volts on most vehicles are enough to start up if that is after loaded. try doing a loaded test on the battery. turn the key to the on position and use a multimeter and check the volts at the battery. anything under 10.5 volts dc and put it on a charger.