LSC HUNTER
Dedicated LVC Member
Yeah if you have an engine for 325 then do that it only make sense.
Results of compression test on '96 DA
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sprocket
Well-Known LVC Member
Well, no pictures or videos are needed.
It turns out the cheap block test kit I bought that checks for hydrocarbons was defective. I bought it from Autozone. Having never used one before I didn't know how it was suppose to work. The little ball valve in the bottom of the unit that allows air above the coolant to be sucked in is STUCK SHUT. I couldn't figure out why the bulb would take so long to fill back out once I squeezed it, so I watched a youtube video. After I determined that this looked nothing like what I was seeing I went and borrowed a kit from Oreilly's.
Of course, it failed. I could have known that WEEKS AGO if the stupid BRAND NEW tester would have been any good.
The funny thing is the car starts INSTANTLY as long as the coolant reservoir cap is OFF. After it is running, pressure doesn't build nearly as fast. There is just a small hiss when the cap is removed after 20 minutes of running.
SO:
The breach in the head gasket causes back pressure into the cooling system, then when the pressure becomes high enough in the cooling system, coolant is forced back into the affected cylinders. From that point the car is very hard to start, and after starting there is white smoke as the coolant burns off.
If started with the coolant cap off, the pressure from the cooling system is avoided and much less coolant enters the cylinders. The white smoke is therefore very light.
With the coolant cap off while running the block test shows hydrocarbons in the cooling system.
I'm still weighing the pluses and minuses of trying a head gasket sealer. There are several that have a money back guarantee, so I'm not out anything if it doesn't work. I think if I follow the strictest measures, like flushing the cooling system, filling with distilled water, routing the heater hoses together, and THEN using the sealer, I can avoid possible damage to the radiator and heater core.
It turns out the cheap block test kit I bought that checks for hydrocarbons was defective. I bought it from Autozone. Having never used one before I didn't know how it was suppose to work. The little ball valve in the bottom of the unit that allows air above the coolant to be sucked in is STUCK SHUT. I couldn't figure out why the bulb would take so long to fill back out once I squeezed it, so I watched a youtube video. After I determined that this looked nothing like what I was seeing I went and borrowed a kit from Oreilly's.
Of course, it failed.
I could have known that WEEKS AGO if the stupid BRAND NEW tester would have been any good.The funny thing is the car starts INSTANTLY as long as the coolant reservoir cap is OFF. After it is running, pressure doesn't build nearly as fast. There is just a small hiss when the cap is removed after 20 minutes of running.
SO:
The breach in the head gasket causes back pressure into the cooling system, then when the pressure becomes high enough in the cooling system, coolant is forced back into the affected cylinders. From that point the car is very hard to start, and after starting there is white smoke as the coolant burns off.
If started with the coolant cap off, the pressure from the cooling system is avoided and much less coolant enters the cylinders. The white smoke is therefore very light.
With the coolant cap off while running the block test shows hydrocarbons in the cooling system.
I'm still weighing the pluses and minuses of trying a head gasket sealer. There are several that have a money back guarantee, so I'm not out anything if it doesn't work. I think if I follow the strictest measures, like flushing the cooling system, filling with distilled water, routing the heater hoses together, and THEN using the sealer, I can avoid possible damage to the radiator and heater core.
Markviiiedrea
Speed Bump
Spend the money on that other motor, have it swaped out in two days and sell me your blown motor!
chargerxr
Dedicated LVC Member
Eric, I've got a blown 98 I'll sell you.
dnsherrill
Dedicated LVC Member
start fresh with a rebuild
chris2523
93 Mark VIII
too damn pricey. just get a running used motor.
Markviiiedrea
Speed Bump
Damn, you found out my weekness.
ford nut
Local nut case
Of course, it failed.
That explains a few things.
What is the plan for this car?
It is a good time to upgrade to a c head engine if the body is perfect.
Psychostang
Dedicated LVC Member
If the block is good, I would just do headgaskets and call it a day. If not, or you want to be on the safe side, do a complete rebuild. Junkyard engines are just that JUNK. You can't trust them. If your going to take the engine out, you might as well rebuild your own.
chris2523
93 Mark VIII
Can you do "just" head gaskets with out planing the deck and heads flat and buying expensive cam lock tools?
Thought this was why people don't do "just" head gaskets. Too much machine work involved in the head gaskets.
sprocket
Well-Known LVC Member
The engine has other problems, man. It has a loud tick that has yet to be identified. The heads would need planed and I would need to buy tools. I would probably want to do the timing chain tensioners and guides.
There are plenty of used engines that are not junk. There are cars that are totaled and the engines are fine. The one in my other car is doing fine. If I've driven it for even a year I've gotten my money out of it which was $350. The one I might buy has compression averaging 175 or so they tell me. Of course a compression test on the one in the car meant nothing, but there is risk in everything. If I went with my friend Tim's advice he says take out a loan and buy a rebuilt long block. The car is not in good enough condition to warrant that. If the body were perfect, maybe, but it has many flaws. It looks good in pictures and from a distance.
All used cars could be called junk. A coworker's warranty just expired on his CTS. I would hate to be him when something else goes wrong with it because many things went wrong under warranty. Come to think of it, ALL cars are pretty much junk.
sprocket
Well-Known LVC Member
Spend the money on that other motor, have it swaped out in two days and sell me your blown motor!
That's likely the way I will go. I'll give you a great deal on the motor if you help out with the swap. It would be on a hoist, out the bottom.
I suppose that means you get my IMRCs....Of course there's that weird tick...
Who said it bas to be a "junk yard" engine? Wrecked mark viiis pop up on craigslist all the time as a parts car..usually they ran and drove fine before the accident..buy the whole thing and use what you need then scrap the rest. Might end up making money off it when its all said and done. Forget the head gasket sealant crap, waste of time..if you have another car use it and in the mean time sarch for a donor car/motor.
sprocket
Well-Known LVC Member
I'm not so sure I couldn't drive this car across country with the blown head gasket. It runs pretty good considering, and the temp stays way low unless I am in stop and go traffic or hit a lot of red lights around town. Then it climbs maybe to 180. On the highway it drops way down and gets really good gas mileage.
I don't know if you guys remember when I said I found a bunch of stop leak in the cooling system? Yesterday that got me thinking. I talked to the guy who sold it to me. He is a good friend of the previous owner and placed the ad for her and helped her sell it. He also had done some work on the car for her and was very familiar with it. I bought it KNOWING it might have a blown head gasket so they weren't hiding anything from me. I asked him if he ever knew of stop leak being used while she owned it. He said he didn't think so. She didn't own the car very long; maybe 9 months.
What about the owner before her? Could he have been the source of the stop leak? Could it have been head gasket sealer I was seeing? Could he have sealed the head gasket then sold it to her and it held for several months? Hmmm......
I don't know if you guys remember when I said I found a bunch of stop leak in the cooling system? Yesterday that got me thinking. I talked to the guy who sold it to me. He is a good friend of the previous owner and placed the ad for her and helped her sell it. He also had done some work on the car for her and was very familiar with it. I bought it KNOWING it might have a blown head gasket so they weren't hiding anything from me. I asked him if he ever knew of stop leak being used while she owned it. He said he didn't think so. She didn't own the car very long; maybe 9 months.
What about the owner before her? Could he have been the source of the stop leak? Could it have been head gasket sealer I was seeing? Could he have sealed the head gasket then sold it to her and it held for several months? Hmmm......