Bad start to the spring supercoupe season! NEED HELP!!!

C

charlie6406

Registered User
Went to put the plates on my 89 sc today and change the oil. I have not started it in 6 months so I figured I would change the oil before anything. I start unthreading the drain plug and see a green drip forming, I could not believe my eyes so I slowly pull the drain plug out and a half a shot glass of antifreeze comes out before the oil! The oil was not milky at all. I pressure tested the system before I put away because I installed a new radiator. I have no white smoke or antifreeze smell. I checked the radiator for bubbles also nothing. What happened did my head gasket go bad while sitting? what should I do? I finished changing my oil and took it for a 20min drive ran like a dream. Idk need some advice.
 
charlie6406 said:
Went to put the plates on my 89 sc today and change the oil. I have not started it in 6 months so I figured I would change the oil before anything. I start unthreading the drain plug and see a green drip forming, I could not believe my eyes so I slowly pull the drain plug out and a half a shot glass of antifreeze comes out before the oil! The oil was not milky at all. I pressure tested the system before I put away because I installed a new radiator. I have no white smoke or antifreeze smell. I checked the radiator for bubbles also nothing. What happened did my head gasket go bad while sitting? what should I do? I finished changing my oil and took it for a 20min drive ran like a dream. Idk need some advice.
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Discontinue driving it until you have the coolant issue vetted out. Get that system pressure tested ASAP and determine the cause of the coolant in the oil. Coolant is heavier than oil which is why it settled to the bottom of your pan. I would bet head gasket but it could also be a leaky intake manifold or timing cover.
 
when I first got under the car to do the oil change I noticed a small external coolant leak coming from or near the timing cover so my next question could the timing cover be leaking internal and external?
 
how big of a job is the timing cover? How much should I expect to dish out at a garage just had to spinal fusions so can't do the work myself.
 
It isn't bad but it is labor intensive. You should still have the system pressure tested to insure that is the cause. There is nothing worse than performing a large job and it wasn't the cause.

All that being said, if you have determined the timing cover is the cause then this is what I would recommend.

Get yourself a BHJ crank dampener because the stock dampener is actually designed to be discarded. That alone is going to set you back $400. I would also install engine mounts if they are old while you are at it.

A shop gets about $70/hour. That said I would say it is about 10 hours. The gasket set is inexpensive.

I would say you are going to be at about:

$700 in labor
$50 gasket set
$50 for new engine coolant
$80 for new engine mounts
$70 for a new timing chain and tensioner set
$400 for BHJ dampener

$1,350 all in with a new dampener. $950 if you opt to reuse your dampener.
 
charlie6406 said:
thank you going to the shop on Friday!
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I would ask your shop to reuse the existing cam gear. The reason being is the factory gear is far superior in quality to the cheap cast cam gear that the aftermarket kits use. Just change the chain and tensioner. Reuse the factory gears.
 
update

here is a update pressure check good also checked the coolant for exhaust fumes nothing either. The shop also left the car running for a while today did not over heat and had no antifreeze in oil after drain. Friday the shop will be doing a leak down test and installing new spark plugs. ANY ideas?
 
Unless someone poured a shot glass of coolant in through the oil fill, you have an internal leak somewhere. It sounds like a good shop. Pressure testing the system and checking for exhaust gases in the coolant is the right way to do it. Something is awry. You could always have a bad engine oil cooler but they usually leak oil into the coolant as well as coolant into the oil.
 
The shop said it could be the oil cooler too. As of right now there is no antifreeze in the oil. Has anyone on here ever had a oil cooler go bad? I am not sure what's going on with this car lol. I will give you a update after leak down test is done.
 
I had a similiar situation on a different vehicle. My truck sat out side during a cold winter and the gaskets failed allowing coolant to leak.
 
charlie6406 said:
well just picked her up from the shop and the results are leak down test came out good and even on all cylinders. compression test showed 140+ all cylinders. Pressure test held 16lbs for 2 hours. Spark plugs were old but burning good. 100 percent not a head gasket so beats me what the hell happened but I guess I am going to drive it and keep in eye on it! Price for everything was $300 not to bad I guess!
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