Stuck! Need advice asap!

torino_joe

Registered User
Okay, so long story short, I just bought a 95 SC 5 speed that according to the owner had a blown head gasket.
So, I checked the oil, no water, but there is a small amount of steam upon start up, and the temperature randomly fluctuates? While driving it goes up and down, yet when I come to a stop, it actually cools down? Then there is a massive exhaust leak and misfire, the low coolant light comes on intermittently along with the check engine light, then disappears as well as the heater not blowing out hot air.....
I'm stuck 4 hours away from home, in a town I don't know with no tools, and short on cash now that I'm stuck at a motel.
ANY and ALL constructive advice is welcome!
My only idea so far, if in fact it is for sure a head gasket, is to you use some head gasket sealer and take it easy driving home, just pulling over whenever I need to and letting her cool down til she can drive again.
Anything else I should try or check to be 100%?
 
Forget those head gasket sealers, they rarely work, and they clog up everything else in the cooling system. Your best chance for sealing it and getting it home is ground black pepper and a couple eggs. Put them directly into the rad when it is cold, then top off the coolant, and run the car until it is fully up to temperature. The real question though is why did you buy a car with blown head gaskets that was 4 hrs away from home, and expect to drive it back?
 
Good morning

Wow. All symptoms point to a blown head gasket and or cracked cylinder head. There are a number of tests to verify (like block tester). But that is not the reason for your post. Only in a emergency would I even suggest this. In my experience (head bowed) there are small number of head gasket sealers (at auto stores) that temporarily work but makes final repair a pain. I repeat only in a emergency I would do the following. Price @ @$150.00. First. Buy a small metric socket set and diagonal pliers (suggestion Harbor Freight or Wall Mart). Second. To keep the temperature down find the Integrated Control Relay Module (ICRM) connector (located next to the air box) and cut terminal wire # 14 (tan/orange?). The fan will now operate in low condition when the key is turn to START. Third. Purchase either @K-Seal and or @Blue Devil quick version. They do not require the coolant system to be drained or removal of the thermostat. I had to put 2 bottles in and had one a spare. I need to stress this has work for me only in an emergency temporarily. Follow the instructions. If it does seal (hope) I would purchase at least 4 gallons of distill water. Recommend you do not exceed 60 mph on trip back. Pull over when ever "R" is exceeded on the temp gauge. Let the car cool. Add water and a little/small amount of sealer. I paid heavily when I did the cylinder head gasket repair. Besides explaining to an angry machine shop and radiator shop, the coolant/sealer "killed" my "cats" and oxygen sensors. Can you say expensive.

Good Luck.
 
Your symptoms could also be a clogged radiatior....mine did that before, ran a bit hotter while driving and cooler at a stop.
Could also be a warped or cracked head..So what your saying is you went to pick up this SC just now and is driving it back home even though the seller told you it had a blown head gasket?
 
which coolant hose has the spring in it...could it be collapsing and causing an issue? also the stock temp gauge is not very reliable, sometimes the little sending unit acts funny too if it has a bad connection, should be a single wire on top of the unit at the thermostat housing, try wiggling it or resetting it.
 
If it were me I would call triple aaa and either initiate a policy or upgrade or just add the coupe to your existing policy, making sure you have the premiere package. They are very good at allowing you to add or upgrade and then use the service immediately, assuming the service is for a new vehichle on the policy. Almost positive it doesnt have to be registered in your name yet either. Premier package should get you 200 miles free towing. Thats close to a four hour trip. Either have the tow truck drop you off at two hundred and limp it home or pay the milage the rest of the way. Either way I would think that trying a quick fix on the heads with stop leak, not knowing whether or not it will work and get you home anyway and the added expense and headache it will cause to the inevitable repair is being penny wise and pound foolish. Im by no means an expert on these cars but from what I can decern from the other members concerning their relability and proneness to breakdown that maybe the first most important mod on the list should be a triple A membership.
I know this works as my buddy was out in boston a couple weeks ago taking his wife for a an oncology appointment and the valet screwed up the alarm on his car effectively disabling it. He called triple a and upgraded his policy and free tow home to connecticut. If you do this they may require it be towed to a service provider. Just find one close to home and your in business. The driver might be cool and drop it in your driveway.
Side note. This only works on cars currently on your plan during your renewal time. They used to let you upgrade current cars on your plan anytime but got hip to people upgrading just for lomg tows.
I think its worth every single penny and has many other benefits.
 
Thank you guys for all your help and advice!
First, yes I did buy the car knowing it MAY have had a blown gasket, but the guy I bought it from got a rebuilt motor that had sat for a very long time, then proceeded to drive the hell out of it, he knew nothing about cars. Yes I know it shows some symptoms of of a blown head gasket or cracked or warped head, but it also runs for long periods of time with no overheating issues then will begin to heat up when the low coolant light comes on.
I have got some tools finally and am going to try some things. I have some blue devil just in case, and will definitely keep updating.
Thanks again guys, I appreciate it
 
**Update**
Thermostat was clogged up with rust, so was the radiator. Was able to change the thermostat, flush the radiator and got out what I could, fixed the leaky overflow tank,wired the fans to stay continually on with the key on and still put in the blue devil white label sealer.
I'm now more than halfway home (2 1/2 hrs) and the car has barley come close to the N. There is NO white steam or any moisture near the tail pipes now. Idle has improved as well.
Thank you again for all the constructive advice. Much appreciated
 
**Update**
Thermostat was clogged up with rust, so was the radiator. Was able to change the thermostat, flush the radiator and got out what I could, fixed the leaky overflow tank,wired the fans to stay continually on with the key on and still put in the blue devil white label sealer.
I'm now more than halfway home (2 1/2 hrs) and the car has barley come close to the N. There is NO white steam or any moisture near the tail pipes now. Idle has improved as well.
Thank you again for all the constructive advice. Much appreciated 

Cheers dude! You have some balls
 
Did you get it all the way back home?

Yes, I did. Cruised at 65 the whole way, almost 5 hours,only stopped once just to be safe. Car didn't even make it past the N

Just a note - there's a TSB on the factory sending unit failing and causing a low reading due to a bad manufacturing crimp. I'd be replacing the gauge sending unit soonest before I put any confidence in that "didn't make it past the N".

RwP
 
Cleaning the system

Just a thought, I've had cars in the past where the previous owner ran straight water in the system for some time. I heard of a product that I purchased from Summit called Evapo rust that absolutely eliminated all rust from the system, the internals of the radiator and hoses looked brand new. You might want to try this to clean the cooling system it's cheap and really does work.
 
Just a note - there's a TSB on the factory sending unit failing and causing a low reading due to a bad manufacturing crimp. I'd be replacing the gauge sending unit soonest before I put any confidence in that "didn't make it past the N".

RwP

RalphP yeah, I've driven these cars for years and have never put any real faith in the factory dummy gauges, but they are reasonably close,relatively speaking. But I definitely already had planned on adding a proper oil psi, water temp, and vacuum gauge to the car when I got home, just so there is no doubt on what the engine is doing. Thanks for the reminder on the tsb
 
Just a thought, I've had cars in the past where the previous owner ran straight water in the system for some time. I heard of a product that I purchased from Summit called Evapo rust that absolutely eliminated all rust from the system, the internals of the radiator and hoses looked brand new. You might want to try this to clean the cooling system it's cheap and really does work.

fstcoup I definitely will check that out,I know the entire cooling system could sure benefit from this. Thanks for the heads up man
 
Evapo-Rust

I used Evapo-Rust on a stock SC crank pulley. Soaked it for a while, hosed it off, taped off the pulley grooves and painted it. Worked well.

Eddie Donato
'90 5-speed SC modified
'90 Automatic SC, except for double intercooler.

evapo-rust.jpg
 
I used Evapo-Rust on a stock SC crank pulley. Soaked it for a while, hosed it off, taped off the pulley grooves and painted it. Worked well.

Eddie Donato
'90 5-speed SC modified
'90 Automatic SC, except for double intercooler.

View attachment 65032

White Thunder-
Awesome! Another member also recommended it to me, and now I'm definitely going to give it a shot.
Thanks man
 
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