Headgaskets

BIGJAY21

Registered User
Had coolant coming from my exhaust pipes, ran rough, white smoke and inside the oil cap the oil had turned a sticky white. Can I just do a HG replacement or are you guys going to tell me to rebuild it, which I can't and won't do. Hoping for good news.

Jason
 
Head gaskets

Im currently going through the exact same thing except my coolant shot through the side of the passanger head ! hhehehe.
Even with a violent head gasket faliure from what i can see(im down to the heads now ) its only the gasket.
So simply put i would say just the gaskets would do for now at least as long as u get your heads milled at a machine shop and get new head bolts. It also depends on how much milage is on the car. Mine is a 1993 with 170,000KM on it so roughly 110,000miles. Just remember take your time and do it right.
With two or three people you should be able to do it yourself in 3 days.
 
Same thing happened to my 89. I only had it running long enogh to get it home though (like 1.5 miles). If the engine runs very much at all after you blow the HG's there is the chance that you can bend a rod from what I understand. That would be the only reason that you would have to do more than replace the HG's.
 
As was mentioned above, depends on how long it was run after it blew.

I blew mine on the original motor at 132K miles. I only drove it 4 miles home and it JUST started to get hot when I pulled in the driveway. I tore it apart the next weekend and had it back together 2 weeks after. That motor pulled 260 RWHP and 350 RWT with 142K miles on it. It has 156K on it now and sits in the corner of the garage wrapped in a bag 'just in case' I need it.


DO NOT let the antifreeze-oil mix set in the motor!!!!!!!!!!!! I'll bet my next paycheck all the people that b!tch about blowing a bearing shortly after doing headgaskets ran it with the antifreeze-oil mix or let it sit for a long period of time with that mixture in there. Antifreeze is corrosive to bearing material and will destroy the bearings if left in there.

If you have to leave the car sit while rounding up money, change the oil and filter ASAP and let it run for just a minute or so with the fresh oil in it. That will get mostly clean oil through the motor before it sits. Just don't let it run long enough to get alot of antifreeze in the oil again.

Good luck,
Steve
 
Good advice. Here's how the story goes. I took it to a mechanic Wednesday for some front end work and he called back and said I need a new radiator because its spilling all over...news to me. Well I can change the radiator. I drive it slowly home about a mile and it sputtered the whole way, I'm thinking because antifreeze splashed on ignition wires. Ordered a radiator, arrived Thursday, put it in, but car still runs like crap. Took it around the block, maybe the wires weren't dry yet. Park it and let it idle, walk around the car and see puddles of coolant under the exhaust tips. I know what that is! I shut the car off immediately. Took off the oil cap and the inside of the cap had turned a sticky white oily mess, so, coolant in the oil, headgasket(s) blown.
I'll change the oil asap. I'm only doing the HGs and not the bottom end. I'm not too peeved, got 170,000 miles outta 'er before this, and I had to buy a new car to get to work. Sorry for the long story, thanks for the advice, I'm sure I'll be back asking for more help. Talk later.

Jason
 
hmm..

Actually I am going to disagree with BlackBird on this one. Changing your oil is ok, but DO NOT restart your engine once you shut it off after you blew your HG's. If you blow them while your driving, chances of having a rod bend is slim, if you shut your car off and allow a significant amount of coolant into the cylinders and you go to start it, YOU WILL BEND your rods. I know...I have 3 of them :eek:
 
I too just blew a Head Gasket. Well actually it was on my 95 cougar not the 35th. I had a goodly amount of anitfreeze in cylinder when I pulled the head.

How does one know when rod is bent.?
With heads off engine turns easily...


35th is in garage where it belongs...

Tim
 
35th-SanDiego said:
I had a goodly amount of anitfreeze in cylinder when I pulled the head. How does one know when rod is bent.?
With heads off engine turns easily...
Look for obvious pitting and scoring of the cylinder wall in the cylinder which had the HG go. If its a problem, it will be obvious. 2nd turn the crank and measure the depth of the piston to the top of the block for all pistons. Do this with a straight edge and feeler guage. If you have a bent rod, the cylinder which leaked will be noticably lower than the others. The fact that the engine turns easily for you is a GOOD thing. I'm assuming you mean turns easily with a wrench.
 
I also had the headgaskets go on my 89 at around 168K. It went at high speed and had to drive 4 miles to get it off freeway. I opted for the entire rebuild (with the milage and all, why not). I was glad that I did when I pulled off my main caps (that weekend) and had noticable wear on the bearings. I have rebuilt engines with over 200K and have not seen this much wear, so it was more than likely from the oil/coolant mixture I was pumping thru it.
 
help

i also am doing my headgaksets right now and i would like any advice as to what to look for when i get the heads off
anything that normally needs replacing thats not gonna cost me an arm and a leg
 
well..

Yeah when my heads were off I had 3 pistons that were not coming up to the top of the deck. They were off my a small amount (only about 1 mm). We weren't sure but we decided to open her up and sure enough 3 rods were bent and pretty bad to. Also like to note, my crank still turned very easily with a wrench, so it is possibile to have bent rods and it still turn.
 
91 is right

I got two of them of my own and a few more of my buddies. Had one bend after cranking the next day, wouldnt crank he thought he had dead battery so he jumped it and fired it up reliazed he had blown head gasket and shut it down, too late!! Bent.

THen on the others they were only started to run home, one more bent rod on that deal, the rest spun a rod bearing a few weeks later, even the one that was caught soon as it blew, we figured it was from the force of shoving the water back into the cooling system that actually pushed the slight oil film out of the way and led to the damage of the babbit on the bearings. SO now no matter what I always recommend they change the bearings, why not for a few extra bucks and a little more time, buys you alot of insurance later. Now if you drain that oil and it comes out white.....and thick...... Tear her down because she is whiped out. Won't last a day.
I also disagree with the other fello on bearing damage for two reasons, one being you dont see any damage to the mains, even though the rods are wasted, two I Have blown alot of head gaskets and seen alot blown, and havent ever seen a bearing failure on anything except these super coupes, from turbo coupes to a twin turbo porscha, and these SC's are the only ones, I have seen with rod bearing damage when I drop the pan (now a manditory when i do a head gasket on these badboys) and it has always been on the last cylinder on the driver side, no others. And it always wasted on the top half. (that is if it is done at same time head gaskets are changed)
CHeck my history we have discussed this topic numerus times, you might find alot of info there to help you.
 
I think that at any one time there are about ten guys here that just blew there HGs, damn car. I always do a search on a subject before I ask any question, especially about a subject like headgaskets that has been talked about so much.
I drained the oil last night and it was brown, glad I got that stuff outta the car. Gonna start to tear down the top of the engine tonight, then by the time the HG set arrives they'll be ready to get put on. At this point I'm fixing it to sell it. I'm newly married and going back into the military and I just don't need the aggravation. We had a good run. One question; what does replacing the bearings entail? If the engine has to be pulled then forget it, I don't have the facilities or the tools. Thanks for the knowledge.

Jason
 
humm

to do it you gotta pull it or drop the kmember. take your pick I think the kmember is alot easier just my .02
 
BIGJAY21 said:
I think that at any one time there are about ten guys here that just blew there HGs, damn car
Jason
LOL.. Well there big Jay, just to put things into perspective for you.. when was the last time you read a newspaper article about the guy who lets someone merge into traffic? Or the time someone stopped and helped someone get gas for their car? I guess the point is, on this forum, you only hear about things when there are problems.. what you DON'T hear is people who have NOT had problems.

I'll start the ball rolling: I have the original HGs with 164,000 miles. So, its not a given that they will go and most of the time when you do hear about it its when mods were done or the car was driven hard for an extended time.. I you whip up on something long enough, it WILL eventually break.
 
I've come to the conclusion that I'm going to get rid of my SC. I blew the gaskets at 170,000 miles and from what I've read here, it's very likely the bearings could go after the HG are fixed. I'd love to do a full rebuild but I'm reenlisting in the Army and I just don't have the time or facilities and I can't ship a non-running car. So, I need help in deciding which method would be the best. I already ordered gaskets and studs from Bill E. should I put them on and trade the SC in, or are there people out there that are looking for a good SC to put a motor in? Or do I have a good parts car on my hands? I know its not alot of info but you guys are good. What ya think?
 
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