Blown Headgaskets.... Maybe?

6pak2go

Registered User
I recently have put my car pack together after replacing the whole drivetrain. My mods are below. I think I'm having blown headgasket symptoms, but want to try every possibility that I can before I tear the motor apart again.

The car will not idle when you first start it up. It bounces around a little bit and may idle for a minute, but will eventually start choking and die. I don't believe that it is due to a vacuum leak. I'm been through my vacuum line 3 or 4 times.

When you start to tr drive it down the road and then stop it will idle, a bit rough, but it idles. However, you can be sitting at a light and all of a sudden it will try to die. Have to give it gas to get it running.

Also, there is a decent amount of coolant leaking out when I shut the car off after driving it. The water pump is about a year old, and the coolant does not seem to come from the radiator or any part of the cooling system. The car feels slightly soft on the top, but is not running too bad.

Checked plug wires, and all vacuum lines. Headgaskets were done about 10k miles ago when I put the worked heads on. The bad cold running and the leaking coolant/oil are my main reasons for thinking headgaskets. The car makes 15+ lbs. of boost. I am running a 75 dry shot on it, but symptoms started before I ever sprayed the car. At the time I thouht it was just a vacuum leak.

Any input, suggestions, or personal expierience stories would be greatly appriciated.

Brandon
 
If you have coolent getting in a cylinder, and partially fouling a plug.Meaning sometime
it misses then runs ok for a while.Will it miss after you give the car boost.And does it
miss when starting up in the morning. If so.this is a sign of a head gasket getting ready
to blow.You can pull the plugs and see if the plug looks cleaner than the other plugs.
If one is cleaner,like it has been steam cleaned.You may have a head gasket seaping.

When mine leaked it was the rear cylinder on the drivers side.I have read on line that it is
common for the rear driver side and passenger side to go first.

So you might want to pull the left or right cylinder plug wire off to check to see if the motor
idel changes.T hen if you find a cylinder that dosent change when you pull the plug wire.
then pull that plug and see if it has a cleaner look.

This may help you find the cylinder that is missing.Then go from there.

Good luck,hope it nothing big,RANDY
 
It really doesn't miss after getting on it, but it does have some part throtle "pops" that it never had before. It will not idle in the morning until you drive it down the road. I've had to sit in the car the last couple mornings while I let it warm up so I can give it some gas and keep it from dying. And also, it will idle fine at a lite then all of a sudden just start choking bad.

I am pulling plugs tomorrow, so I will have more information then. If I can't conclude anything from that I may run a leak down on it.

Brandon
 
Well just start by pulling each plug wire from the coil pack first to see which
cylinder is bad first. The cylinder that does not change when wire is pulled.

Then go to the plugs,to pull and inspect.

RANDY
 
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