Blown head gaskets????

ThunderDave

Registered User
I"VE GOT PROBLEMS!!! ON THE WAY HOME FROM WORK FRIDAY MORNING MY SC STARTED RUNNING ROUGH AND OVERHEATING

I HAD INSTALLED A NEW WATER PUMP ON WEDNESDAY AND IT HAD RUN FINE AFTER THAT

IT HAD COOLANT IN THE RECOVERY TANK BUBBLING BUT THE OIL LOOKED GOOD WITH NO TRACE OF COOLANT IN IT

COULD THE WATER PUMP BE BAD ALREADY AND NOT CIRCULATING THE COOLANT CAUSING IT TO OVERHEAT?

COULD THE THERMOSTAT BE BAD?

OR IS IT MORE THAN LIKELY THE HEAD GASKETS BLOWN?

ANY HELP ON FIGURING OUT MY PROBLEM WOULD BE MUCH APPRECIATED

THANKS

DAVID
 
I used to have problems because my radiator was old and little pieces of junk from inside it would clog my thermostat, and it never happened until I changed my water pump, but could just be coincidence. Another time I wanted to be extra sure that I didnt get any leaks from the thermostat gasket so I put a little bead of RTV on it and some got in and messed up the thermostat, so most likely I'd say its not your pump. Take it apart and check the thermostat, if theres little pieces of rust and gunk try flushing your rad. Good luck.
 
First off how many miles are on your SC? And what mods have you done to it?

Now, where did you get your water pump? When you replaced to pump did you fill it up with colant of a 50/50 mixture? Did you let it set for a hour with the radiator cap off so that any air in the system could leave the radiator other wise know as "berping" the radiator?

Is there any smoke coming out of your tail pipes?

I tried to hit on everything I could think of. I have replaced the water pumps on both my 35th and XR7 and it could just be that there is air in the system.

Shane
 
gaskets!!!

I just got done checking it. I added some water to it and cranked it up. It still ran rough and white smoke and a little water was coming out of the tail pipes. Head gaskets????

It's a 91 and there was 197,000+ on the car when I got it in July. It probably has 205,000 now. I don't know what work had been done to it before I bought it. I've added flowmasters and a 5% OD pulley.

I'm debating now on whether to fix it or part it out.

Any thoughts????

thanks for the info,

David
 
Some of the indicators you describe are symptoms of this.

What was your reason for changing the water pump? Did a specific event precipitate this?

You would likely have either coolant or oil contamination in the event of headgasket failure.. though its not absolute.
 
super91coupe

I suggest you stop driving your car or you will do damage that is not fixable. I kept driving my SC with bad HG's and ended up wasting the whole engine. I had to replace the whole block.

If you ever get around to doing a compression test. All cylinders should be 150psi when new. 120 psi or above is acceptable. Now there are exceptions. Lets say you are getting only 90 psi this could mean you have a valve that is carboned up . Add some engine cleaner to your gas to ensure that the valves are clean and seating properly. Perhaps SEA FOAM. Now just because you have a cylinder that is down on compression doesn't mean that the HG's are blown it could be worn or broken rings. A car is still drivable with lets say 50 psi as long as there is not water getting in . However you will be down on power. The more compression you have the more power you will have ...... Good Luck
 
I'm a recently recovered head gasket victim. Here are the symptoms I experienced. You can draw your own conclusions in your situation.

In the vicinity of 119,8XX. . . .
- started running rough, like a miss. Drove home 8 miles and parked it. Never overheated or ran hot.
- started it up a few times over the next few days to troubleshoot.
Never ran more than 5 minutes at idle each time. No smoke, no coolant in oil, no oil in coolant, fluid levels okay. Thought it was a fuel or electrical problem.
- Last time I had it running, after a few minutes started seeing a large amount of coolant drip out of the seams in both mufflers (not tail pipes) Still no other symptoms outside of running rough.
- WTF! Shock, panic, anger, despair. . . . called mechanic and drove it to the shop 2 miles away. By the time I got there, lots of white smoke.

All fixed now and running quite well. Back in service as the daily driver.
 
head gaskets

Yeah, it's parked and I started on the tear down today. Last week, there was a little drip from the front of the engine. I found that the water pump was leaking from the weep hole. I'm going to go ahead and fix it because I love the car and after only having it 6 months, I'm not ready to let it go yet. This will also give me the chance to change the spark plugs easily and get the radiator checked. Are ther any specific things to remember in the tear down or rebuild of everything, other than correct torques???

Thanks for the help guys.

David ;)
 
New head bolts.

Search the forums for head gaskets. There's alot more knowledgeable SC folks out here than I. I'm just a well informed owner!

When mine was done, also had solid engine mounts, ignition wires, plugs and two noisy tensioner pulleys replaced.

In 2001, I had a coolant leak behind the timing cover so the timing chain, gears, water pump, belts and hoses were all replaced while it was apart. Had like 102k on the clock then.
 
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