ok pros, few questions, newbie

EricMcIntire

Registered User
alright heres the deal.. just picked up a 1991 SC with 89,000 miles on it for $150... tranny slips a lot and doesn't hold fluid at all, lost 5 quarts in 2 miles. AND I think the headgasket is blown, well Im pretty sure its blown judging by all the white smoke comming out of the exhaust... alright so give me all the advice you've got..... and if you know where I can get a cheap head gasket set let me know

thanks
eRic
 
ok were to start... your headgaskets.. yes u are going to need to replace them... dont drive the car anymore seeing as how u have white smoke coming out of the rear u are probably going to have to rebuild ur engine... bcause the coolant might have contaminated the oil system... your best bet is FEL-PRO HEAD GASKETS, i havent used them but they say they are good..
see if there is coolant in the oil, if there is then ur gonna have to rebuild the whole engine because coolant might have gotten in between the bearings..

well as for your transmission... tighten all the lines... replace the filter and the fluid... drop in a bottle of LUCAS TRANSMISSION FIX, 8 bucks a bottle but will save ur transmission, you say u cant hold the fluid? then the fluid is burnt thats why and will leak out throught the seals because it turns into something thinner than water... but dont worry... the LUCAS transmission fix will help... its nice and thick... make sure the lines to the radiator arent clogged. because it will heat up the fluid quicker and burn it.
 
thanks

alright thanks a lot, hope I dont have to rebuild, that sounds scarry... I gotta figure out how to get it up to NH to put it in my cousin's garage, he knows his $hit.... I hope it all works out... worse comes to worse, you think I can sell it as is for more than the $150 I paid for it?
 
Eric are you in Mass?You said you have to go UP to NH.Well if you are,your best bet is tow it on a flat bed and use triple A service.If you dont have it, you can get an gold AAA membership and they will tow up to 100 miles at no cost.I just did the same with my SC and it didnt cost a dime.I also know a tow guy who will do it for you if your in my area.He'll just bill it as a flag-down tow for AAA.I am in the Woburn area.Let me know.If not,I'd be willing to by the car for 300 ,maybe more,if it will suit my needs for a donor car.
 
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thanks

hey thanks for the offer but I think I have a guy from around here that can bring it up for me pretty soon... as for the car, I think I wanna get it running so I can get a few more bucks for it.. I'm hoping that the repairs will be painless enough, I really need to find out where the tranny fluid is comming from.. I think thats the main problem. if you have any suggestions I'd love to hear, if it turns out to be more of a project than Im anticipating than I'll keep you in mind. thanks
 
Ps

PS I'm up in Middleton MA.. the reason I wanna get the car running is that its in very good body condition, I dont see many 91 vehicles around here with no undercarrage rust... also just got a new starter, steering pump, and lots of other stuff put in right before I got my hands on it for $150. so again if you have any idea what the tranny problem is, let me know.
 
Thats cool-I am just in the market for a donor SC for some needed parts and just saw your post metioning that you may unload it AND your in my state.If your keeping it thats cool too-nice to see more SC's on the road-not too many around here for some reason.As far as doing the headgaskets,it's not too bad-just time comsuming,and yes,I hear the felpro's are good-I think they are around 100 bucks .As far as the tranny leak,I'm kinda at a loss-you're losing MAD fliud!Maybe pan gasket(check bolts or replace).You did mention that the car only had 89k on it,maybe there is a seal dried up from sitting(I assume it sat for awhile because of the miles along with the age.All i have done is REPLACE trannies on mine(on my 5th in 9 years,32k miles!! :eek: and yeah I've owned my SC for 9 years-gluton for punishment :rolleyes: )so I cant do any more than guess.Well if you do change your mind about selling,let me know-its sold.Good luck
 
Can you tell if the rear transmission seal is leaking?
Mine was missing the plug in the yolk and the seal was ok.
 
Before you get worried about the headgaskets. Was the car not run for a long period of time i.e. a month or more? If I don't use one of the cars with high milage for awhile white smoke will come out for awhile till it gets nice and hot running. I don't know if the 2 miles were enough to get that residue out.
 
thanks for all the help[

thanks for all the help guys... anyone have any step by step instructions for finding the tranny fluid leak? and beyond that, where can I find step by step instructions to replace headgasket... or how do I check to see if the gasket is even the problem.. there is a LOT of smoke. I'll check my oil when I get home from work tonight and let you guys know. so all the advice would be really helpful. its got so many new parts and the body is pretty good so I really wanna get it going. oh yea, not technical, but how do I replace that rubber ***** that is between the door and the back window? mine is peeling and looks like crap, thanks guys.
 
oil

ok just checked the oil so I could hopefully get some feedback by tonight.... doesn't look good. its WAY over full and it got the color of chocolate milk kinda... I dont know how to explain it but it doesn't look like oil. anyways, what does this mean? thanks.
 
welcome to the headgasket club, its ur headgaskets, they are dead, dont drive anymore, take the car to ur mechanic or the shop and tear it apart. good luck man
 
doh

DOH! any one know of anywhere I could get a step by step headgasket replacement for the 1991 SC? let me know!! or how much could I buy a 3.8 for and drop it in? are there any bigger engines that the Supercharger would bolt to? let me know..
 
3.8 na

how many miles on it? would all the equiptment from the SC bolt right up to it? would it be the same engine thats in there just without the SC? thanks
 
From what I understand,the NA 3.8 is NOT the same engine.Pistons are different and so on.Your best bet is to do the headgaskets on your existing engine.
 
ok

alright I'll give it a shot.... doesn't look like much fun though, I'm gonna try to find that tranny leak first. I dont know how Im gonna do that but we'll see, thanks
 
1st put the car on a hoist and get under it.
Check the pan gasket.....
Check the tail of the trans....
Check the front bellhousing.....
Follow the steel lines from the bottom of the rad back to the trans....any oil leaking? :(
Look around the speed sensor and linkage shafts.....
You should be able to find the leak...
Does it leave a puddle on the floor? :eek:
 
thanks

thanks for the step by step, I'll check it out this weekend, it doesn't leave a puddle, it leaves a pool haha. but it only leaks when I hit the gas... dunno what thats all about
 
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