Blown Head gasket photos

gw-west

Registered User
Hi everyone... I don't do much posting. :eek: I blew the head gasket in my '89 Merc Couger XR-7 SC awhile back, and finally got around to pulling the head off. Here are some photos on the blown head gasket, for those members who may not have had the pleasure of making his aqaintance (yet)!! :p

Does anyone have any suggestions for me before I put the new heads on? I bought a set of mildly ported heads from Arron Pedroza (thanks!).


...more photos at: http://groups.msn.com/headgasket/shoebox.msnw
 

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Those pics look like just about every other set of pictures I've seen with head gasket failure. About the same spot.

What were you planning on doing for the head gaskets? Are you doing anything with the lower end?
 
Mike8675309 said:
What were you planning on doing for the head gaskets?

I saw them on the supercoupeperformance site for like $135, and at Autozone for around $80 for a Felpro set. Any suggestions? or part numbers?

Mike8675309 said:
Are you doing anything with the lower end?

I wasn't really planning on it. Should I? Isn't it a lot of work to do with the engine still in the bay?

Thanks,
Chris
 
gw-west said:
Should I? Isn't it a lot of work to do with the engine still in the bay?

It depends on how far you tried to drive after the gasket went. Anything over 5 miles and I'd say you should. I have been down the blown gasket route with mine, and it IS a lot of work, but in my mind totally worth it.
 
that's bad

looking at your pics ...looks like alot of corrosion ...covering the water jackets
from not using distilled water ..highly recomend flushing out your rad and heater core...dave
 
I would consider pulling the pan and check for evidence of coolant. You may need to go even as far as pulling one of the rod caps to check the bearings.

How many miles on that engine? If you've already got it out of the car you might consider doing a basic rebuild. New rod and crank bearings. New rings... the basic stuff. Then get the head mating surfaces on the block for flatness as well as the heads themselves.

There was a thread recently where people made some good suggestions on what all to do when rebuilding a motor if you think you might want to go that way.
(here is one thread, check for them by CaliFanSC http://www.sccoa.com/forums/showthread.php?t=50167&highlight=machine+shop)

For sure you'll want to at least check the deck surface for flatness. You need a straight edge to check that.
 
MercsSC said:
..highly recomend flushing out your rad and heater core...dave

Should I do this after I finish putting the engine back together? Or should I just shove a garden hose into the radiator and turn it on?

ILikeFtLbs said:
It depends on how far you tried to drive after the gasket went. Anything over 5 miles and I'd say you should.

I drove it about 17 miles with the blown HG. stopped a couple times when the temp got too high, let it cool off for an hour or 2. But when I drained the oil (a few weeks after the HG blew), there wasn't any coolant in the oil (that I could see).

The engine block is still in the car, I don't have the equipment to pull it out. Is there something I should (or could) do on the lower-end without pulling the engine?

The car has 100,000 miles on the odometer, but carfax flagged it with a possible roll-back of 30,000 miles from a previous sale.

If I pull one of the rod caps, what would I look for to determine if more work is needed?

Thanks guys,
Chris
 
Pulling the pan when it's in the chassis isn't easy. So I wouldn't sweat the rod bearings unless you are planning to pull the motor. Get the heads cleaned up and checked for cracks. Check the deck surface to make sure it's flat and not a problem. Then bolt the heads back on with new gaskets. Change all the oil, run the engine for an hour, then change the oil again.

Then hope it holds together. Because that's about all you can do without actually pulling the block and going further.
 
flush

Should I do this after I finish putting the engine back together? Or should I just shove a garden hose into the radiator and turn it on?

heater core ..would be easy to flush with the heads off now.. and you have lots of room to get at a hoses ...rad I'd wait till it's almost back together and flush ..less time for rust or corrosion to build up if the system is left open to the air

hg1.JPG

yours is very similar to the way mine went..my rad was plugged full of deposits..slowing the flow down ..and over heating in traffic..then pumping the coolant out the overflow bottle ..via the blown hg ...yours looks worse ..can't even see the lower coolant transfer hole between the cyclinders ....dave
 
this does not look good 2 me

attachment.php

I am seeing way too much ring and piston don't look round and a big grove in cyclinder wall ..maybe it's just the angle ...anyone else see it ? look normal ? ...dave
 
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ring land

I concur, looks like some of the ring land is gone, and see the top ring which is bad, and will not last just to put heads back on it. this far apart, take it down and be time and $$ ahead.

my cents worth.

willie
 
MercsSC said:
attachment.php

I am seeing way too much ring and piston don't look round and a big grove in cyclinder wall ..maybe it's just the angle ...anyone else see it ? look normal ? ...dave

...I'll take a couple more photos and post them tonight. I took those photos in the sun with all kinds of wierd shadows, and right when I took off the heads. Now I've cleaned things up a bit. I just want to rule out a bad photo as what your seeing.

I really would HATE to have to pull the engine out (since I've never done anything like that before). But I trust the years of experiance you all have over me.

Thanks again,
Chris
 
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