confused

PjsBird

Registered User
ok, now im confused.... some people are telling me i have blown headgaskets, some people are saying something else... here are the exact symptoms....

- Oil level has skyrocketed
-exhaust gas coming from the oil dipstick tube with the engine running
-when i remove the oil cap with the motor running, exhaust comes from there too....
-no power while driving
-and just recently, car will struggle to start, and as soon as i drop it into drive, it either stalls, or struggles...
-oil burning off the exhaust manifold (driver side) and its not the valve covers, those were just done
-when i was taking it around the block, while in drive i noticed a nasty cliicking while i accelerated... somewhere under the car... very loud, and only in drive while accelerating, not in neutral while coasting (even giving it gas in neutral)

please, i need help with this, i dont want to invest in headgaskets if its something else...
 
Last edited:
Blown Headgaskets?

You've described a lot of symptoms, which all helps, but the one I noticed first may be your most important clue. You said the OIL LEVEL SKYROCKETED.
With what? I doubt if you added oil to it. Theres one main reason it does this.
It's called Water Added, which means (usually) Blown Head Gaskets. Whats the oil on the dipstick look like? If its white/milky in color, thats from water.
Instead of guessing, two diagnostic/mechanical tests will tell you the hidden story inside your block/heads. I know its a pain with the IC tubes and all, but thats just the way it is. Heres my advice: First pull off the IC tubes so that you can get to the plugs.Pull a valve cover and take a look. If its got the same milky looking white crud in there, you got trouble, as in off with their heads. If not, run a compression check on each cylinder, try to have some one who has done this before help you, as the same method should be done on all 6 cylinders. Write down yor numbers for each cyl. When you find a low one, next, do a Leakdown Test on it. This uses compressed air, and wherever you have a major air leak, that points the way to your problem.This tells you either intake, exhaust, piston/ring problem, or gasket/cracked head problem. If you hear air hissing from IC tube to Int. manifold, intake valve. From Exhaust system, exh. valve. From oil fill tube/crankcase could be gasket OR piston/ring problem. If you see air bubbles coming up from radiator, then its a possible cyl. to water jacket(read that as head gasket) problem.
Another thing, have you noticed a loss of coolant either in the recovery tank and/or radiator? Its gotta go somewhere, and usually its into the crankcase, rather than out the exhaust, especially when your "oil level skyrockets".
A compression and leakdown test can tell you many things about the internal condition of your engine, evn if it runs fine! It's surprising how many people have not heard of these two tests, and instead, do endless guessing of possibilities. When it comes right down to it, if you know you've got a major problem, its going to have to come apart anyway. A little bit of diagnostic testing beforehand can eliminate a lot of things, and tell you exactly where to look to get it corrected. Hope I've been of some help...........
Best of luck, (and low expense) with getting your 'Bird flying again!
 
Also, you may be looking at a lot more than just a hg job at this point... From what you describe, if you did blow a head gasket and have been driving like that, you very well may have done some internal damage to the engine. Coolant and bearings don't mix very well. :(

Just keep that in mind - many who put any kind of mileage on an engine with blown hg's often need a total rebuild shortly after doing a hg job because the bearing take a real hit.
 
you really need to stop driving it and starting it but from the clicking sound that you described its to late and your motor is about to eat it. hear is a simple test drain your oil and see what color it is and see how much come out. if here is coolant in the oil then more than likely its the head gasket. regaurdless of what the problem is if there is coolant in the oil the heads have got to come off.
 
I have low coolant but that's due to the hose that runs on the passengers side of the motor having a crack in it. It's gonna get fixed soon. Sorry about the problems man. I think you may want to stop driving it until you get it figured out. That's why i have 2 vehicles, just in case 1 breaks. If both break i'm screwed. :(
 
coolent

ok, first, havn't been driving tha car for the last six monts, except for a lap or tow around the block.... second, i got in a front ender that cracked my rad, so my coolent was low already.... as far as the oil is concerned, it is still its normal color, but the level has gone way up. Ive been told my best bet is to just put a used engine in for now, and slowly rebuild the old one... i dont know... i have very limited money, and i need my car backk...loli do have another car that is my daily driver, but its no bird... thanks for the imput guys
 
Ya gotta quit driving it, even starting it is stupid! Drain the oil, simple task. Water will be on the bottom, so it is possible to get a clean reading from the stick, but not likely. Just don't start it anymore. Unless you live in a very strange neighborhood where folks come around and when no one is looking and add oil to your crankcase, there is but one explanation. Coolant in the oil, simple as that¿
 
PjsBird said:
ok, first, havn't been driving tha car for the last six monts, except for a lap or tow around the block.... second, i got in a front ender that cracked my rad, so my coolent was low already.... as far as the oil is concerned, it is still its normal color, but the level has gone way up. Ive been told my best bet is to just put a used engine in for now, and slowly rebuild the old one... i dont know... i have very limited money, and i need my car backk...loli do have another car that is my daily driver, but its no bird... thanks for the imput guys

From what your saying, the motor is toast. As was said earlier, the only thing that would increase your oil level is coolant in the oil pan. The missing and stalling indicates that you got no compression on at least one cylinder. The metalic clicking indicates that the coolant has already caused damaged to the motor.

Since coolant is heavier than oil it sinks to the bottom oy the oil pan where it is sucked up by the oil pump and circulated thru the entire engine. So everything from your crankshaft to your rocker arms is being contaminated by the coolant.

If it were me.....I'd take your freinds advice and install a used motor, because what you have now is most likely not worth repairing.

David
 
If it were me.....I'd take your freinds advice and install a used motor, because what you have now is most likely not worth repairing.



Wait, it's a whole lot more fun to rebuild it, do it right and make it fast. A used what, another one that has been abused? I am a firm believer in the fact that most of the blown head gaskets I read about non-stop are caused by detonation. What causes detonation? Peeps that are either not smart enough or are too cheap to read what it says on the dashboard of our cars, PREMIUM ONLY, I have had my '90 since new, have been running a 10% pulley since day one and do not think I will ever have head gasket problems. Should I knock on wood now, or wait till bedtime¿
 
The last 2 SCs i've seen blow HGs... Crack the oil drain plug a little bit when it's all cooled down. If you're HGs are blown you will see clear fluid (water) come out of the oil plug before any oil comes out. That's just my experience.
 
Back
Top