Does this look like a blown head gasket?

[surfermatt95]

hey, im new here and im 16 currently working at wendys so i do not have enough for a mechanic or their pricey hours so i took apart my car ( if you dont want to read just look at pics ) i got the car for free, it overheated fast wouldnt go over 40 , very slow acceleration and would rock back an forth at 3 1/5 -4 rpms i could floor it and engine would rev higher but the speed wouldnt do much so lots of reduced power , so i tinked around , replaced fuel pump motor,fuel filter complete tuneup oil,trans oil, pcv, battery,sparkplugs,spark wires,flushed radiator,air filter and had problems with coolant disappearing fast like next day be completely empty with no stains on ground, went into engine down to the lim and followed that very helpful guide and where the water circulates was clogged completely with what look like brown sugar, dirt,and oil i cleared it out, replaced the gaskets and put back together... the car now started spitting water and i checked the cap.. yep residue not much but enough to know, the front left side of engine was was smoking a tiny bit from under heat manifold so i couldnt see where and today i ripped it apart and took the front head off and it didnt look good, there was water ontop the pistons but i think when i took head off the water spilled there and tomorrow i will do the back and see

[HOYS]

Yep.

[surfermatt95]

Thanks, i just took off the second one, its not blown but theres definitely a leak on all three cylinders

[AaronGTR]

Yeah, those gaskets are shot. I know you said you don't have a lot of cash for a mechanic etc, but from what you said of the coolant passages being blocked and everything else... there is a good chance that engine may have been overheated. The heads could be warped and if you put them back on they might still leak. You should find an engine/machine shop you can take the heads to and have them check them with a straight edge and see if they are flat. Otherwise you'll just be wasting money on new gaskets/coolant.

It shouldn't cost much just to have them check the heads to make sure they'll seal. If they are good, you can put them back on. If not you should get them fixed, and you'll still save some money by putting the engine back together yourself.

[surfermatt95]

i checked it myself with a straight edge, seemed pretty good, so i cleaned the tops of pistons best i could til they werent black and the carbon came off easy, the guy at autozone over torqued the torque wrench , i shouldve checked but he assured me, i ended up snapping a bolt off into the head, i was really pissed , took off the exhaust manifold again which was a pain to take off and on and luckily the bolt snapped half an inch above the block! and it came loose very easy, so i put new bolts on.. i believe 33 ft/lb plus 30 degrees? its either 30 degrees or 90 im pretty sure the 90 degrees was the rocker arms, anyways i did that let the engine sit like that for a day and went back to tighten a tiny tiny bit more to be safe and put it all together, i just need to get a fuel regulator (snapped mine off while taking it apart) and thats all that is waiting til i can see how my gasket skills are :P

[Nick-G]

Originally Posted by surfermatt95

i checked it myself with a straight edge, seemed pretty good,

They are either flat or they are not. Do you have a manual for torque specifications etc?

Originally Posted by surfermatt95

so i cleaned the tops of pistons best i could til they werent black and the carbon came off easy,

Nothing wrong with cleaning them but it isn't necessary. What are you using the clean the mating surfaces before putting the gaskets in?

Originally Posted by surfermatt95

the guy at autozone over torqued the torque wrench , i shouldve checked but he assured me, i ended up snapping a bolt off into the head, i was really pissed , took off the exhaust manifold again which was a pain to take off and on and luckily the bolt snapped half an inch above the block! and it came loose very easy, so i put new bolts on.. i believe 33 ft/lb plus 30 degrees? its either 30 degrees or 90 im pretty sure the 90 degrees was the rocker arms, anyways i did that let the engine sit like that for a day and went back to tighten a tiny tiny bit more to be safe and put it all together, i just need to get a fuel regulator (snapped mine off while taking it apart) and thats all that is waiting til i can see how my gasket skills are :P

This part confuses me. What do you mean when you say the guy at autozone over torqued the wrench? And which bolt did you snap?

[02GT_SkyHigh]

Hey just an FYI, I had a major problem with the Cat converter after I replaced my leaking head-gaskets. the coolant that leaks into the cylinder, goes out the exhaust as hot steam and hits your cat melting the honeycomb shape. Like i said, may not be necessary but just a heads up. good luck with the build. Most shops can resurface the heads for you for around $30.

Low End Power Surging

[surfermatt95]

Originally Posted by Nick-G

They are either flat or they are not. Do you have a manual for torque specifications etc?

autozone gave me some numbers and i verified it online


Nothing wrong with cleaning them but it isn't necessary. What are you using the clean the mating surfaces before putting the gaskets in?





This part confuses me. What do you mean when you say the guy at autozone over torqued the wrench? And which bolt did you snap?

autozone gave me some numbers and i verified it online


i used... fuel stabilizer *it cleaned it shiny*


he set the setting too high and i didnt check it, and the third bolt from the right on the head closest to the hood but on the rear side of it.

[surfermatt95]

Originally Posted by 02GT_SkyHigh

Hey just an FYI, I had a major problem with the Cat converter after I replaced my leaking head-gaskets. the coolant that leaks into the cylinder, goes out the exhaust as hot steam and hits your cat melting the honeycomb shape. Like i said, may not be necessary but just a heads up. good luck with the build. Most shops can resurface the heads for you for around $30.

Low End Power Surging

what was the symptoms the cat gave you?

[surfermatt95]

alright drove it today... no more symptoms of head gasket but still its making a weird muffled noise like "vruh vruh vruh vruh" and got codes pulled, it said maf so i cleaned it , and still i have no clue whats wrong with it, the temp stays about 201 -202 and i dont have a resinator on it either the dude cut it off thinking it was the cat

[surfermatt95]

but it doesnt accelerate fast... the engine rpms will raise right but the cars speed wont
like the transmisson is bad or something , not sure the engines at 133k and i just replaced fluid on tranny and there wasnt a whole lot of metal on the magnet

[02GT_SkyHigh]

Originally Posted by surfermatt95

but it doesnt accelerate fast... the engine rpms will raise right but the cars speed wont
like the transmisson is bad or something , not sure the engines at 133k and i just replaced fluid on tranny and there wasnt a whole lot of metal on the magnet

Im almost positive it is the cat. like 99%. In the first video on that thread I posted, I was at WOT! I had to have the car at almost full throttle to make it up a 6% grade at 55-60mph.....

Edit: When I pulled my old cat off, I wanted to see if it was plugged or restricting flow, so I filled it with water and it was barely trickling out the bottom!

[surfermatt95]

Originally Posted by 02GT_SkyHigh

Im almost positive it is the cat. like 99%. In the first video on that thread I posted, I was at WOT! I had to have the car at almost full throttle to make it up a 6% grade at 55-60mph.....

Edit: When I pulled my old cat off, I wanted to see if it was plugged or restricting flow, so I filled it with water and it was barely trickling out the bottom!

but would that make the engine sound like its missing out? rocking back and forth? im guessing its my ign coil .. the codes got pulled and maf was on there

[surfermatt95]

my car wont even accelerate that fast, ill have to make a vid

[Nick-G]

I would have to agree with the others it does sound like a clogged cat.

[surfermatt95]

sounds like my car, when u give it has it surges and wont do anything, what do you know, same engine too

[surfermatt95]

alright theres a video of my car, the camera will be right side up about a minute into the video

[slw240sx]

Originally Posted by surfermatt95

but would that make the engine sound like its missing out? rocking back and forth? im guessing its my ign coil .. the codes got pulled and maf was on there

yes, it can cause all of that, and more. clogged cat can severly damage a engine including causing it to blow a head gasket or worse damage rings

[surfermatt95]

that may be why my head gasket leaked

[02GT_SkyHigh]

Heres what I got...Totally fixed the problem. Even better than it was before...
http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-5-Magnaflo...sories&vxp=mtr

The sound your motor is making is the same sound that mine made.
No the headgasket may have just been worn out. the problem is when it goes bad, the coolant leaks into the cylinder, then goes out the exhaust as steam. This moisture totally beats up the 'honeycomb' inside the cat. Mine looked like someone took a torch to the inlet side. it was all melted pretty bad. I had this SAME problem your having for a while after I did new head-gaskets. I tried new injectors, swapping coil packs, changed the fuel filter. then the new Cat fixed it...