3 weeks ago I went for a 10 min drive in the crisp winter air and the car seemed to be running fine but about 1 minute before I got to my house I noticed the engine temp spiking as I was stopped. It quickly rose to about 250°F for about 10 seconds but as I began moving again it came back down and then I shut the car off 1 minute later. When I opened up the hood I found the radiator fan had become disconnected.
The problem was today when I started the car up after having sat for so long I immediately noticed some clatter coming from the head(s). I shut the car off and checked the oil and it looked milky on the edges of the dip stick but normal in the center of the dipstick. I didn't smell or see any coolant coming out of the exhaust. I drained the oil and it actually looked ok but there did seem to be a very small amount of either coolant or water in the oil.
I pulled the spark plugs out and they all looked good (but if I did blow the HG the car wouldn't have ran for long enough to have done significant damage. Compression was 175, 170, 185, 175, 170, 175, 185, 175 and the compression gauge was not in the best condition.
Do you think the variation in the compression #s is acceptable? Is it likely I blew the headgasket from the overheat? What could possibly have happened to let a small amount of coolant into the oil? Any other tests I should perform? I was going to fill it back up with oil and see if itis better. The engine has about 500 miles on it.
The problem was today when I started the car up after having sat for so long I immediately noticed some clatter coming from the head(s). I shut the car off and checked the oil and it looked milky on the edges of the dip stick but normal in the center of the dipstick. I didn't smell or see any coolant coming out of the exhaust. I drained the oil and it actually looked ok but there did seem to be a very small amount of either coolant or water in the oil.
I pulled the spark plugs out and they all looked good (but if I did blow the HG the car wouldn't have ran for long enough to have done significant damage. Compression was 175, 170, 185, 175, 170, 175, 185, 175 and the compression gauge was not in the best condition.
Do you think the variation in the compression #s is acceptable? Is it likely I blew the headgasket from the overheat? What could possibly have happened to let a small amount of coolant into the oil? Any other tests I should perform? I was going to fill it back up with oil and see if itis better. The engine has about 500 miles on it.