chaka
Founding Member
They are telling you to make sure it is the headgasket and not something else before you take it all apart. If it is busted fix it yourself for sure, but if it isn't then don't mess with it.
Three words you never want to hear...unless you are a mechanic
- Thread starter toadstang
- Start date
svoman2300
New Member
Does the car run like crap? Is there coolant in the oil? Is there oil in the coolant? Only thing I was asking is that I didn't see you complain about how the engine was running just oil on the block. Maybe I'm wrong but I have never seen a blown head gasket cause oil on the engine. It usually blows at the compression ring. I don't think I've ever heard of a NA blowing a head gasket unless it was seriously overheated. We aren't bashing you, alot of us here know what a task it is to change the head gasket and don't want to see you do something that is not nessecary. Just because the mechanic is a "friend" of your dads doesn't mean he wouldn't lie or misdiagnose the problem. How did the mechanic arrive at his conclusion? Did he do a compression test? Just trying to help. If you feel the need to pull the head off of a car, go to a junkyard where you pull the parts yourself and yank a head off of a Mustang and you can look inside and then walk away.
Sorry i typed all that before I read your other post let me think about this and get back to you. Maybe a bad pcv valve causing a vacuum problem?
Sorry i typed all that before I read your other post let me think about this and get back to you. Maybe a bad pcv valve causing a vacuum problem?
Lx89Stang05
Founding Member
well i hate to have my car blow a head gasket when im over 100miles away from home at the autocross track and dragway. and there no way im paying some one to towe it home.and i have no way of getting a trailor.
The engine had been overheated beforehand, at my account, of summer, the sucky fan, and intersate traffic. No, there isnt any coolant in the oil, but the guy said that sooner or later there would be. He told me that it would be fine to drive around town, but it would soon turn for the worse down the road. So instead of me driving around one day and it busting all the way and then bending a rod or piston, I figure Id take the initiative and just spend a little less, do it and get it over with. I wasn't saying that anyone was bashing me I was just confused and I'm upset about my car. I know of the task I have ahead of me which is why I'm getting all the info I can. I also figure while I have all that out I can check the head and see its condition as well as the rest of the engine. I'm going to be my own mechanic for once. Look everything over, clean everything off, and fix any problems that I come into contact with. I want the car to run smooth, and it just isnt doing that right now. Something is wrong, and I want to find it.
chaka
Founding Member
Well you probably cracked the head, but so has a quarter of this board. 2.3's are notorious for this. And the car should fine with the crack. If there is no coolant in your oil then I wouldn't remove the head. Because your head gasket is fine. When the gasket goes you get a plume of steam out of your tailpipe and a milkshake in your oilpan.
Change your valve cover (use the rubber one -> reusable) and pcv valve and take a look at all your vacuum lines first.
Change your valve cover (use the rubber one -> reusable) and pcv valve and take a look at all your vacuum lines first.
true MustangPatty, there are lot of signs to look for. Excessive steam out the tailpipe (with a funny smell)... bubbles coming up the rad.... miss fires, spark plugs wet with coolant ect.
In short, don't replace the HG unless it shows signs that it leaking. I don't know what your mechanic was talking about, but I have never heard of overheating the engine leading to head gasket years afterwards. if it was going to fail, it would have failed when you overheated it.
Also, if you do take it appat (and or it is blown) you may need to have the head milled flat.... especially if it was overheated. Heck, mill it anyway, and add some torque and hp.
Also, the HG on an NA 2.3l is not going to go out violently. The cylinder pressure simply arn't that high... especially compared to a turbo motor.
In short, don't replace the HG unless it shows signs that it leaking. I don't know what your mechanic was talking about, but I have never heard of overheating the engine leading to head gasket years afterwards. if it was going to fail, it would have failed when you overheated it.
Also, if you do take it appat (and or it is blown) you may need to have the head milled flat.... especially if it was overheated. Heck, mill it anyway, and add some torque and hp.
Also, the HG on an NA 2.3l is not going to go out violently. The cylinder pressure simply arn't that high... especially compared to a turbo motor.
bhuff, I am getting a smell inside the car that is noticable at higher speeds., and it does smell weird. Plus I have water in my exhaust every now and then. Matter of fact the other day is when I noticed that cuz I was on my driveway and it was dripping out my tail pipe. And I was thinking about doing that while I had the head out anyway. 
That sounds good, but what you describe could definatly be something other than a HG. With the smell of coolant inside the passanger compartment, there is a good chance that the heater core is rotted out. As for the water out the tailpipe.... it is winter, and a lot of condensation occurs in there. Just food for though.toadstang said:bhuff, I am getting a smell inside the car that is noticable at higher speeds., and it does smell weird. Plus I have water in my exhaust every now and then. Matter of fact the other day is when I noticed that cuz I was on my driveway and it was dripping out my tail pipe. And I was thinking about doing that while I had the head out anyway.
If you have the tools, time an drive, do some porting too!
I got the car back today. It is defintiely a problem with the head, whether it be gasket or the head itself, but my dad and i went out cuz the guy had cleaned the compartment up really good and you can see right where the oil is coming out from the head on the exhaust manifold side. So it looks like this weekend Im going to still pop her open and take a look. I have people that will give me rides so I'm set there. I'll open it up and take pics and show you all my progress and stuff when I get to my findings. And bhuff, the porting keeps sounding better and better....so maybe I'll just stay with the "busted" gasket theory even if it isn't just for the old man to chew on. 
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