Happened to me and I had to drive my car like that all the way from up at the mall :| It's this damn cold weather I tell you!! Anyways, I got oil in my coolant as well....this blows :|
91 Shadow, and the engine is a 2.2 - I'm hoping I didn't crack it (it's not a common occurance with this engine to my knowledge) and that it's a simple gasket replacement.
Actually that engine is very,very,very,very susceptable to cracked heads. Not to burst your bubble, but I would bet 10-1 that is cracked. I'm a service advisor at a Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep dealership. We see them pretty often.
This is only a TBI engine, not Turbo if it makes any diff (which I'm sure it does, but dunno if its for better or worse). I'm just keeping my fingers crossed, because I don't have too much money to put into this car for the time being
bobtist, I don't have the tools necessary to do it - my stepbrother's father is a great mechanic who helps me out whenever I need it - thank god When I mean simple, I mean money wise hehe
And Mayhem, I'll let you know. If it's too much I'll prolly pull one off of a junker - thanks!
Pulling one off of a junker would definetly be cheaper until you did it 2-3 more times after this one. That engine IS NOT one that I would recommend
putting a junkyard head on. I would at the very least get a repaired one.
Many places sell/specialize in heads that they fix the cracks and give a once over on the valves,seats,springs,seals,etc.
I've seen a few 2.2's and 2.5's with head gasket problems. Same Head for both engines. Only once have I found a cylinder head that wasn't cracked. on that one I replaced the gasket because the 2.2 and 2.5 have a history of blowing gaskets. Especially the 2.2's, they have a higher compression ratio then the 2.5's. 2.2's are notorious for having head gasket problems.
Actually that head will develop some cracks on its own that are just fine and others need to be welded/repaired, it just depends on the location. Your machine shop should take care of all that for you. I recommend you just let that head be repaired, its probably a better solution than salvage parts. Did it run dry of coolant? If it didn't run out of coolant its probably fine and it will just need a new gasket. When you have it done use the mopar performance gasket and bolts only. The felpro gasket sucks hard. As long as you weren't overheating/out of coolant I think you'll be okay and not have any warping/cracks. How long until you get the csx anyway?
It was a pretty long ride, it seemed to start sealing itself up as I kept driving - if that means anything. And when I looked in the coolant reservoir, it was filled pretty high, and it blew out onto some of the engine....
The CSX is coming in the 2nd weekend of March, I'm happy to report!
Oh, and BTW - do places like Pepboys/Autozone supply the MP gaskets/bolts? Please don't tell me they're special order
To get the Mopar gaskets, you'll have to go to a dealership. Don't worry, they are only a couple bucks more...but worth it. They've been redesigned, and work better. When you get the head off, it WILL be cracked between the valves. Take it to a machine shop to be pressure tested. There is a long way to go before these cracks hit coolant...you may be able to run it that way...or the machine shop will repair the cracks. Not too serious. If It's cracked from an exhaust seat to a sparkplug hole, you may be better off finding another head, repairs are not always successful.
Update, I took it down to the mechanic this morning and he took a look at it. Turns out there was no oil, it was just a side effect of looking into the reservoir at night Even if the head's cracked, that's good news. I'm still keeping my fingers crossed though...
i have blown my headgasket, took about 3 days to fix, $600. It works like a champ now, though. There was no water left in my radiator, it was all oil, so i flushed that, replaced the water pump, timing belt too, while i was down there. Its all in working order now.
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