i'm pretty sure my head gasket's blown, but here's some info on the progression of problems:

95 eclipse rs

been burning oil for almost a year now. prolly maybe up to about 1/2 quart per week now. whitish smoke from exhaust been occuring more and more frequently. a month or two ago started over heating. i found a small crack at the top of the radiator so i've just been topping it off (haven't had time to do any work on the car).

last night it was over heating again. after a 30 min drive it sat for the night. this morning, topped off the coolant again and the heat was ok. after driving for about 15 minutes, cel started flashing and sudden loss of power. started idleing like crap.

did a comp test when i got home and came up with: 170/0/200/210

i forget which way they're numbered so i'm using passenger as number 1.

i had a lot of oil in spark plug well 3. enough that there was oil up inside of the cable's boot. a little oil in well's 1&2 also. the spark plugs are at least a few years old and look like crap also...


soooo

is this prolly just a headgasket? worth fixing? i'd have to bring it to a shop to do the headgasket, radiator i can do myself. i'm also overdue for timing belt so that should be easy to do along with the headgasket.

any advice on other stuff to look for?


oh yea, cel codes:
12 36 32 43 55

the only new one is 43. the others are from the stupid EGR crap.

Only way to really tell is to pull it apart.. If you fix it might as well put new water pump and timing belt pulleys on there to..

I would definitely try to figure out what's up with cylinder 2. 0 compression is indicative of a much worse issue than a blown headgasket.

anything else i can do myself? i don't have an air compressor or a lot of time to take too much apart..

oil in the spark plug wells is most likely from leaking valve cover gaskets.

0 compression in cyl 2 is scary. do a wet compression test and see if it comes up any. that will let you know if it has bad rings too.

ok well wet compression test came back: 235/0/240/240

when i started it up after the wet test, a little smoke started coming out the front of the block. i couldn't tell if it was from the exhaust gasket or from lower down (head gasket) though...

bleah. idk what to do..

Pull the valvecover and inspect the valvetrain for cylinder 2. Look for any obvious signs of damage. With 0 compression, you may have lost a valve keeper and dropped a valve. If the valvetrain looks okay, I'd pull the pan and inspect the bottom end for any obvious signs of distress, e.g. big fucking holes, missing pistons, etc.

With a flat zero compression, whatever problem you have is going to be really obvious.

Originally posted by DarkOne
With a flat zero compression, whatever problem you have is going to be really obvious.

for some reason, that made me really laugh

Wow...your still alive?

Originally posted by eclipse982nrRST
Wow...you're still alive?

ficksed, it drives me nuts when people mess that simple rule up. you +are=YOU'RE. Your indicates possesion.

back to our regularly scheduled program.

like Dino said, pull the VC and take a look. if you lost a valve it won't be touching the cam like it's supposed to, possibly even the rocker might be sitting off to the side. there's a good chance it will be very obvious.

hmmm... i can't seem to locate my chilton's..

is there anything special i need to watch out for when removing/installing the VC? just unbolt everything, right?

Originally posted by MCubed45
hmmm... i can't seem to locate my chilton's.. is there anything special i need to watch out for when removing/installing the VC? just unbolt everything, right?

Basically, yeah. You probably don't want to reuse the valvecover gasket, but if there's valve damage, you're gonna need more than a VC gasket anyway.

ya. There is going to be something obvious above or below cyl 2. 0 compression is no good. Go to autozone and get a valve cover gasket. It takes hardly any time at all to remove the VC. If you can find a half hour of free time, go pull it off and take a look at the valvetrain.

k well i pulled the VC and oil pan and couldn't see anything noticeably wrong.. i'll post pics later.

i tried shining a light from the spark plug well but didn't see anything from the bottom..

also, what does it mean if i can hear a slight hissing as i advance the crank? it sounds like the sound is coming from different cylinders at different times. is that just air leaking past the rings?

Yes

how bad is it to drive like this?

its not bad to drive aruond like that if you dont care about your engine. if you have extra cash i would just drop it off at a garage and tell them to take a look at it.

If your sparkplugs are not in and you hear the hissing on different cylinders when you rotate the crank, that is not air passing by the rings, that is the air from the piston pushing it out of the spark plug hole.

Originally posted by halfasss101
If your sparkplugs are not in and you hear the hissing on different cylinders when you rotate the crank, that is not air passing by the rings, that is the air from the piston pushing it out of the spark plug hole.

Since you mentioned about your radiator with a crack. You should replace it I'd recommend the oe ones from autozone/advance both are the same advance is abit cheaper than autozone, since your all stock it'll get you.

I picked one up last week for 145.

You might as well buy new ARP head bolts, along with the HD gasket, vc gasket. Check you intake mani gasket too..

Could someone post the ARP part number for the ARP head bolts.

Originally posted by halfasss101
If your sparkplugs are not in and you hear the hissing on different cylinders when you rotate the crank, that is not air passing by the rings, that is the air from the piston pushing it out of the spark plug hole.

oh only spark plug 2 was out so i could shine the light inside. the other 3 were in.

hmm....maybe valve seals? have you done a compression check?

ok well, cars been sitting and the battery kepty dying for some reason. i'd have to drive it short distances every couple days so i've just been jumping it as needed. started ok last nite after a jump. this morning i tried to start it and got nothing. hooked up the jumper cables and the lights and stuff came on but it will not crank. the CEL does not come on at all. is this a dead ECU? the stock one died in 2004 and i replaced it with another used one.

Originally posted by MCubed45
ok well, cars been sitting and the battery kepty dying for some reason. i'd have to drive it short distances every couple days so i've just been jumping it as needed. started ok last nite after a jump. this morning i tried to start it and got nothing. hooked up the jumper cables and the lights and stuff came on but it will not crank. the CEL does not come on at all. is this a dead ECU? the stock one died in 2004 and i replaced it with another used one.

I'd just start by checking the simple stuff, battery cables and connections. I've seen where corrosion can get back inside the cables even when you can't see it on the outside.

the lack of the CEL when you turn the key over is worrysome though.

which connections would i check? when i hookup the jumper cables the interior lights come on along with the other alert lights on the dash that normally come on during startup. the cel is the only one that does not come on at all.

Mainly the cables that go to the starter. I've had them so coroded inside that I didn't even get a click out of the starter but the lights would come on and everything else worked fine. corrosion seems to grow exponentially from what I've noticed, at first it will just screw with you and then all of a sudden it'll slap you in the face with a big fat "Fuck You".

cut open the jacketing on the battery cables a few inches from the battery end with a razor blade, not so far that you can't just use a little electrical tape to fix it if it's still good. if you've got corrosion more than in inch back inside just replace the cable. you might also want to check the power lines going to the alternator and power distribution box too, just because the inside stuff works doesn't mean that the underhood stuff is ok.

I keep my battery terminals spotless but I've still had the corrosion monster get most of my cars bad enough that I've had to rewire the battery.

hmm i don't see any obvious signs of corrosion.

are there any other reasons why i would get no CEL at startup?

Originally posted by MCubed45
hmm i don't see any obvious signs of corrosion.

that's why I said to CUT the jacketing.

hmm well it started ok the next time i tried jumping it and ran enough to get to sears. battery checked out dead. replaced for free under warranty.

i guess i just gotta take it in to a shop to get the block checked out now.

since they're gonna prolly be pulling the head, is there anything else i should have done besides timing belt/water pump?

..or if i'm prolly gonna need head/block work, is it better/cheaper to just get a new/rebuilt block/head and get it swapped?

I'm surprised it runs on 3 cylinders...it would run like crap I'm sure. The "0" compression on cyl 2 is your biggest concern right now.

I wouldn't worry about anything else until you figure out whats going on with that cylinder--be it with the valves or rings or something completely different.

Depending on what you find there will guide the rest of your plans.

ok well the shop said it's a bad exhaust valve. they're estimating about $2k for everything. does that sound about right?

i've never pulled a head before so i'm kinda debating whether i should even try doing it myself and sending the head to a shop.

Originally posted by MCubed45
ok well the shop said it's a bad exhaust valve. they're estimating about $2k for everything. does that sound about right?

Are they doing a total complete rebuild of everything (block to head) for 2k?

Originally posted by bullettdsm

Originally posted by MCubed45 ok well the shop said it's a bad exhaust valve. they're estimating about $2k for everything. does that sound about right?

Are they doing a total complete rebuild of everything (block to head) for 2k?

i think it's just to pull the head and do the head work..

thats a rip off, do it yourself and it will cost you only 180 to get the head redone and looking new. thats not including the parts.

what else should i replace on the head? i talked to the guy at the shop when i picked up the car (told them i don't want the work done). he confirmed the compression numbers i got. he said he said he did a leak down test and found the exhaust valves on cylinder 2 leaking. he pulled the valve cover and couldn't find any play in the valves so he doesn't think it's a bad seal or anything.

should i be replacing all the valves at the same time? which other hardware should i get replaced as well? i think my dad's friend is gonna pull the head at his shop for cheap.

what else should i get done while the head's off? i'm at 170k. last owner had the head rebuilt at about 110k when his timing belt broke (didn't believe his mechanic when he told him to get the belt replaced ASAP). i'm guessing i should do the timing belt/water pump/pulleys/tensioner now?