(Questions at bottom if you're not interested in the back story lol)

First up, whats up ya'll, new here, got a 1995 Eclipse GS very light mods (intake / headers / tip and little here and there) everything else is cosmetic -


Anyway, long story short, old engine bit the dust due to hydro lock ( ), splash guard had broke and allowed a large amount of splash to reach the intake.

So I swapped in a 97 engine I had out back. And it has a few problems. A : its watering the oil down with gas rapidly. And the head gasket is leaking coolant out of the back passenger side of the engine, leaking off of a black braket over the alternator ( ) marked by the yellow line. It usually takes until the car is warmed up, and then its a consistent drip.

So I'm going to have to replace the head gasket, and I'm suspecting the rings are bad causing the gas issue (though I'm going to try a few other things first) the problem is, I'm about broke and have pretty much no income right now.

Between that and an odd lack of machine shops around here, I'm going to have to hope and pray my heads not warped or something.

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So my main question is this, if my rod bearings aren't worn too badly, would it be ok to reuse them if I have to replace the rings? Problem is I have no way to check all the clearances and such if I have to replace them, unless it's ok to just stick new ones on? And then I still wont be doing the main bearings. If it comes to having to replace all the bearings and such, I'm going to most likely park the car until I have the money to fix my old engine.

For the head gasket, will it be ok to use a MLS without machine work? From the looks of it, the current head gasket is not metal. (from what I can see of it) So if I clean it up really well, will it be ok?

Any other possibilities for gassing up the oil besides bad rings?

That about wraps it up, thanks ahead of time for any/all answers!

So my main question is this, if my rod bearings aren't worn too badly, would it be ok to reuse them if I have to replace the rings?

don't reuse them. have a machinist measure the journals and tell you what size bearings to run. don't chance it.

Problem is I have no way to check all the clearances and such if I have to replace them, unless it's ok to just stick new ones on?

have your machinist do this, check for out-of-round on all journals and inform you of main/rod bearing sizes.

And then I still wont be doing the main bearings. If it comes to having to replace all the bearings and such, I'm going to most likely park the car until I have the money to fix my old engine.

patience

For the head gasket, will it be ok to use a MLS without machine work?

have the machinist determine if the head surface is absolutely flat. if not, machine it. Don't assume anything - even the slightest warp will cause the HG not to seal.

From the looks of it, the current head gasket is not metal. (from what I can see of it) So if I clean it up really well, will it be ok?

no. replace it.

I didn't mean to leave the old head gasket. But your other answer already answered that.

I guess it might be time to give up on this car. I don't have the money to spend on machining. I had really hoped to have it fixed for summer :(

A machinest is not needed to do these checks.

Unless you have a major issue going on it sounds like a fairly easy fix.

Check the journals with plastic gauge.
Check the head with a straight edge.

Use a mic and measure two sides of each journal to determine if they are out of round, however the bearing surface will tell you of un-even wear due to that.

Mic the cylinders from two directions and look for un-even ring wear on the walls.

If the walls check out with no issue, hone them and slap a new set of rings in her.

Originally posted by PinkPixi
A machinest is not needed to do these checks. Unless you have a major issue going on it sounds like a fairly easy fix. Check the journals with plastic gauge. Check the head with a straight edge. Use a mic and measure two sides of each journal to determine if they are out of round, however the bearing surface will tell you of un-even wear due to that. Mic the cylinders from two directions and look for un-even ring wear on the walls. If the walls check out with no issue, hone them and slap a new set of rings in her.

Thanks for the info :)

I just got lucky and got some more work, so I should make close to enough money to get this thing sorted. I'm de-stressed a bit lol.

Should have enough money after this job to fairly easily afford new bearings and any machine work needed :) I'll have to do everything myself when it comes to dissasembly/assembly so I'll have to do some researching if it comes to that, to make sure I get everything right.

Verify the coolant is actually coming from the head and not from the heater hoses that run in that area.

Originally posted by DarkOne
Verify the coolant is actually coming from the head and not from the heater hoses that run in that area.

I will double check, because I've seen others mention that. But the heater hoses are on the drivers side of the engine, and all the fluid is coming off that black bracket on the passenger side.

Check the freeze plugs right there by that black bracket. If you have an air compressor you could pressuize the coolant system and see where it is comming from without running the engine. (gas in the oil is bad)

Originally posted by PinkPixi
Check the freeze plugs right there by that black bracket. If you have an air compressor you could pressuize the coolant system and see where it is comming from without running the engine. (gas in the oil is bad)

Freeze plug is down further to the left from that bracket. And I have no way to connect my air hose to my coolant system.

Hopefully this job doesn't fall through so I have some breathing room. I'm gonna try to get my hands on a leak down tester and a fuel pressure gauge so I can check the rings and see if the injectors are leaking.

Also lol, I just noticed I accidently posted the same pic twice.

Originally posted by Redslayer

Originally posted by DarkOne Verify the coolant is actually coming from the head and not from the heater hoses that run in that area.

I will double check, because I've seen others mention that. But the heater hoses are on the drivers side of the engine, and all the fluid is coming off that black bracket on the passenger side.

The inlet and outlet to the heater core are on the passenger side

Originally posted by DarkOne

Originally posted by Redslayer

Originally posted by DarkOne Verify the coolant is actually coming from the head and not from the heater hoses that run in that area.

I will double check, because I've seen others mention that. But the heater hoses are on the drivers side of the engine, and all the fluid is coming off that black bracket on the passenger side.

The inlet and outlet to the heater core are on the passenger side

They are the two smaller rubber hoses that come out together on the firewall correct? They go to the drivers side of then engine. Then the pipes they connect too go around the front of the engine and connect by the thermostat.

But anyway, the car is doing strange things. Today I got annoyed and drove it. I checked the fluid levels and fired it up. When I started it, I looked under the hood and saw that coolant was leaking pretty badly down onto the PS pump bracket, appeared to be coming from the radiator cap/thermostat housing (which it hadn't been doing before) I looked under it and it was dripping out the back as usual as well.

So I said screw it and drove off. I decided I would watch the temp carefully and ride on. I drove roughly 50 miles and parked it. Let it sit idling for about 5 minutes, after all that, it didn't go over normal temp accept for once (VERY slightly) at a stop light, and it wasn't leaking any coolant. Finally I shut it down and slid cardboard under it. After a few minutes there was plenty of drips, I checked and it was all oil, no coolant. I checked the coolant once the temp dropped and it appeared at normal levels.

So wtf, this car is nuts. It stopped leaking coolant and was not over heating at all.

Also, I was curious about a few things since I was suspecting rings, so I watched for smoke of any color while driving, and there was none. and when it was idle, there was no smoke at all. The exhaust also smelled normal. So I'm thinking maybe it just ran rich from when one of the injectors was clogged and that's what gassed up the oil. And corrected itself after driving it a bit. Or leaky injectors.

The oil leak, I suspect is the oil pan.

If you think the oil is contaminated with gas from whatever source you should change it and the filter. Saying screw it and driving it may make things worse.

Track down and fix your leaks too :p

Originally posted by PinkPixi
If you think the oil is contaminated with gas from whatever source you should change it and the filter. Saying screw it and driving it may make things worse. Track down and fix your leaks too :p

I know that lol. And I am waiting on an oil pan gasket to be delivered hopefully this week sometime along with a radiator.

Idk my car is doing some really weird things, I may even just swap the oil pans all together (use the one from my old engine) just to be sure there is no problem with the pan itself.

If the oil leak continues, then it would almost have to be from the head gasket at that point.

Maybe if I drive it another 50 miles it will stop leaking oil too :P

Or it will dump everything on the ground the moment I start it :p