jeffroid

I posted a couple of times last week or so. I've got two '83 GL wagons. I THOUGHT I had a wrecked one with a good engine, and a good one with a blown head gasket. I had all the classic symptoms or so I thought. Overheated, couldn't keep coolant in it, couldn't see where the coolant was going. There was ugly gunk in the oil filler neck, it looked like there was coolant in the oil. I parked it, and they both sat in my yard for two years. Now I want to get one going again. So I did a leakdown test on both engines, and was surprised to find the one with the blown head gasket had better readings. That did not deter me from proceeding with pulling the heads, as some posters indicated that I could still have a head gasket leak with those relatively good leakage percentages. After I had the intake off and thinking about it, I started getting scared. What if I pull the heads off and it doesn't look like there is anything wrong? I could waste all that time and two good head gaskets for nothing. It gets better. Before yanking the heads off, I came up with the idea of pressure testing the cooling system. I made two flat metal plates and used two new intake gaskets to plug the intake manifold. I plugged both outlet hoses from the water pump and all the other fittings and hoses common to the cooling system. I pressurized the cooling system to 20 PSI and guess what? NO LEAKAGE. The damn thing sat for an hour with my pressure gauge glued to 20 PSI. I am now afraid that I over reacted to the overheating and assumed that I had a bad head gasket when I really didn't. Could the residue in the filler neck just be from condensation? I now go wipe the dipstick off and put it back in, and the oil looks brown instead of black, but what does that mean? Also, the spark plugs look all the same and normal. Sorry for the long post, but what do I do now? I've got the thing all ripped apart, should I proceed with the head gasket job? Or should I put it back together, change the oil, and do a better job of troubleshooting?

Thanks for the reply. A couple of things - some have posted that it's a pain to do the head gaskets without pulling the engine, and in the long run probably easier to just yank the engine. Looks doable to do it, however. Second, I wonder what driving around for who knows how long with that oil/coolant sludge did to the bearings and everything else in the engine.

Thanks for the reply. They have both been sitting for a while. Nearly three years. Both of them fired right up with only jumper cables, though, so I was pleased with that. I think that's what I'm going to do, just yank the one out of the wreck and drop it in. Perhaps you are right and that one bad exaust valve will settle in, but I did run both engines before doing the leak down test. I was surprised at the good readings on the engine with the head gasket leak. I'm sure that's what it is because of all the things you said - mayo on the dipstick and oil filler cap, and high oil levels. Thanks again, I do have access to a hoist. I have done a couple of clutches so I think I know what I'm getting into.

I posted last week with questions on getting a used engine. I've done a lot more reading in this forum since, and now I don't think I need to do that. My situation is that I've got two '83 GL wagons. One is wrecked with a "good" engine, the other is intact with a bad head gasket - it overheats and coolant gets in the oil. I broke down and bought a leakdown tester - I've always wanted one. The results for the good engine in the wrecked wagon are as follows: #1 - 10% (ring leakage) #2 - 10% (ring leakage) #3 - 30% (ring and exaust valve leakage) #4 - 10% (ring leakage) The results for the engine with the bad head gasket are as follows: #1 - 10% (ring leakage) #2 - 15% (ring leakage) #3 - 20% (ring leakage) #4 - 10% (ring leakage) Nothing on the test with the engine with the bad head gasket really showed anything that would point towards the head gasket, but I know it overheats, goes through coolant, and dumps it in the oil. What should I do? I could just swap the engine out of the wreck and start driving. The one bad cylinder is still pretty moderate at 30%, and indications are it's just an exaust valve and not bad rings. I could do head jobs on one of the two engines. I don't think I'd try to do the one in the intact wagon without pulling the engine, so it really doesn't matter which one. If I decide to do the heads, which engine should I use? Mileage on both is unknown, but I drove the "good" one for a couple of years, and only drove the one with the bad head gasket for a couple of months until the weather warmed up and I couldn't get to work without overheating. What would YOU do? THANKS ! ! !