87 GL wont start why?

[Flowmastered87GL]

This morning my 87 GL would just not start... it would crank and crank and kinda sputter a bit when I pumped the gas pedal.

 

Last night... The car essentially hydrolocked itsself I think. The engine wouldnt turn (I was able to move it enough to open the valves to let the crap out) and then it started up, but the head gasket was leaking BAD... there was a nice big steam cloud behind me the mile drive home.

 

This morning like I said the car wouldnt start, but it cranked just fine. I eventually got it to start by cranking it for like 30 seconds while pumping the gas repeatedly... again it had a steam cloud, but smaller than before.

 

I'm just trying to figure out why it wouldnt fire up this morning... lack of compression from the toasted head gasket?? Water in the system??

 

I'm thankful I got it started and Shannon to work safely... but one of these days I fear it wont start and I will have to resort to the Impreza without plates or the brat with tags that expire pretty soon.

[Nug]

Sounds like you overheated it (you didn't say). A compression loss like a blown head gasket will make it reeeal hard to start, and coolant getting on the spark plugs helps none either.

[MorganM]

If you are blowing out a bunch of smoke (you are sure its coolant and not oil or just plain water vapor?) when you do finally get it started tahts from stuff already sitting in your cyilnders. Read: water in your cylinders! Bad, very bad, especially if you have hydrolocked it like you said. That means a very significant amount of water is getting in there.

 

Sure its not your intake manifold gaskets? Those will piss RIGHT into your cylinder heads when they leak Also check your oil and over flow tank! Check the oil for 'milk' and check the overflow tank for oil. If you are mixing the 2, as your lawyer, I would advise you to stop driving it till its fixed

 

Hope its just the intake manifold! Peace

[Flowmastered87GL]

Intake gaskets are pretty new. It only has water leak into the cylinders on occasion... so I think sometimes when the metal is expanded right its sealed up tight. but when it shrinks one of the water passages dumps water into the cylinder.

 

There is no crap in the overflow tank... then again I have to refill the overflow tank every day!

 

The oil is pure too though... so there is no mix of any of them.

 

Dont worry it will be torn down soon... I just need to pick up my rebuild items from Richie and put my 88 back together, get it started and then drive that while I rebuild the 87.

[Hondasucks]

did you use sealant on your manifold gaskets? If ya didnt, or didnt get those sealed adequately, they will leak! The fact that you don't have water in your oil leads me to believe more along the lines of a cracked head or something like that, since most blown head gaskets I have seen have made a nice chocolate milkshake :-)

Once I figure out why my 85 is only getting 18MPG I could come up and help you with the 88 and/or the 87, since you are prolly gonna give me a deal on that 88 anyway, I'd be more than happy to help ya out :-)

[Flowmastered87GL]

I used sealant on the manifold gaskets.

 

I just decided to leave the car parked and drive the brat instead... putting a couple thousand on a brat with 140K isnt too bad... it will only be for 2 weeks or so (til the 88 is done)

 

Boy my insurance company is gonna kill me

 

(had the 87 insured, then the 98, then the 87, now the 82)