OK I need headgaskets, not a new engine.. need quick answer! Thanks all

[daeron]

thanks for the feedback, but I've already done a real compression check.. 185, 180 drivers side; 155, 155 passenger.. I am not burning ANY coolant, all its doing is constantly bubbling out the reservoir, without ever ever ever coming close to getting hot. as long as I keep adding water daily, the teps are rock bottom... but its bubbling into the reservoir within a minute of starting.

 

My thoughts are that somehow there is a bit of gasket kinda "flapping;" almost acting like a valve, keeping coolant out of the combustion chamber.. but thats sheer speculation. I don't even know if thats possible. since the thing DOES seem to "catch" and run well when it warms up, this scenario seems to gain likelihood in my eyes. I know that a poor running condition thats more prone to difficulty when cold is more likely to be a FI related issue, but I have also gone through all of those subsystems as well.

 

There are no other leaks, that was all ruled out (or fixed, there WERE leaky hoses) about six months ago. If they were there, i'd have found them by now. Plus, the only place where there is any water staining is around the coolant overflow (it actually blew the reservoir cap off at one point )

 

See my "eight month compression check" thread for more... and thanks again for the feedback. I had given up on THIS thread for dead

[Gloyale]

My buddies 88 DL was doing this. Turned out to be bad contacts at the Coolant temp sensor. Can't explain it but cleaned them and it fixed it. Have you read the codes? Try running it with the green test connector hooked up. this should defeat the computer advance. When we ran his like that no bubbling, no overheating. un plug it and it would boil over and over heat. cleaned the CTS and it was fine.

[daeron]

My buddies 88 DL was doing this. Turned out to be bad contacts at the Coolant temp sensor. Can't explain it but cleaned them and it fixed it. Have you read the codes? Try running it with the green test connector hooked up. this should defeat the computer advance. When we ran his like that no bubbling, no overheating. un plug it and it would boil over and over heat. cleaned the CTS and it was fine.

 

I've cleaned my CTS, I have read my codes.. there is a vehicle speed sensor code, a neutral position switch, a park position switch, and an O2 sensor code, in D-check mode, only. Nary a check engine light has been seen on this car.

 

I *did* blow a water pump, and a couple radiator hoses, a while back.. there was some minor overheating involved and I have a digidash, which gives me no faith in my temperature reading (what exactly is 8 out of 10 bars?? why is 9 out of 10 "red?") so I don;t know how hot it got. Ive replaced the radiator, and I have no thermostat (south florida, we just saw 39 degrees for the first time in two years last night) The resistance reading from the CTS at cold temperature is correct, as is the reading at hot temperature. The MAF has been cleaned, although I havent conducted a voltage drop test across it; my IAC has been cleaned, my TPS is a recent JY replacement that I have not (recently) tested. It is not acting anything at ALL like it was before, when my TPS started getting flaky.

 

Don't get me wrong.. I realize a very nonzero chance that I could put all this together and car still may have a problem running.. so keep throwing differential diagnoses at me. I can't say for certain that it still bubbles with the green connectors on... but I think I would have noticed it if it weren't. Jiggling with the CTS connections yields nothing, (they are perfectly clean, and this is a non turbo car BTW) Anyway if I have missed something else it could be, I wanna hear it.. but the more I drive this car (yes I know, I am still driving it but very little right now) the more I become convinced it is the headgasket.