Pull the plugs first. Check each one for discoloration. The blown one will look different than the others. Excessively black deposits indicate oil. Grey indicates water.
When you remove the head, you may or may not rip up the gasket. Some are metal, some are combination materials. If the gasket is more or less intact, look for blow outs between the cylinder and a water jacket. You didn’t mention what kind of smoke the car was exhausting. If it was blue, it’s an oil channel. White is water. A blow out in the gasket is usually the least destructive kind of problem (as apposed to a crack in the head). A blow out in an oil channel is “better” than a water jacket.
(The clinking may just be the water pump. The impeller often fragments).
Well Padeye, after researching this problem some more on the net, I’m beginning to think your right :). I’m going down to the library today to check out a repair manuel on my car. Hopefully, I’ll be able to more accurately diagnose the problem. Like I said earlier, even though I may be in over my head, I don’t have much to lose. I had originally planned on selling the car to a junk yard since I didn’t have to money to fix it. I figure I might as well give it a shot before it gets to that point.
Whuckfistle, would it be possible for you to go into more detail of what you did for me? You can email me or post it on here.
It was exactly a year and a half ago.
I remember having to pull off the timing chain gears with a gear puller. There are a lot of vacuum lines to disconnect, accelerator cable, transmission linkage, air intake, and several electrical connectors – all the intake manifold bolts and and exhaust manifold bolts must be found and loosened. You will also need to replace the intake manifold gasket, the exhaust manifold gasket, and some other parts will break or wind up missing by the time you are done. I believe that that intake manifold was a two piece unit, but we just removed the whole thing.
We pretty much followed the manual from the library and used our general mechanical skills with some common sense to get the job done. I also remember having to pry the head off the block after everything was loose because it was stuck on pretty good (age/rust).
By the way, you won`t be able to tell if the head is damaged until after you take it off. Unless you have some catastrophic failure, most of the damage will be hidden. So make sure you need to remove the head before you get started.
Any more questions? (the car was out of service for two weeks btw.)
I dont know if a JunkYard will give you much for the car. You may be able to sell it privately for much more. A parts car like that must be worth close to a grand, no? A junkyard will likely not charge you to tow it away and make it seem like you got a deal at that. I would try to get a motor for that car from a junkyard and swap it out with yours. It is my opinion that swapping out motors will be cheaper and easier to do. And faster. Two guys could do that in a day. Whereas the head replacement (which isnt guaranteed to fix your car) will take longer.
When and if you get to the point that you have to remove the head, there will be water everywhere as a result of removing it. As stated several times above, make sure the head gasket is bad before you pull the head. When you crank it over if it seems to spin faster than normal you have likely broken a timing belt. To verify this, on most cars the distributor is driven off the camshaft. remove the cap and see if the rotor turns while cranking. You will probably need a helper of a mirror. If it jumped time, or the belt broke, you will need to find out if you have an “interference” engine. That means one where the valves will come in contact with the piston. If so, the job just got more expensive. As far as seeing the damaged part of the gasket, sometimes yes and sometimes no. It doesn’t matter much though since you took everyone’s advice and made SURE it’s a bad gasket. NEVER re-assemble with a used head gasket.
My experience is that head gaskets are a time consuming pain in the ass, one thing left better for a mechanic… did the car puff white smoke?- thats what happened to mine.
Well guys, I just went to my local library and checked out a book on car repair. Chilton’s Chrysler Cirrus/Stratus/Sebring/Avenger/Breeze 1995-98 Repair Manual. I’m going to go over this book tonight and see what it says.
After reading through the replies here, I’m starting to have my doubts as to the nature of this problem. If there is another cause for my car not starting, it might be worse then a blown head gasket. What can I do to tell for sure what the problem is? Unfortunately, I didn’t think to check the smoke when it was running so I don’t know what color it was.
So you say the cars not worth spending at least a few hundred dollars on? That’s at least, even if you do the work, plus it sounds like you may not be that experienced. I’m not criticizing or trying to scare you, okay? Just that rebuilding or replacing a set of heads can be a fairly tough job on some vehicles. If it’s a case of $$$ being a problem verses the car’s value. I can understand that. I’ve got an '85 Jeep Cherokee out back w/ a broke crankshaft that I’ve been putting off for a year. It’s just not worth that much time, trouble and money.
BTW Blown gaskets and/or cracked heads shouldn’t prevent the car from starting.
Did you say it was knocking? If so…:smack: How hot did it get?
Check into the liquid glass. It’s just a few bucks and if it’s only a small crack or gasket leaking a little, it may do the trick. Seal the leaks and replace the water pump and it may last awhile longer.
If it’s really bad…check out used motor prices. There’s a good chance to find a used motor for less than what an overhaul will cost. It would probably be easier to replace than to repair. (NOTE: Guys, I said if it’s really bad, like a major overhaul)
Hopefully it’s just a bad gasket and nothing more. Anyway, it looks like you’ve got plenty of knowledgable help here and are willing and capable yourself, so good luck.
You didn’t say which engine is in your 1995 Chrysler Stratus, but Gates has a reference to interference engines and recommended replacement intervals. If you’ve got the 2.5L V6, it’s interference. The 2.4L 4-cyl. DOHC engine isn’t interference.
Sorry, I meant to give more detailed info earlier. I have a 2.5L V6 24V SOHC engine with MFI. If you need any other specs, just let me know.
Hmm, I didn’t know that :smack:. What problems caused by overheating could have lead to this then (if not blown gasket)?
I checked the spark plugs and they seemed fine. I checked the timing belt and it seemed fine too. I haven’t checked the fuel pressure because I’m afraid it might blow up in my face.
Grrrrrr. This is starting to get frustrating. Seems the more I learn, the less I know.
Welcome to the world of do-it-yourself auto mechanics. We are faced with this all the time. The good thing about doing it/learning by yourself is, the next time it happens you`ll know what to do.
Yeah, you spin the main bearings and do all sorts of wonderful things to the engine like warping the heads, scoring the sleeves, blowing out the freeze plugs, and such. Tolerences get all thrown off when certain parts expand faster than others. The aluminum pistons and heads are the first to get messed up. The crank and bearings are not far behind.
Will someone please smack me for being a idiot and not replacing the water pump sooner? :smack:
Seriously, I’ve just taken the valve cover off as well as the intake manifold plenum. I’ve done a very, very preliminary inspection of the engine.
So far I don’t see any identifiable problems. The intake plenum-to-lower intake manifold gasket looks fine. The valve cover gasket looks fine. The spark plug tube gaskets look a little worn so I’m going to replace just in case. Hell, I think I’ll get one of those gasket kits and replace everything while I’m in here.
It just started raining so I’m gonna grab some lunch, then go back to work. I’ll update you guys a little later on.
I’m going to dig in farther and check the pistons and heads. I’m starting to suspect that’s my problem. If so then I’ll go from there.
And of course, thanks to everyone for all your continued assistance. This repair manual and your help have made this job a lot less intimidating.
What are some simplier stuff I should check before I get into pistons and etc? The belts are fine, the spark plugs seems fine, and I have fuel and electricity. I’ve checked the dipstick too. Is there anything I’ve missed?
Cletus, did you remove the old water pump? was it still in one piece? That metallic noise you heard wasn’t a head gasket going out. I would remove the oil pan, look for metal parts down in the bottom, and while there you can do a quick wiggle test on your rod bearings.
Good idea.
Im not sure on this car, but very often removing the oil pan can be a very convoluted and lengthy process. Not to mention thats one more gasket you`ll need.
By the way cletus use “High Tack” gasket sealer from NAPA if you can get to one. It comes in a can with a brush, is easy to use and works great for most gaskets. I use it all the time, even in non auto situations. It doesnt harden and you dont have to mess with the goopy tubes of RTV.
Get some “brake cleaner”, a scraper, and a wire brush for cleaning surfaces before you put the stuff back together, especially if you`re going to put a new gasket back on.
If what you did was score the bearings/cylinders you wont find water anywhere. You may be under a false assumption that you blew a gasket. Drain the oil anyway and check for parts/shavings and of course - water.
We are faced with this all the time. The good thing about doing it/learning by yourself is, the next time it happens you`ll know what to do.