blown headgasket>>??

[TimTona]

so i got out my 3.o yesterday after letting it sit all winter and it was smoking. so i changed the oil and that got rid of the smoking, but its still ticking and there was pieces of carbon in the antifreeze. today the car started missing really bad then just died and wouldnt start back up untill it cooled down.
im almost positive its a headgasket but any input on this is great

[JamesL]

The ticking could be a lifter that doesn't want to pump up. That could also explain the miss. Are you sure that was carbon in the coolant? You ned to do a compression test.

[irocelectric93]

I agree with the lifter not wanting to pump up....definetly explains the ticking and missing. Pull a spark plug and check for carbon. If its clean then you may be looking at a blown headgasket. Best way is to run a compression test.

[Ondonti]

why would a lifter cause the motor to die.

You can pull 3 spark plug wires and the 3.0 will still run.

[TimTona]

i think a lifter has been going out for a long time but that doesnt explain why it completely shut down then again if the fan isnt turning on it would overheat this is a show car and i dont have a heater, what if i just run no thermostat and see what happens

[Ondonti]

You need a thermostat to create a restriction against water leaving your engine. If you dont then coolant will boil in your block.
Think like a pressure cooker.
NOBODY runs an engine without a thermostat or a restrictor (often used in racing).

[TimTona]

thats true howabout a 180 degree thermostat and wiring the fan to a switch or drill a 1/16 hole in the thermostat

[Ondonti]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TimTona thats true howabout a 180 degree thermostat and wiring the fan to a switch or drill a 1/16 hole in the thermostat

What are you talking about??? The hole people drill is for thermostats that suck like 2.2's which cant bleed themselves.

Check your coolant to see if its pressurizing. Do compression tests etc like has been suggested. You need to diagnose the problem not start doing random fixes.

[irocelectric93]

I must of missed the part where he said it died when i first read it or forgot or something.

[TimTona]

if i get to it today ill pressure test it and tell you what i find

[black86glhs]

Tim, As long as the the radiator cap is holding pressure, the coolant won't boil. At idle, it will get warm but will start running cool as more air flows across the radiator.
Definately check to see if coolant is being pushed out of the engine when running. I connect a pressure tester and see if it pressurizes really fast.

[Ondonti]

Quote:

Originally Posted by black86glhs Tim, As long as the the radiator cap is holding pressure, the coolant won't boil. At idle, it will get warm but will start running cool as more air flows across the radiator. Definately check to see if coolant is being pushed out of the engine when running. I connect a pressure tester and see if it pressurizes really fast.

Im sorry you dont understand.

The coolant will boil in the engine block around any hotspots. I am not going to explain it to you.
Feel free to send a PM to allmotor (who you think you are as smart as) and ask him why motors use restrictors in the coolant system.

[black86glhs]

Never asked or even want you to. I have talked to engineers about this when I was at GM and they have told me that for street driven cars, it doesn't hurt them. On race motors, yes I can see some value in it.
Even with restrictors, they can boil around hot spots.
Yes, it is better to have a thermostat in to keep the engine around normal operating temp.
All the people I have known who ran around without them never "burned up" the engine because the thermostat wasn't in there. They did have long cold drives in the winter, though.
No....I am much dumber than Allmotor. He has done so much more than I have. But I know what little I know, thank you.

[Ondonti]

Why do you keep pretending I said something?

I said coolant will boil in the block.

That doesnt mean damage will be done. That is a bad thing.

Coolant needs to slowly pass through the block....If Mr Tim is beating on his engine with no thermostat/restrictor then thats when bad things CAN happen because Heat will not be transfering from the "HOT SPOTS" where coolant starts boiling and then you start having real "problems"

Much of the advice in this thread has nothing to do with helping the situation of possible headgasket failure and the fact that his engine is locking up after it gets hot.

If his engine is locking up from getting to hot I guarantee you better not stand behind your advice that its okay to run without a thermostat as his engine is obviously getting VERY hot (unless you plan to also fix things that your poor advice causes to fail). From being very hot we start having all sorts of problems in the cylinders (soon to be damaged and lose ring seal) not to mention anything else.

[TimTona]

so i pressure tested it and its holding good compression is around 135 with a pretty good leakdown so i started it up and it was running normal again and after about 20 mins it started missing i think my main problem is that my fan isnt turning whats an easy key on power source i can wire the fan to (keep im mind i only drive this car about 150 miles a year) so im not worried about the fan eventually burning up (their cheaper than headgaskets and engines)