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Old 08-02-2014, 02:22 AM   #1
Mr. Guy
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Join Date: Jul 2007
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'93 1.9L - replacing head gasket, anything else?

Hi guys. I need a bit of advice.

First, a story...bear with me. A while back, my father bought a Tracer wagon from his then-employer. He was told that all that was wrong with it was the timing belt had slipped; before this happened, the car ran perfectly.

So, my father taking them at their word, paid $250 for it, pulled it home, and then took it apart...halfway. Without a book. Or marking anything. He then left it in that condition for several months because he had no idea what he was doing. Fortunately, recently I was able to pick up a Haynes manual and take up the job where he left off, replacing the timing belt and water pump, and repairing a mysterious crack in one of the plastic ends of the radiator.

I put it all back together, and turned the engine over; it would crank (and it felt very..."lumpy"? more on that in a moment), but not start. Checked and it was getting gas, spark and air, the computer was receiving power (after I replaced all the fuses someone had swiped...), timing was intact, there didn't seem to be a reason for it to not run.
Finally, I had a neighbor continue turning it over while I listened to it. I noticed that as it was cranked, the engine speed would increase over time, so I had him keep cranking it...lo and behold, it was actually starting; on one or two pistons. At least two, it seems, had too much water in them to fire. He was finally able to run it for several minutes by keeping the engine speed above a certain level, but it was obvious that the head gasket was completely wrecked. Oil is a milkshake, steam blowing and water trickling out the exhaust, steam and exhaust from the radiator when it was open (which was interesting).

Now, in hindsight, running the car for any length of time after realizing the head gasket was basically gone for half the engine was incredibly stupid. I know this, no need to scold me.

What I'm here to ask is, in addition to replacing the head gasket and other seals around/in the head, should I expect further damage to things like piston rings and bearings (from having milkshake applied instead of oil) and look at replacing said parts while I have the head off, or simply replace the head gasket and hope for the best?
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