2.3L LX Help

[Infuria]

ill do my best to describe this.... its a 1990 Mustang LX 2.3L 4 cyl.

There is a knocking "knock" almost, a very rapid knocking. i popped the hood, and there was coolant splatered all over the left hand side of the engine bay.

There is a small leak in the coolant fill / resivoir.

The knocking usually occurs when the gas pedal is pressed, and the RPMs are in the range of 1500 - 3000 (i didnt want to take it any higher than that)

Also, to add a couple of notes.

1) the heat coming out of the vents is VERY hot

2) the car is VERY VERY sluggish. even for a 2.3L Mustang

3) the car has problems starting up.

4) I changed the plugs like 2 days ago. the old plugs had severe carbon buildup on them.

5) there is a myserious coolant leak. it seems to be coming out of the Camshaft Cover. (dont say its the head gasket)

6) lots of oil there is like an additional 2 inches of oil over the "FULL" mark on the Dip-stick

7) Cal will stall when coming up to a light (coming to a stop)

8) feels fine at cold start up. when engine is at about 1250 - 1300 RPMs

Ok, so i decided what it would be like to run with-out the front most cylinder? (cylinder #1)

it sounds EXACTLY the same....acts the same (very very rough idle, shaking the entire car)

tried the same thing with the other cylinders, but they would all cause the car not to crank over.

so i canged the Plug wires, and the disty wire, cleaned the Disty cap. still the same.

pulled the front most plug, looks black. but gapped still correctly.

- exhaust doesnt smell right...smells gassy almost... and it gives me a haedache

Ok, so....
ive replaced:

- Spark Plug

- Spark Plug wires

- Disty Cap + Rotor

basically... the spark plug is not sparking like it should be...

its just randomly sparking. im sure its on time... but just not consitantly enough for the engine to run correctly....

Any ideas?

To sum it up. Cylinder 1 isn't firing correctly. ive isolated it to be a issue with the Ignition, but after replacing everything (maintenance wise) its still giving me the issue.

Thanks

[DiggerStang]

Wow. Did this all happen at once? There is no coolant under the camshaft cover. Just oil. Maybe you need a head gasket. Maybe you have a cracked head. Maybe you need an engine, period.
2 inches of oil past the full mark? I don't think that helps. You say you've isolated it to an ignition problem, but that doesn't explain the coolant in the camshaft cover area.

[HiFlow5 0]

Start with a compression check. This will help determing if its a head gasket or cracked head. Also who did the last oil change, cause it sounds like it was way over filled.

[Infuria]

Ok, so my brand new plug is pretty foul'd up. its black, charcoal black.

and with the amount of water in my exhaust (a puddle is generated under my tail pipe from about 1 minute of idling) im gonig to assume my exhaust valve is bent/ stuck open.

im testing the spark plug again to make sure its firing correctly.

[DiggerStang]

If your exhaust valve is stuck open, you will have no compression in that cylinder. Is it water or coolant that puddles under the muffler? Some water is normal if the car isn't getting much driving lately. I get water out of my tailpipe regularly if I don't drive my 4-banger for a while. Coolant, on the other hand, is not normal. Are you suggesting the liquid coming from your tailpipe is due to a coolant leak? 'Cause if you are, you have to consider how is the coolant getting in the cylinder?

[HiFlow5 0]

Again, have a compression check done, then go from there.