Headgasket issues perhaps?

[ricco]

Hi, Ive had my sentra for 5 years now, along with many mods. but most recently (year ago) i had an engine replacement that being a Crate engine same stock GA16DE. Well, everything has been fine and dandy up till bout a month ago. When I noticed that my oil and Water were just disappearing bout once a week, along with White smoke and loss in acceleration during the white exhaust bogging issue. the bogging happens pretty much only when I turn left...and it idles kinda rough not like its gonna die just kinda vibratey. There have been no overheating issues at all from what I can tell, I just gave it new NGK Iridium LX Spark plugs, gave it a full oil change, cleaned the water resevoir and filled it, Brand new Alternator, brand new Starter. It was fine for the first 2 days but after that the issues started up again. i dont see any leaks. the new engine only has bout 35k on it, a head gasket issue seems a lil far fetched for such low mileage. i only drive it to and from work most of the time.

I called my mechanic and he says it sounds like a head gasket problem, I grabbed my neck, squeezed and shook repeatedly!

Any other opinions or ideas for the issue?

I dont think the only 2 engine mods i have could conflict with the issue i have, il just show you a couple of pics...
Oh and it has after market exhuast-

[slideways...]

sounds like a HG to me. it really doesnt matter if you have no mods if you cant drive. for instance, one kid i knoew who was an idiot put a rod thru his stock ford probe's oil pan. well it was a stock JDM mazda engine but same effect.

[ricco]

Thanks for the reply,


Well since it is almost certain its teh HG, The question i really dont want answered is, how long can this last if I just drive half a mile to work and back 6 days a week? thats a 5-10 miute drive and most of the time i can get away with no issues...only 1 bog/smoke on a left turn to my house, if I go a different way. it runs perfect otherwise as long as I keep filling the water and givin it an oil change can i make it last till i can buy a new car?

Im taking the car in to the shop Tomorrow, (Tuesday) to make any diagnosis official, and ill find out how labor intensive it is, and perhaps ill have a friend and I do the repair. cuz there is no way im paying $1200-$1600 for mainly labor. the HG for my car is only $70-$80..lol

[slideways...]

if you can find someone who you would trust to do the work, do it that way. a 4 banger HG isnt hard if you know what your doing. i would try and not drive the car if you can help it, if you happen to overheat you could seriously warp the head/block surface, and coolant getting into your oil breaks it down and can cause damage to metal surfaces over time.

[ricco]

I do have a friend that says he'll do it, and its easy he says. Thanks for the advice, I have to drive at least to work and back but otherwise ill leave it sit. when it gets low on oil i drain it and put all new oil in, same with water, ill clean the resevoir and put all new water in.

My friend also said that there are high performance HG's that are thinner than the general ones that the manufacturer puts in, should I look into this or just worry out replacing to fix?

I appreciate your time thanks

[slideways...]

thinner headgaskets raise compression, which will probably require premium gas. your choice if the extra cost of gas is worth it. i wouldnt. if you want more power, i would take advantage of the head being off, put in a multi layer steel headgasket thats stock or a bit thicker, in preparation for possible future boost. oh and if you do have a blown headgasket, you might want to get the head and block decked so you have a true flat sealing surface. its more of an option if you never overheated and are using a stock headgasket, but if you go the multi layer steel HG route, or if you ever overheated the car, its pretty much required. dont get too worried though, its not expensive at most machine shops.

oh and i would recommend looking into getting ARP head studs while your at it. its not needed unless you see a big increase in power, but you should replace the head bolts regardless(never reuse head bolts). oh and make sure you follow ARP's directions, as sometimes they require a different torque sequence than stock.

EDIT: oh if your never gonna boost your car and will never want much power, then you could choose a thinner headgasket. a thicker one will lower compression making the car slower until you add a turbo. but its safer once the turbo is on than a thinner one.

[ricco]

Ive only put in Super Premium (the most expensive) since ive had the car, so that wont be any expense issue if thats the route we go. im really just looking to get it back to what it was when i had the swap, running great haha. i can care less about giving it more power, but i was just thinking since were replacing it anyways, if its even worth it. but no biggy, i just want it fixed at minimal cost. ill definetly mention getting the block decked. if its best for it, then it will be done. im just not lookin into a $1600 repair, was hoping to get away with the Sealant, Gasket, and bolts...and Drinks for my buddy. haha

So, i need to buy new head bolts, a new Gasket of course, and a sealant. any advice on brands? i have to order by monday so I can have by friday because we are gonna do it on saturday, he will order the gasket from the shop he works at. im sure they can tell me, btu 2 opinions are better than 1.

Thanks again.

[slideways...]

for sealant, i hope your not thinking of using on the hg, only the timing cover. my favorite is either or


as far as the other products go, most aftermarket brands of headgasket are pretty equal i guess, and bolts usually are also. unless you want to shell out for some genuine OEM nissan products, or some high performance stuff, whatever napa/checker/kragen has will probably work.
if by chance you do want high performance, Cometic can make any custom MLS headgasket for any application, and ARP is the place for head studs.

[ricco]

aight man, i will be putting that up for discussion on monday, thank you for taking your time on my problem, ill let you know if it gets back to par when its fixed. i hope!

Ill post up on my suspension issue in the future after i get this dealt with, haha

Thanks again Slideways