Eclispe stopped running after hose busted

[earlpitts]

After a radiator hose busted on my '95 Eclispe the car was really hard to start and ran poorly. Now the car won't start at all! There is fire on the plugs and gas exiting the fuel filter. This has really got me stumped.... Any ideas on what might be the problem? Or what I might do to troubleshoot.



THANKS!

[95_GSX]

is it cranking? what is your battery voltage? a little more info is needed.

[EclipseRST]

its gotta be cranking if their is spark... but do you have compression, run a compression check and see if thats it...cause if the car was hot when the hose burst, then cylinders wouldnt be getting cooled = overheated cylinder = fried piston rings = no compression = no start!! sorry to not type it all out but i am hungover and dont want to, so sue me!

[95_GSX]

ahh, you can read better than i this morning, pisses me off that i missed that but hangovers are a bitch. but you went where i was going to go next after i found out the battery voltage. so after he checks some shit out i guess we can find out whats wrong.

[kjewer1]

Fastest way to "hose" the head gasket is to lose a radiator hose... A compression test is definitely on order. But depending on how long you drove it like that, which again, vital details are left out, the head gasket could be the least of your worries.

[earlpitts]

The engine cranks fine... I've drained the battery a couple times.. and put in on the charger.. Voltage after charge was 14 volts. As far as compression.. i've not did a test, but the engine sounds as if its fine... Like maybe the injectors are not working. Tomorrow i'm going to try to give it a bit of starting fluid to see if it might start.

Man What a Headache!

[kjewer1]

Running out of coolant isnt going to cause the injectors to suddenly fail. Not to mention that one failing is unlikely, nevermind all 4. A motor that has low compression will sound the same as any other to the untrained ear. Get the tester tomorror for 20 bucks, and test it. Make sure all 4 plugs are removed, battery is as charged as possible, and the throttle is floored. Crank until the needle stops rising. thats the compression for that cylinder. Repeat for all 4 and let us know the results. Cylinder 1 is on the drivers side, and cylinder 4 is on the pass side, for reference.

[earlpitts]

Ok will do the test tomorrow...

Thanks for your help

[nates6969]

I have a 91 Talon (same engine as eclipse) and ever since it was over heated serveral times it stopped running, first it would start for a few seconds then die. I was told that the valves could be bent from bad timing but they look fine. I did a compression test on mine and it scored around 75-80psi across the top! So I've looked at the rings and they look fine although I really don't know what to look for as for rings, the head gasket was also in good condition and no cracked head! so do you think that the rings could be stopping me from running? If you have any idea thats would be great!

[95_GSX]

i am no expert, but the compression sounds extremely low, especially if it is a 4G63(turbo). any thing under 130 should be looked at as a serious problem. my suspician would be that you warped a head, and you no longer have a sealed compression chamber. this would cause the car not to start. sounds like you need to dig a little deeper into the engine. but this is only my opinion. i could be wrong. it has happened before. i imagine 95_GSXracer will be along shortly to give a more in depth explanation on the subject. but i have a hunch he is going to confirm my ideas.

[kjewer1]

Right so. Warped head, bad HG (cant always tell by looking), or rng damaged if the the clyinder expanded with the high temps, are the mostlikely scenarios. That compression is quite low, and since it is consistent across all 4 cylinders it would ave to be rings, or the test wasnt done properly. I would htink anyway. Could still be any of the other things. Its easy enough to check the flatness of the head surface, and the mating surface on the block (usually fine).

[krazibimmer]

why don't you try to do a wet compression test by spray some oil into the cylinders to see if the compression increases.

[kjewer1]

SOunds like he already has the head off. No way to do another compression test unless you go through all the trouble of reassembling the motor and reding the tbelt, etc. But that would have been a good idea earlier.

[nates6969]

Thanks for your opinions...I was also wondering if I should replace the rings, they don't have any visible nicks in them but do you think while I have the engine apart would It be a good idea to place them anyways. Another thing is is before it quit, it seemed to be eating oil and antifreeze...when I pulled the valve cover off I found droplets of antifreeze in the oil. But the head gasket to me looks ok. There is actually a little bit of black between cylinders 1 and 2, and then 3 and 4. I've also been told that the timing could have just been out (belt skipped a notch) but that doesn't explain for the antifreeze/oil problems. Have any more ideas for me, I'd love to here them. Thanks a lot.

[kjewer1]

There are only two ways oil and coolant can mix. Well, male that three. One, the oil cooler was overtightened and is now mixing the fluids. This is very common, see the vfaqs as usual. It is affectionately nicknamed the "oil mixer" in my garage. Two, the HG is blown. Three, some asshat put coolant in the oil fill hole or vice versa (lol).

Given your set of circumstances, and the fact that you cant always tell visually if a HG is bad, I would say the HG shit the bed. Its almost a given after overheating badly, or running out of or very low on coolant. The mixing, the compression, etc.... Check the block for flatness, get the head planed without exception, and drive it on... Do all the tbelt stuff if you are near or over 60k (or 120, etc) and it hasnt been done yet. Now is the time