i think blow head gasket but i dont know

[draggon]

i think i have a blow headgasket on my sohc but i dont know it miss fires and then it also heats up really bad and i changed the radiator with a metal tank radiator cause my upper inlet housing broke so i bought a new one then my car started using water really bad and it smelt like antifreeze. the real question i want to ask is how hard is it to change out the head gasket. Would it be worth it to do a motor swap instead of do the work to take the head off it is a ka24e not a de so i am not sure i am new to the fuel injected world i am use to carbourators. i need help it is my daily driver and i am out a car and my 2.8 blazer is just bout dead i need my car soon. thanks

[Hit_N_Run-player]

Does the car smoke? Is it leaking coolant on the ground? have you done a compression test? if it is leaking coolant, overheating, and isnt smoking, i would check to see if teh bearing in your waterpump went bad.

[draggon]

yes it smokes and runs really rough like an injector clogged but im not sure bout that and i was askin if the head work was worth the cost or if i should go with a DE instead of the work. if so ill do the swap and what that would entail i need help with though cause like i said it is not just and ingnition wire and a battery like my 350 and 454 in my trucks or my camaro so i need more help than that, also should i have my head reserficed.

[Acecool]

Take your radiator cap off the car when it is off and cold.

Start the car.

Coolant SHOOTS up = Blown HG
Does not SHOOT up = possibly something else

Check for oil in coolant aswell.

[draggon]

just askin out of curiosity why would the coolant shoot up if the HG is blown and why would it run rough after it over heated. Is it sucking air and not having enough fuel to burn it all or what.

[Acecool]

If it started happening after it overheating, it would most def be the hg..

The coolant trick was told to me by a guy that dealth purely with blown hgs, when I was worried mine might be gone..

I am guessing, lack of compression forces high pressure into the radiator, or coolant lines causing it to shoot up, hence also the link of oil in the coolant..

[Hit_N_Run-player]

what happens when you blow a HG, is usually the hg breaks in between the cylindar walls, or coolant boils and goes from the coolant passage on the block to the combustion chamber. This is why it smokes white, because the coolant is going from the water passage into the combustion chamber.

If coolant is pushed out of the radiater, it is because the compression is going through the headgasket, into the coolant passage, and creating pressure to force coolant out of the nearest lower pressure area (the radiater neck with cap off)

The best way to check is get a block/headgasket tester from your local parts store. You place this tool over the radiator and run the engine RPM up, if there is carbon monoxide in teh cooling system (meaning a bad HG), then this chemical changes color.


What color is the smoke? have you checked the plugs? Done a leakdown test? The bad idle and smoke could also be bad rings, but you need to describe the problem a bit more.

[draggon]

thanks, well i guess the next question is it is worth the work and effort to change out the E head gasket or should i just go get a DE and do the swap i have the place to do any swap i want i want to start out slow though cause i only got to drive the car a week before the lower radiator hose got a hole in it then i pulled the upper hose off and the inlet broke so im not sure what to do and what is the better option. just askin on an opinnion should i drive the E for a while to get use to the cars or should i just go for broke and get the DE cause i do not know any thing bout the mantinece or the opperation of a turbo so i dont want to go with a sr20det yet im waiting till i get more expierence witht the car. i have already spun out in the rain and like i said i have only drove it for a week. and here in washington it rains often.

[Acecool]

It only costs around $100 if you repair it yourself..

Buy an oem replacement from your local Nissan dealership :-)

[Hit_N_Run-player]

what part of washington are you from?

[draggon]

Sorry for the lack of explanation, it is white smoke and it idles and runs very rough, after i towed it home i have not started it for fear of breaking more stuff on it cause it is aluminum and over head cam not over head valve cam which im use to. I have not done a leak down test on it, it broke like a week ago so i have been driving my s 10 unfortuenalty, but i need it fixed soon and well thanks for the information you were a ton of help on the explaination i am hear to learn and you sound like you have knowledge Hit and run, so it should only cost like 100$ if i do it myself and how long would it take cause my v8 take me like 5 hours to complete both sides but they are carbourated and no wireing or throttle body. i only work 4 days a week. and i live in the northern part of wa just to let you know.

[AWDSR20]

i don't know man,if u can do it kudos for u man! but, its is a pain in the ass to do, just to let u know! so, yeah, google it out man!

[slideways...]

meh? SOHC headgasket isnt terribly hard, just time consuming. make sure to label all the vacuum hoses because they are a bitch. you have to remove the exhaust manifold from the head, so you may as well get a new gasket for that too. you can and should leave the intake manifold and plenum on though. theres a bracket below the manifold that you have to remove first, it braces the plenum against the block i believe, other than that its gravy.