Head gasket problems??? NEED DESPERATE HELP!!

[Turbocoupe-85]

well my turbo coupe is acting really crappy, lol. It will run ok for a while then all of a sudden craps out. I see oil leaking out of the exhaust manifold. im thinking a head gasket possibly????? maybe, just maybe a bent valve?? on start up there is a lot of white smoke for a few seconds then disipates. I really want to fix it up but might have to sell it if it keeps giving me trouble. heres an idea: the car will drive fine til like 3000 rpm. then will kinda lean out til like 3500-4000 rpm. then pick up power again. but if i run it a bit, the car will star to hesitate and sorta die. they will stay on, sorta till i let the clutch out then die. but will start up fine a few seconds later. I replaced the fuel pump twice, due to a bad new pump. could it be the pump? should i go with a high flow?? I am looking for desperate help. Any comments would be greatly appreciated. Thank you all.

Larry

[97Bird]

Is your coolant level going down? White smoke is a sign of water entering the combustion chamber (head gasket).

[Frat-man-du]

check oil for "milky" substance - this is a sure sign of head gasket issues and have an exhaust gas analyzer used on the radiator cap opening - presence of exhaust is a sign of bad head-gaskets - or cracked head. These gaskets, can lean on the oil passage or exhaust. Either way it is costly. Exhaust will fry your cats and oil will corrode the bearings, even a single ounce.

[97Bird]

"Exhaust will fry your cats and oil will corrode the bearings, even a single ounce."
Care to revise this statement?!

[Frat-man-du]

Originally Posted by 97Bird

"Exhaust will fry your cats and oil will corrode the bearings, even a single ounce."
Care to revise this statement?!

The presence of exhaust gas, in this case CO in your radiator is a pretty good indicator of a blown head gasket or cracked head. Also if Ethylene glycol (aka monoethylene glycol (MEG),aka ethane-1,2-diol) is getting into the cats it will clog them by creating a heavy carbon soot that coats the ceramic catalyst. These heavy carbon deposits create two problems. First, the carbon deposits prevent the catalytic converter from reducing harmful emission in the exhaust flow. And second, the carbon deposits clog the pores in the ceramic catalyst and block exhaust flow, increasing backpressure and causing heat and exhaust to back up into the engine compartment. Your engine may actually draw burnt exhaust gasses back into the combustion chamber and dilute the efficiency of the next burn cycle. The result is a loss of power and overheated engine components. Agin if MEG gets into the crankcase this will lead to very localized galvanic corrosion (aka pitting ) which can lead to main bearing failure.

Hope this clears it up for you

[97Bird]

I just didn't want the guy to think he should plug his exhaust before the cats so he won't fry them and drain every drop of oil out so he wouldn't corrode his bearings!!!!!!!!!!!! Welcome to the forum!

[Frat-man-du]

Originally Posted by 97Bird

I just didn't want the guy to think he should plug his exhaust before the cats so he won't fry them and drain every drop of oil out so he wouldn't corrode his bearings!!!!!!!!!!!! Welcome to the forum!

Ha! Tru dat!