turquoisejaguar

1994 Del Sol D15B7 4-1493 1.5L SOHC

Background:

Car had been overheating intermittently for about a month. Seemed to calm down when I replaced coolant but I noticed that I was losing fluid at a pretty rapid rate. Found the leak and replaced the the lower radiator hose. Car overheated again three days later. I discovered a crack in my radiator. Morning of the day I planned to replace the radiator the engine started chugging. No steam, no overheating, no leaking. Took it to have a diagnostic run and the technician reported CO2 in the radiator(suggested that I had a blown head gasket), problems with the ignition control module, ignition coil, and idle air control valve.

Present Day:

Pulled the engine apart and replaced the intake manifold gasket, head gasket, and the exhaust gasket. Replaced radiator, spark plugs, spark plug valve seals, and air filter. Filled up with radiator fluid and oil. Cleaned the idle air control valve. Buttoned everything up. Car started up once with the same chugging. Wont start up again. Turns over then cuts off.

Ideas??

Koko4

Did you get your head surfaced? If not, you may still have a headgasket leak.. pull off your radiator cap then turn the engine on, give it gas, and have someone watch for excessive bubbles out of the radiator.

Also, I'm not sure if those head bolts are supposed to be reused or not, but they MAY be torque to yield (one time use)? Someone please chime in on that..

turquoisejaguar

Head resurfaced? Nah, was hoping that it would just take (like a dummy). Would that keep the car from starting? Lack of compression? Or could I really have a problem with my ic or icm?

I'll be taking apart to get it machine tomorrow.

Koko4

Before you take it apart, do a wet and dry compression test to be sure that could be your problem! But that would be my guess for the chugging..not sure why it will turn over but not start. Did you check that your timing was correct? Check and double check that you have all little sensors / wires plugged in?

turquoisejaguar

So I stopped all work on it last week. But I did get it started. I didn't have the engine grounded properly. I checked the timing and timing procedures and I doesn't look like I have a timing issue. So im betting on it being the compression. Still waiting for my compression test kit to be delivered. Will update soon.

p3p69

them bolts are a one time use set of bolts (supposedly) i have heard of people getting lucky but i suppose if they torque all the way they are good but you should always have the head checked with a blown gasket could be warped as stated above or cracked even

nismoracingsx

why'd you have to order a compression test kit? Doesn't LA have tool stores, etc?

I've never reused head bolts, and when I did my headgasket last weekend, I went ahead and used headstuds since they were pretty cheap (like 90.00)

TexasCheddar

Maybe this sounds like a dumb question but how exactly do you check if the heads need to be resurfaced?

93egSLEEPER

Distributor.

apexi_rsx

plug wires correct?

serg86

I wouldn't re use the headbolts, and resurfacing the head is A must

1991_crxsi

iTrader: (1)

If the valve timing is good, compression is good, your intake is not clogged (Like you left something obstructing the air passage) the engine is turning, and the intake manifold is attached properly, then the problem is either a fuel problem or a spark problem. Assuming no rewiring was done to the car, the cause could be either improper wiring order of the spark plug wires, bad plugs, bad wires, bad or dislodged rotor. A very common spark problem on the D series is the ICM and the Coil I have had this happen on more than 1 occasion. If it is a fuel problem it could be bad fuel (I have had bad gas before and I'm not talking about the type you get after too much Taco Bell. In all likelihood bad gas is probably not your problem), a bad main relay, or a bad fuel pump. I'm sure you know how to check this. Also, if you removed your injector plugs, they may be in the wrong locations. This would likely cause the same symptoms. I wish I was there to look at it with you, its hard to tell over the interwebs. Good luck.

93egSLEEPER

Im telling you, get a spark plug attachment to check for spark off the dizzy wires. I bet they are dead.

1991_crxsi

iTrader: (1)

Did you figure it out?

turquoisejaguar

My bad. Took a break from working on the car. Got the head resurfaced and decided to scrap the cheap fel-pro gasket in favor of an oem mls gasket and new head bolts those come in in a few days. I'm low on money so I returned the compression kit in favor of putting that money towards the resurface, the new gasket, and the head bolts.

There is some question as to whether I've plugged in the sp wires correctly. My manual has directions that I followed but I otherwise am unsure of how to tell if it's correct. I also changed the fuel filter at the suggestion of another mechanic.

Nis - yeah la has tool stores but being tight on money makes it easier to order on amazon (I have free two day shipping). The few spots that I have been to jack me around because I'm a novice and a chick.

Crxsi/93eg - do icms and/or ignition coils just fail randomly or are there symptoms leading up to that? The engine sounded fine 6pm Saturday evening and then the next morning, 8am, began running rough. Is it normal to blow a headgasket and the distributor at the same time?

Crxsi- could you explain what you meant by the bad or dislodge rotor?

Thanks for all the responses guys : )

1991_crxsi

iTrader: (1)

Usually the ignition coil or ICM usually just happens suddenly. There can be symptoms of trouble starting and ignition missing though. The rotor inside of the distributor has a tiny screw that holds it in. If this screw becomes loose it can fall out and dislodge the rotor. This leads to ignition failure. I wish I was there, probably could get it figured out really quick. No, it is not usual to have a head gasket and distributor go out at the same time. There is no reason why that would happen in conjunction with one another other than just plain bad luck. That is pretty unlikely, but stranger things have happened. LMK how it goes.