JJT211

Sorry the image is so big, tried to resize.



98 hatch d16y7 with 190k.

On a whim I decided to get an Oil Analysis since it only costs $25. My car has been purring like a kitten the last several months, and was just curious as to how far I can really go on Synthetic. No glaring symptoms or anything.

Well, after I read this report, it seems pretty obvious I have a head gasket leak but I haven't had any overheating probs at all. However, I have noticed that my coolant has indeed been running a tad low and my Oil would drop down to about 3/4 full on dip stick no matter how many times I refilled it. But after it hit 3/4, it never got any lower.

Then I recalled that I actually did overheat about a year ago. It was like the hottest day of the year after sitting in traffic for a while. Dropped my buddy off at his car and when I drove off I had a sudden drop in power. I looked at my gauge and it was on the red. The upper radiator hose had burst.

But ever since I changed that hose, the car has been running great other than that slight coolant and oil loss.

UPDATE: I originally wrote this post about a month ago, but never got a chance to actually post it because something came up in the middle and I just saved to a .doc to finish later. I wasnt having any problems and I didnt have time due to school/work, so I've been waiting to change the HG after the semester ended.

Anyways, since I've changed the oil (which was when I took the oil sample) about 6 weeks ago, I'm now experiencing some slight overheating, up to 240 F (3/4 of gauge but never red) and works its way back down to 205ish. Thats due to a faster coolant loss rate as I added more coolant and it stopped overheating. I guess changing the oil made it worse.

I plan to change the HG myself, but from the looks of the report and the fact I've been running on a leaking HG for almost a year, how much damage do you believe has been done to the engine? Is it worth the repair? I already have all the parts though.

A few highly qualified friends (Engineer and a mechanic) I've talked with seem to think I should just use HG sealant since Ive gone so long on the leak (too much wear) and I could potentially make a driveable for now small leak (time to find a new car or engine but have a lil bit of time to work with) vs an un-driveable (crap I need a new car NOW!!) leak due to me being unable to properly seal the head to the block.

I have the Factory Service Manual and have found a few pretty good DIY's on the net so im pretty confident I can do the repair but im worried that I might have too much warpage to the head and/or block. I do plan on having the head resurfaced, but what about the block?

turtlegrip

What should you do? Probably depends on how much money you have. I dont recommend "HG sealant" but it may/may not work. You need HG, timing belt, water pump, head bolts, good torque wrench, crank pulley tool (or impact gun), other seals, get block and head resurfaced, it is a bit of work and needs to be done right or its not gonna help anything. You could get a new engine. You could buy a new car. Youll find out how much damage is done when you open it up and try to get it leveled, you can also get a compression test done I guess.

Ill be honest I only read the sentences with a question mark at the end of it...

slogfilet

iTrader: (1)

Definitely change the head gasket. Also, learn from my mistake... take the head into a machine shop to get it checked and leveled, if needed. They'll likely check it for free, and it may be $40-50 to get it milled if it's warped. They will know if it's salvageable (and my hunch (based on absolutely nothing) is that they'll be able to shave it for you).

I changed a head gasket once last year, but didn't get the head checked. Of course, it leaked a again. I changed it again with a quality HG (not the eBay crap I'd put on there), got new head bolts at NAPA ($25), and had the head surfaced and pressure tested.

At 190k miles, I think you're at your timing belt interval, too. If you have the head off...

It's not hard to do, and I'm no mechanical whiz. There are plenty of guides out there, and some tips to make things easier.

A note on head gasket sealers: I do believe some of them work as a short term or emergency solution. Others do absolutely nothing. Regardless, they can gunk things up quite a bit, but it's up to you if you need a temporary fix until you can find a permanent solution. If you *do* use one, do a full cooling system flush after you change the HG.

Enjoy! No really, it's fun!