ok ok, i got my 1990 hatch running with a new zc sohc swap and replaced the head gasket and got all wiring done, but, i took out for a spin, and its only firing on two cylinders, dnt kno why, and plus the botom of my car started smoking up like it wanted to catch on fire, i have no clue what the heck happened, the whole interior floor of the car is hot, the backseats are hot, and it smells like burnt in there, what could have happened, thanks for any feedback.

 

Sounds like a clogged cat. - Darrell

 

Make sure that you re check all of your stuff, and make sure that you didn't miss anything, or hook up anything wrong. as for that two cyl. problem the first thing that I would check is your ign. and see if you might have hooked it up wrong. It could be a cloged cat. but that would make no sense if it worked before. Unless you scewed it up well you were doing the swap. anyways hope it works out for you.

 

Since you replaced your head gasket I'm assuming the old one went bad. If so, if coolant ever touched your 02 sensor you need to replace it, the same rule also applys for cats but rarely anyone will replace a cat after a headgasket. Some people won't even get a new head gasket either.

 

well its just odd that this happened, i also heard this weird backfiring sounds near the cat while i was driving it around corner, sort of like if it was loose and compression was just too much and air was escaping. Quuick, question though, if it was a clogged cat, why did my whoile car smell like burnt inside and all of the bottom of my car, completely was smoking when i lifted it the front with a jack??anyone know?? i seriusly need help with this its driving me nuts not having a car. thanks for any help.

 

Did it smell like coolant ? I mean how bad was the old head gasket ? Did a lot of coolant get in the exhaust ? It could of been the coolant burning off. If its stuck inside your cat and thats where its burning at, right around there , there is a hole for the shifter to come threw the floor. So it could of got in that way

 

the head gasket was not so bad, part of it was ripped appart by the piston barrels on both sides by the dizzy side and on the opposite side. i just gave up on my zc sohc engine and am thinking of just pulling it out and starting fresh with an si engine. let me know what you guys think.