problems :
- burns oil (needs about 1/2 a quart a week)
- burns coolant (need to refill overflow reservoir every 1 1/2 weeks) (can sometimes smell in car)
- white smoke from exhaust (sometimes, esp. at wot)
- light smoke from under the hood
- sometimes hard to keep idle without stalling (stopped happening after going to the darkside)
- lower than expected performance (191whp/165tq, see sig for setup) (i was expecting 220-250whp)

... i have been told that i could be a couple of things... like a cracked headgasket (not blown or i would be overheating right away)... or cracked ring lands (what are these and how can i check if this is the problem? pull the head, right?)... or cracked sleeves...

... i was also told to do both a compression and leakdown test... i was wondering... after doing these two tests... how will i know if there is a problem?... and then once i pull the head to replace the headgasket what should i look for to check the ring lands, piston rings, and sleeves?...

... thanks for taking the time to read... any help is really appreciated... thanks...





[Modified by 1.8T_EG, 12:39 PM 10/16/2002]

 

I was burning coolant for a while because I hadn't used all the nuts ( I know, ) to hold the intake manifold on. Since coolant passes through the mani it was leaking into the #4 cylinder, check your plugs, I had a green #4 plug.

I don't think you can tell if it's broken rings/lands by just pulling the head, I think you have to pull the rods/pistons.

The logic goes if you've got low compression in a cylinder add a teaspoon of oil in the sparkplug hole and recheck. If the compression goes up it's a problem with pistons/rings. If it doesn't it's valve stem seals/guides.

I think sleeves will be obvious once you pull the head.

No blue smoke under WOT though? Hmmmm....

PS Just as an aside, it's fucked up that I started off just wanting to go fast, I end up knowing how to fix damn near everything on my car.


[Modified by filetofit, 11:45 PM 10/16/2002]

 

up for the night crew

 

If you do a compression check, that can pretty much solve your problems. If they all come out pretty high and within 10-15psi of each other, then you are probably ok. But, if it comes out low it could be a few things. Blown headgasket, cracked ringlands, burnt up valve, or at worst, a cracked sleeve. Once you pull a compression test, you can find out where it is low.

From there, you can get a leakdown performed and this will tell you where exactly you are leaking compression from. After you find this out, you will pretty much pinpoint the problem. Good luck dude....

 

^one last time^

 

Do a compression test and post your results.

 

... just did a compression test... here are my numbers

1 : 180
2 : 178
3 : 185
4 : 185

... great numbers, right?... ((makes me feel a little better))... but now i am totally confused about what my problem is... wtf?!?!?... so now what?... like i said before :

problems :
- burns oil (needs about 1/2 a quart a week)
- burns coolant (need to refill overflow reservoir every 1-2 weeks) (can sometimes smell in car)
- white smoke from exhaust (sometimes, but not always, but esp. at wot)
- blue smoke from exhaust (sometimes, but not always)
- light smoke from under the hood (sometimes)
- sometimes hard to keep idle without stalling (stopped happening after going to the darkside)
- lower than expected performance (191whp/165tq, see sig for setup) (i was expecting 220-250whp)

... i have been told that i could be a couple of things... like a cracked headgasket (not blown or i would be overheating right away)... or o-ring... or worn valves or cracked ring lands (what are these and how can i check if this is the problem? pull the head, right?)... or cracked sleeves...

... thanks for taking the time to read... any help is really appreciated... thanks...