Head Gasket is Blown

[mrledee]

Hello everyone,

I have a friend with a 99' Galant who has a blown head gasket (a mechanic told him). He doesn't know much about cars, and I have some knowledge and I was planning to take it apart this weekend and see how bad it is. I've done automotive work before, and I've helped someone replace a headgasket on a V6, but never on an I4. I understand that basically the entire top of the engine has to come off, and one of my main concerns is the timing belt (I have never replaced a timing belt or timed an I4 engine).

I just wanted to see if anyone could provide me with some tips to make this project a little smoother for me (pics, videos, experiences, etc).

Thanks in advance

[galantlvr34]

here is a link for doing the timing belt.
https://www.thegalantcenter.org/showthread.php?t=16604&highlight=timing+belt

[galantlvr34]

here is another thread that might help you out.
https://www.thegalantcenter.org/showthread.php?t=42060&highlight=head+gasket

[gnaunited]

Here are a couple of pics to let you know just how much has to come off:

https://www.thegalantcenter.org/showpost.php?p=646358&postcount=18

[shortdogg2k05]

Timing a 4 cylinder is not hard at all just match up all timing marks.

[mrledee]

Thanks everyone for the info you have already supplied me with, it has been extremely helpful so far.

Okay, so I began to take the engine apart...I drained and flushed the cooling system, jacked it up and removed all the accessory belts and the timing belt covers. So this is how far I got.

http://i1192.photobucket.com/albums/aa326/mrledee/pic.jpg

I was looking in the shop manual (Haynes) and it doesn't describe how to remove the main bolt and gear that holds on the timing belt so I can get to the other belt in the back. I have all the timing marks lined up (I think). The only one I'm not sure about is the one on the main gear. I couldn't find what I thought was the timing mark for the main gear and I circled what I thought could be possible timing marks. Currently, every other mark is lined up (cam, oil pump, and balance shaft).

Can anyone give me some advise on how to proceed? I don't want to take off the belt unless I am 100% sure everything is correct.

Thanks again

[gnaunited]

The timing mark is the notch on the plate behind it, so you do have it lined up correctly.. To remove the sprocket, you have to remove the crankshaft bolt, but in order to do so you have to stop the crankshaft from turning. If you do not have the tool from mitsu or a set of air tools:

Remove the flywheel inspection plate (bottom of engine, facing toward transmission), I believe it to be 2 screws (facing up) and 2ish bolts into the transmission. Take it off and you will see the flywheel. I used a flat head screw driver, "locked" it into one of the teeth, and used it as a wedge so the flywheel would be unable to turn. Make sure you do so in the correct direction, as in put the screwdriver in a place where it can not turn counter-clockwise.

From there try and break the bolt loose. After that you might need a pulley / crankshaft puller. I used a steering wheel puller from Autozone. Once you take it off you will see that there is a notch so that it and the plate behind it only go on one way. Then you can change out the balance shaft belt.

[gnaunited]

Also, when I took my covers off for the first time, it was just as greasy as yours, except mine also has copious amounts of shredded timing belt all over. I would douse the entire area with degreaser and clean it off so that the new timing belt (I am assuming you are doing it) will last longer.

[mrledee]

Thanks, I thought the notch on the back plate was the timing mark for the crankshaft. The only thing I thought was weird was that in the shop manual it shows the position of the mark on the crank being in time around the 9 o'clock position. The manual says there should be some kind of mark on the block in the 9 o'clock position.

[gnaunited]

http://www.gnaunited.com/images/fark/marks.png

[mrledee]

Hello again,

Thanks for all of the great info. So, I've had the cylinder head pressure checked, and my new gaskets and cylinder head bolts are coming in the mail tomorrow. I've been doing a lot of reading concerning the torque specifications, and I can't really get a consistent answer across different websites I've found.

Can anyone here give me their recommended torque specifications and the tightening/loosening sequence of the bolts?


Thanks a lot!

[gtx]

For the correct torquing sequence and specs download the Factory Service Manual here (http://www.megaupload.com/?d=OCF28ZCK). That's the one to go by.

[mko]

dont forget to align the balance shafts

[mrledee]

Well I finally got everything hooked back up and I tried to fire it up yesterday. After a little effort and engine starter, it cranked up! I ran it for about 45 mins, and I ran it today for about 3 hours. I don't see any leaks of any kind (water, oil, etc).

The only thing that I need to address is when the car is in park and idling, it seems to increase and decrease the RPM (it idles around 900, and it will hover between 1200 and 700. When I try to turn on the AC, the car dies. When I go to put it in gear to go forward or reverse, it idles very low and I'm sure if I was to hit the gas hard it would probably shut off.

I was reading the Haynes book on the car and I saw a part called a Idle Air Control (IAC) valve/motor. After reading a description of what it does, I am convinced that this is the part I need to replace. This part cost around $200, and before I go to buy it I wanted to see if anyone here had an opinion if I should suspect this part or maybe something else.

Thanks again everyone

[gnaunited]

I would check for vacuum leaks or hoses that are not hooked up. Failing that I would go to a junkyard and look for the replacement part first.

[Stewi]

Yeah check over all the vacuum lines and stuff first, chances are you forgot to connect something. Also, 8g's are notorious for the intake manifold cracking underneath at the welds to the throttle body flange, check that as well but its probably just a vacuum line or wire thats not connected to a sensor.

[galantlvr34]

yeah it could be the iac does it seem like it is doing an idle surge,increasing idle decreasing idle and if it doesnt catch you have to give it gas to stop it from stalling.Ebay usually has the iac for a good price.i would check the vacuum lines to like mentioned above,make sure they arent cracked and check the ones on the throttle body to.

[mrledee]

Okay, so I put in new spark plugs, cleaned the IAC, MAF and throttle body, and put new gas with fuel injector cleaner and it now works a lot better! I can turn on the AC and the engine increases the idle like it is suppose to!

Thanks a lot for your help everyone. Now for the new problem...


Up to this point, I have just been running the car in the driveway, occasionally backing up and going forward, since the car doesn't have any tags or insurance yet. I've probably run the car for a grand total of 15 hours since I fixed it. Today when I was revving the engine, I noticed some white smoke coming from the exhaust. I'm starting to wonder if the new gasket is failing already. I had the cylinder head pressure checked and resurfaced at the machine shop, installed a new head gasket and torqued all bolts to specs. If the new gasket is failing, I'm trying to understand why. I don't want to redo the job and have the same thing happen all over again if there is something I can do differently.

Any suggestions?

[gnaunited]

It could be everything resealing itself, or as was in my case, a valve stem seal blew. I ended taking the car back to the same shop (drove this time) and they redid the seals and problem solved. If you can I would post a video, those tend to help out a lot with these things.

[Stewi]

Easiest thing to do is a compression test and a cylinder leakdown test, if you have a cylinder leaking down you can isolate it. Also if it was a valve stem seal, the smoke would be a bluish color since its burning oil. Is the white smoke constant? I know if I leave my car for a week without starting it, alot of moisture builds up in the exhaust and it will blow white smoke for about 10-15 minutes and once its fully warmed up, it will go away.

[mrledee]

I will try and post a video within the next few days. I am not familiar with the valve stem seal. Where is it located and how much work would it be to check or replace it?

[gnaunited]

Where did you order the gasket from? Did you flush the oil out to make sure you got rid of the coolant?

[mrledee]

Ok, I posted a video of me running the car. At first (before the video started) there wasn't any smoke coming out. I started the video after the car was running for about 5 minutes. That's when the smoke started to come out. When I rev the engine, you can really see a lot of smoke coming out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_DD2vgcIg4

Let me know what you guys think.

Thanks and Happy Easter!

[gnaunited]

Mine smoked white when first started, so probably not the same issue.

[mrledee]

Yea, its pretty constant. I'm not sure if it will get worse over time. Where is the valve stem seal located? Would it require removing the cylinder head to replace?

Do you think maybe I would have to tighten the cylinder head bolts some more?

[gnaunited]

The valve stem seals are in the top portion of the head, any machine shop / mechanic should be able to replace them. What torquing specs did you follow?

[mrledee]

I looked it up online, I'm trying to remember exactly. I believe it said to initially tighten them down to 55 lbs, then loosen them all, then tighten them to 15 lbs, then 1/4 turn, then another 1/4 turn.

[gnaunited]

Ok, that is exactly what I did any so far so good. Right now my only advice would be to drive it a long distance, check for any leaks, and see what fluid it is burning, be it oil or coolant.

Mine was burning oil but came out white.

This might sound stupid but does the exhaust have a certain smell? Like sweet or maybe like burning oil?

[mrledee]

I forgot to mention regarding the valve stem seal, when I had the cylinder head pressure checked at the machine shop before the reinstall, they said everything checked out. Does that also include the valve stem seal?

[gnaunited]

Probably.

What exactly did the car do to make you suspect that the head gasket blew? Did you find evidence that it was damaged when you pulled the head?

[mrledee]

When the car initially died, the owner took it to a mechanic and they told him that they cylinder head blew. When I took it apart, the pistons were filled with water.

[gnaunited]

My next guess is going to be piston rings, unless someone wants to jump in. Usually water in the pistons is a bad thing.

[gnaunited]

Where do you live by the way?

[mrledee]

Piston rings? Wow that would suck. I'm in San Antonio, TX. I'm thinking its something to do with burning coolant.

I was thinking about it and when I first start the car, there is no white smoke. It only starts to smoke after the car runs for about 5 mins. Maybe that's when the water starts to circulate in the engine once the thermostat opens up. I've noticed that the coolant levels are lower after I run the car for a while, and there are no external leaks I can see. However, there is mostly water (not antifreeze) in the engine, so some of it may be steaming out or evaporating.

[gnaunited]

Did you completely flush out the coolant and oil? It is possible that there is still coolant in the engine oil and it is burning off. You can try giving it another oil change, but I think at this point I am out of ideas.

[mrledee]

Yes, before I removed the cylinder head, I removed the thermostat and flushed the engine with a hose for about 5-10 mins, then drained all of the coolant. I also drained the oil and left the drain plug off for a few days. When I put everything back together, I put new coolant and oil.

[gnaunited]

Try draining some oil and see what color it is.

[mrledee]

Will do, thanks again for all of your help. I think over the weekend I will drain the oil and remove the valve cover and check the torque specs on the bolts just to make sure.

I will keep you updated!

[mrledee]

Today I drained the oil and removed the valve cover. Considering the oil was brand new, it looks kind of milky. It was about the color of chocolate, maybe a little darker. I checked the head bolts and I found that they weren't as tight as they needed to be. I thought back to when I put the cylinder head on the first time, and I remember torquing the bolts to the 15 lbs but I don't think I did the 2 additional 90 degree turns. So I tightened all the bolts down another 90 degrees in order, and another 90 degrees as specified. I added the oil back and proceeded to run the car.

At first, the car sounded like it had a little more power than before (maybe a little more compression since I tightened down the bolts. But after a few minutes of idling, it started to smoke again. I noticed the engine running a little rough too, it was shaking a little but it didn't die. I let it run for about 5-7 minutes and shut it off.

I was talking to a guy at O'reilly's and he suggested that the intake manifold gasket could be the problem. I remembered that I had to reuse the original because the one I ordered from online didn't fit and I was pressed for time so I reused the original metal one. A new gasket is like $10, so I might try and change that out next weekend.

Any other suggestions?

[gnaunited]

Considering the car hasn't been driven anywhere I would be very suspicious of milky oil. Try changing out the gasket but I am not sure that would cause the smoke.

[gnaunited]

Also check the coolant color too to make sure it isn't tainted.

[Rabbi1991]

It's water. Water gives you white smoke and mikly oil. Not sure where it's coming from, could be a crack somewhere and that ain't good. Likely you need a new dexel, not sure how you would fix a crack. Since it comes after 5min it mean it's very small and needs the dexel to warm up so it is wide enough for it to leak.

[mrledee]

The guy I spoke to made it sound like water could be leaking between one of the water channels in the cylinder head and the intake, causing water to go through the intake.

[mrledee]

Thanks again for your responses. I've never heard of a dexel before, what is that? Is it repairable/replaceable and how would I go about it?

[gnaunited]

After much searching, I am assuming he is taking about the gasket. I searched a few places and could not find this word used other than in a place name.

[mrledee]

If that is the problem, do you think some kind of radiator stop leak might solve the problem?

[gnaunited]

At this point I would bite the bullet and take it somewhere for diagnostics.

[mrledee]

I noticed something strange today. When the car is running for a while (>10 mins) and is operating at normal temp (half way between H and C), the lower radiator hose is not hot, it is actually pretty cool. Its weird that the car doesn't overheat according to the temp gauge, but water is steaming out of the reservoir tank.

Before reinstalling the thermostat, I checked it in a pot of boiling water and it works fine. I also installed a new water pump, so I'm trying to figure out why the water is not circulating and yet the car doesn't overheat!!

[gnaunited]

Clogged radiator?

[gnaunited]

Pull a hose and start it, it will make a mess but will tell you.

[mrledee]

Any particular hose? I was considering pulling the thermostat and running the car with out it and seeing what happens too.

[gnaunited]

Try lower, you said it was cold and would make the least mess in your engine bay.

[mrledee]

But if I pull the lower hose, it will drain the entire radiator. I thought you mean to pull a smaller hose, like a heater hose.

[gnaunited]

You can try draining it into a clean bucket. But this is wierd.

[mrledee]

I don't care about making a mess, I just don't know how this will test the circulation of the cooling system if I drain the radiator, and the all of the contents of the lower hose. Don't I want to give the engine a chance to pump all the water out of the block?