Blew my head gasket
 

Im blowing out white smoke once in awhile from my tail pipe so i stopped driving my 91 turbo. Im wondering if there are any head gasket kits you would recommend for a turbo. im planning on pushing 8 to 10 psi when everything is said and done. Also Im worried about the timing belt I dont think i have the tools to do it. Does anyone have a good walk through of how to do the head gasket and timing belt?

Thanks -Brian

1st you have to tell us if you have a 1.6 or 1.8 but either way here

Let me google that for you

oh right sorry its the 1.6

FM sells a fancy metal head gasket, though I don't see any issue with the OEM unit. When I replaced mine last year (due to an oil leak in the back) I used another stocker.

What tools do you believe you are missing to do the timing belt? Off the top of my head, apart from the usual socket set, you need:
1- Pliers (to remove tensioning spring).
2- Breaker bar (or 1/2 drive wrench & a piece of pipe) to remove crank pulley.
3- Torque wrench accurate to 125 ft/lbs.
4- A bit of white-out (or nail polish, etc) to mark belt.
5- A set of open-end wrenches or vise-grips is useful to hold the wrestle the cams into position.

IMO, the best tutorial is the factory service manual. The only deviation I make is that instead of the special tool to lock the crank in place, just put the transmission in 5'th and set the handbrake hard.

Thanks for the input. I thought i might need a timing light to see if its set correctly.

You certain its water and not oil smoke? Does the smoke disipate fast or carries/lingers? Any other symptoms--rough cold start followed by puff of smoke, spark plug condition, over heating, etc?

no over heating no milky oil no roungh running no loss of power just once in awhile there is a huge cloud of smoke when im at a stop light its forsure coming out of the tail pipe and is white i thought it could be trans fluid but how could i burn tran fluid with a manual?

Rings.

He'll also need a 12 point 14mm socket I think.

Well, yeah. And a big one for the main bolt. Like I said, "apart from the usual socket set."

The documentation:
http://img40.picoodle.com/img/img40/...1m_a963d5f.gif

http://img40.picoodle.com/img/img40/...2m_11c8813.gif

http://img40.picoodle.com/img/img40/...3m_35062c5.gif

http://img38.picoodle.com/img/img38/...4m_bafa38c.gif

http://img32.picoodle.com/img/img32/...1m_b32517e.gif

http://img36.picoodle.com/img/img36/...2m_266a9a7.gif

http://img36.picoodle.com/img/img36/...3m_bc7394b.gif

http://img40.picoodle.com/img/img40/...4m_3101ecb.gif

Perfect Joe thank you so much this is what i was looking for ill have the computer with me in the garage this week.

BenR, why do you think my rings are bad? and if im in there replacing the head gasket should i replace the rings as well?

Thanks -Brian

if your going to take off the head, get it resurfaced.

i have a brand new HKS 2mm head gasket if you want to buy it.

brings your compression down to 9.0:1

what does resurfacing the head do? what is the gasket made of? how much will the lower compression effect my engine?

Thanks-Brian

Stock head gaskets are proven to 500+wtq. If you blew it, you're doing something seriously wrong (or seriously right).

Are you really sure you want to try and do a head gasket & timing belt yourself? It's not like changing the oil in the car... if you're asking questions about what resurfacing does, and think that you can replace rings just like that, then I'd make sure I had some sort of mechanic friend with me. To replace your rings, you have to disassemble the bottom end of the motor. My guess would also be rings, as a head gasket will cause white smoke pretty much all the time. Resurfacing the head makes sure it is flat and like new.

yeah it's not that easy.

the stock 1.6 gasket is a graphite, which is not that great.
all the good aftermarket ones are metal.
your suppose to resurface when you remove the head.
might suggest getting new head bolts too.

if your going to do all this work might as well do it right.

like they all said multilayer head gasket and arp head studs well worth the money best change your water pump too seeing how as you need all that stuff off to do it. also change the idler and tensioner pulleys for the timing belt and the spring.

Does the cloud of smoke dissipate quickly like steam or does it linger or carry quite a ways. If it's coolant the smoke will dissipate quickly as its steam, where as if its oil it lingers and also has a bluish tinge to it. Try to be outside the car when it smoke and observe those characteristics.

You may want to do, or have done, a compression leak down testto see if you are losing compression among all cylinders(rings) or just a cylinder or two(possibly just HG).

Ya thats the plan, buy a water pump,timing and head gasket kit. but does anyone know of any decent kits? the gogle kits seem to have a big price jump im not sure which to buy.

I know what you mean my resurfacing the head to insure thar the new gasket doesnt leak because of a scratch or something but ive just never know anyone thats had that done.

im going to have to go buy a pressure tester. the smoke come out of the pipe and sits in the air no more than 5 seconds

I'm going to say rings not head gasket. If its not doing it all the time, and doing it at redlights (not under load like it would be in gear) then its likely the rings. Search for some of my rebuild threads and see if your symptoms sound like mine. I was being a fool and blaming the head gasket and/or block and head surface, when all along it was the rings and I didn't want to admit it. Mine would smoke more under light loads (revving at idle) but would mostly go away when driving. 5 head gaskets later I broke down and did a rebuild. Now I have a fresh rebuild, no oil or coolant consumption and certainly no smoke. Feels great.

thanks NA6C, if im doing the rings ill have to tear everything apart should i get a metal head gasket to insure i dont have to replace it later?

umm...isn't the 1.6 compression lower than 9.0:1?

If i'm right it would be raising it to 9.0:1.....or are you saying its going to drop it lower than what the stock compression is?

Compression on the 1.6 is 9.4:1 on the manual cars, 9.0:1 with the auto.

And yeah, this is sounding like rings. Wanna be sure? Take it to a mechanic and have them pressure-test the cooling system. An adapter is installed in place of the radiator cap, and air is used to pressurize the system. You should be able to apply 15 PSI to the system and have it hold with zero leakdown. If the pressure drops (and you find coolant in one or more of the cylinders afterward) then it's the head gasket. If the system holds pressure, then the gasket it not a likely candidate.

Im in my first year at st paul college for auto mechanics, ive watched all the second year kids do these things because the second year is all engines. Im sure i can find the procedure in one of my books, but id rather not drive the car anywhere. im wondering if it is rings should i worry about it effecting anything else? and what are a good replacement ring brand I should look for with a turbo?

Thanks Brian

Shouldn't cause any other problems outside of fuel mixing with oil and creating more bearing wear, but if you are rebuilding, I would surely hope you will be using new bearings anyway. I don't know about the 1.6, but the 1.8 already has an all metal head gasket. Perhaps the 1.6 came with a non MLS gasket, I don't know. For the 1.8, the OEM and many of the parts store brands I looked at were about the same price. Also, while the block is out, it gave me an extra bit of assurance to have my block deck machined flat, though it was probably not needed. But at $30, having both the head and block machined flat made me feel good. If you have the money, might as well go all out and make this a rebuild, not just a fixing rings deal. Won't cost you much more to go ahead and do everything you can (hot tank the block and head, inspect the head, install new valve seals, clean HLA's, timing belt kit, oil pump inspection and replacement if needed, all new gaskets and o-rings, ect.). Of course this is only if your doing it yourself. If a shop is doing it, the labor costs would go up a LOT! Excluding my ignorance and mistakes, it should have only cost me about an extra $300-$500 to do everything I did to my engine. It made it worth it, me knowing that I pretty much have a brand new OEM spec engine (with slightly higher compression ratio).

Im BROKE haha but i dont think its my rings i dont have any oil consumption and the smoke cloud is white not blue.

The 1.6 head gaskets are graphite, if i do my head ill replace it with metal.

OK, but I said the same thing 5 times (5 new head gaskets and 5 head removals) before I took other peoples advice and went with new rings. Of course it wont hurt anything to try a new head gasket first, except a $60-$80 loss. That might fix it, but from the symptoms you've listed it sounds like rings. My smoke color tricked me.

ill forsure do the leak testing first so i dont waste my time and money.

So is it really a good idea to go with head studs and MLS gaskets?

I ask this question because right now I'm changing the HG on my friends Greddyed 1992 for the 2nd time this year. He had a turbo and no supporting mods (no intercooler, timing retard, no nothing). I think in his case and some others that are not going to do it "right" the HG is a cheep fix. If it had a MLS gasket and head studs you would prob find the next weakest link in the motor, who knows....piston, rod, both much more of a PITA to replace than a HG.

Depends on power goals. I wouldn't call it a bad idea in any case, but probably not needed in most cases. I went with them for piece of mind, and they weren't all that expensive.

I wasnt getting more than 3 psi so i hadnt hooked up an intercooler could that have caused my head gasket to blow?

I think it's your rings because the stated symptoms match.

"no over heating no milky oil no roungh running no loss of power just once in awhile there is a huge cloud of smoke when im at a stop light its forsure coming out of the tail pipe and is white i thought it could be trans fluid but how could i burn tran fluid with a manual?"



Of course with out some solid diagnostic work, it's just an internet guess. Get a leakdown test, and a full compression test and get back to us.

The headgasket on the 1.6 though not MLS is ALOT stronger than you think it is. It can handle alot of excessive heat, and pressure. In most cases it takes a colossal fuckup to blow one.

You're going to need to replace your head gasket when you replace your rings.

I just took a look at your car...your HG is fine, your rings are gone.

Icantdo55 said he has replaced his friends HG multiple times because he wasnt running it "right" could i have done the same thing? its probly 5 psi max but i never hit that.

here's what i found:

http://www.boostedmiata.com/blown_engine/pistons.jpg

why would i burn coolant with bad piston rings?

I drove her the other day and everytime i hit a stop light i held the throttle a little. i kept it at 1k and i didnt have any smoke come out! what the heck. could i be leaking coolant in my TB?

I did a compression test today cylinders 1-4 183-175-185-190 warm it still smoked after i drove it around the block what the heck it passed both the compression and cooling system pressure test.

post a picture of your engine bay.

But ive been running filters on both sides of the head.

see anything odd

Too much dirt and oil.

I'm going to go a different way than everyone else and say its the rings...

You also need to do a leak down test, not just a compression test.

bad rings dont burn coolant. how am i getting collant into my cylinders if its not the head gasket?

How do you know its coolant? I say just have a HG ready, and pull the head and check it out. Clean up some junk while your at it. Bolt it back up and see what happens.

My coolant was the only fluid that showed a change of any kind it was slightly lower the oil is perfect. Normal level, color and smell. on the dip stick and cap.

can you blow through your pcv?

There are alot of things that would create a low coolant level including the water pump weeping fluid from it's filthy weep hole. To determine if the coolant is getting into the combustion chamber at all you can rule it out by pulling the spark plugs and cranking the motor, if there is any coolant in the cylinder because of a head gasket you'll have a gusher.

The PCV hose looks kinked/collapsed to me.

What is the hose laying on the valve cover behind #1 sparkplug wire?

Have you pressure tested the cooling system for an extended time, to see what it drops in say 1/2 hr to an hour?

I didnt see where there were results from a leakdown test.

Pull the plugs, look down the holes with a flashlight and see if there are any discolored piston tops. Oil burn = black, coolant leak = white, bad coolant leak the piston tops can be cleaned to almost new looking. A closeup pic of the plugs out may reveal something.

I just took my turbo off cylinder 4 seems to have a blackish gray soot in the exhaust

well it is the exhaust side... I don't think that really means anything. And yah, your PCV hose looks like it's screwed.

I did another coolant system pressure test for about an hour it was set at 15 psi i checked it after 15 minutes it was down to 14 then i checked a half hour later it was still at 14 after an hour it was still at 14. I dont run it with the bend tube i have filters on both pcv holes

Stop that, return it to at least the stock greddy configuration, make sure the pcv valve is functioning correctly and report back.

I'd advise at least a 323GTX PCV valve with a non-kinked hose going to the IM.

I personally don't like the idea of running the hotside breather into the compressor inlet. I don't want to be sucking oily air through the intercooler if I don't have to. So I run a little filter on that side as pictured.

i have filters on both sides

I'am having the same problem as this and everything I could check is ok. So the last thing I can think of is bad valve stem seals? because its only under a vac. that it will burn some oil. Its the only other source oil can enter the combustion chamber.

Also when you pull the head you can do a simple ring test of turn the engine till all the pistons are about the same hight, Then poor oil in each till the top of cylinder. Let sit overnight than see if levels change at all.

I took the turbo out and have not seen smoke or burned coolant since

Then it probably wasn't coolant to begin with.