Ok, at some point my A/C stopped blowing cold air, but the performance of my car, as far as I could tell, was unscathed. So I continued driving it with the A/C off, after all, I need all the free horsies I can muster, right?
Some time later, about 3 months later, which leads me to think the A/C problem had nothing to do with it, I notice my coolant bottle empty, so I refill the sucker and next thing I know, about three to four days after refilling the coolant bottle, I notice again the bottle is empty. I check for hose leaks and radiator leaks but notice nothing. So I refill AGAIN, and notice that my car seems to run just fine even when the bottle would empty out a coupled of days after being refilled. About two months after that, my temp gauge starts rocketing up while driving... Believing it's trapped air, I flush my radiator for air pockets. It seems to worked, somewhat. The car ran fine in normal operating temp but it did heat up immensly while stopped, but not to the point that you could smell the engine burning. As soon as I would get the car rolling though, the temp gauge went back down. I thought maybe a faulty temp sensor or thermostat was at fault at this point.
Shortly thereafter, I then notice my temp gauge rocketing high up to the max, whether I'm driving on the HWY and while stopped. I then start planning to buy basic replacement cooling parts to fix the problem--radiator cap, water pump, thermostat. But just recently, I notice my car has trouble starting... it cranks, cranks, and then finally starts, but, of course, it overheats really quickly. I also hear a strange ripping noise from the head when it's running.
Jump to today, the car no longer starts immediately, maybe after 10 minutes of continue cranking. I noticed that when I cold started my car (after about 20 tries), the coolant bottle immediately started to bubble (it usually only does this after about 20 mins of driving, when the car starts overheating). While the car was running, I popped the radiator cap off and saw no liquid but was met with a lot of steam--good thing it was not hot. Are these the symptons of the dreaded blow head gasket? A faulty water pump?
More pertinent details below:
-Car is a 1993 240sx SE-There is no coolant in the oil and no visible coolant leak (where is the coolant going???)-Spark plugs in chambers 3 and 4 are oil fouled.-New NGK ignition wires were just installed
Any information that anyone has in helping me determine the problem will be greatly appreciated. Keep up the good work guys!
Signs of a blown HG--240sx '93?
To Answer your question, typical symptoms of a blown headgasket MAY include:
-bubbles of air coming up into your radiator (remove cap before starting)
-leaking radiator
-milkshake colored oil
-overheating
-rough running
-coolant or oil running from head
-spark plug(s) that have a green tint (if green coolant).
-white colored or sweet smelling exhaust.
Also, white smoke out of your tail pipe, or loosing coolant through your overflow , take the cap off and rev the engine, if you see bubbles or if it comes out you'll know.
In case of no coolant present in your oil, I would have to say check your water pump out. There is a hole at the bottom of the pump, and if the pump fails, it will plug the coolant from going to the engine, and directs it out of the hole.
-bubbles of air coming up into your radiator (remove cap before starting)
-leaking radiator
-milkshake colored oil
-overheating
-rough running
-coolant or oil running from head
-spark plug(s) that have a green tint (if green coolant).
-white colored or sweet smelling exhaust.
Also, white smoke out of your tail pipe, or loosing coolant through your overflow , take the cap off and rev the engine, if you see bubbles or if it comes out you'll know.
In case of no coolant present in your oil, I would have to say check your water pump out. There is a hole at the bottom of the pump, and if the pump fails, it will plug the coolant from going to the engine, and directs it out of the hole.
Hey, thanks for replying.
I'm sheltering my car until I fix the problem. My oil looks great, and I haven't lost any. NO coolant in the oil. Also, no coolant on my spark plugs.
Last time I drove my car, it got really hot..I was stuck on I-95 for a long time because of an accident. I checked under the hood when I got home and saw spark plug no. 4 had oil, and the wire to it was melted off at the cushion, hency why I got new ignition wires. I was crazy for driving the car with this overheating, and I'm willing to pay the price for it. My radiator seems to be empty, because with the cap off I see no liquid. Meanwhile, the coolant reservoir is halfway full, and it does bubble when I start the car. I'm doing a compression check this weekend, and I guess that will settle it for sure.
I'm sheltering my car until I fix the problem. My oil looks great, and I haven't lost any. NO coolant in the oil. Also, no coolant on my spark plugs.
Last time I drove my car, it got really hot..I was stuck on I-95 for a long time because of an accident. I checked under the hood when I got home and saw spark plug no. 4 had oil, and the wire to it was melted off at the cushion, hency why I got new ignition wires. I was crazy for driving the car with this overheating, and I'm willing to pay the price for it. My radiator seems to be empty, because with the cap off I see no liquid. Meanwhile, the coolant reservoir is halfway full, and it does bubble when I start the car. I'm doing a compression check this weekend, and I guess that will settle it for sure.