Blown head gasket

[newsho90]

My 90 sho blew a head gasket today I found out from the mechanic. I'm going to fix it myself if I can..so 2 questions can I get the head ported and polished or should I? and can anybody around michigan maybe give me a hand since $1000 to fix the problem is too much money for me since most of my money goes for school.

 

[Slo-Sho]

Whoa, start from the beginning...we are here to help. The v6 yamahammer is a pretty stout motor, what signs are the motor exhibiting?

 

[newsho90]

I had a shop look at it..they already did all the tests and **** and I trust the guy. But I'm not willing to fork out $1000 for head gasket and labor.

 

[TYSHO]

I wouldn't trust a mechanic, EVER, their job is to make money, not friends!

 

[Mr Anonymous]

Agreed. Head gasket failure on any SHO motor is quite rare. You're in MI and there are a ton of SHO owners around there that can probably help you figure out if in fact you really lost a HG or if the problem lies elsewhere.

In the unlikely event that you did blow a HG, the easiest thing to do it going to be to find a used engine at a junkyard or here on the forum and install that. In the rare occasions that HG's fail, there's a good chance that the head has warped and is not reusable, nevermind the contamination to the oiling system, bearings, etc.

 

[Ferendon]

What signs is it exhibiting? Don't trust general machanics unless you know for a fact they have a substancial knowledge of the SHO engine, as it is different from the others. It's very prone to having character, which varies from motor to motor. List the symptoms here. A HG replacment wouldn't fix a motor with a blown HG. You blow that, and it's time to rebuild.

 

[SHO Type U]

Are you seeing coolant spitting out of your mufflers?

When the engine is cool, when you remove the radiator cap, after your car warms up, is the coolant gushing out?

 

[newsho90]

Well its a local shop and yeah I guess you guys are right doubt he knows much about a sho's motor. He does kinda rip me off I think from when I have taken my other car there.so far i've only noticed coolant leaking from like below the radiator when the motor gets hott..nothing out of the tailpipes or anything..this problem started when I took the car down a dirt road(which I rarely do) and then all of a sudden starting overheating like I loosened something on the dirt road. the cars still at the shop till I pick it up but I'll do some more looking.. Can anybody help me look at her that knows what they are doing from MI?

 

[Slo-Sho]

lol, this could be a long shot but...Your endtanks are leaking and you need a new radiator. The car is running hot b/c you're probably low on coolant. Yeah, if I could change out a $100 radiator and charge $1000 for a HG job....

 

[Mr Anonymous]

Can anybody help me look at her that knows what they are doing from MI?

Try posting this in the "Contacting SHOForum Members" and "Tri-State SHO/SVT Club" sections of the forum to reach some Michigan folks.

 

[Ferendon]

Check the seals on the radiator cap. Dirt may have damaged or swollen the seal causing it to create improper pressure on the cooling system, which will cause it overflow out of the overflow tank (how appropriate, eh?). Check that, and ask him WHY he says the head gasket's blown.

 

[NotSoSlowSHO]

Dont ever take your SHO, or any other vehicle to that mechanic ever again

i agree with many here. the endtanks in the radiatior have probably separated and is spilling coolant. Or it might be as simple as a loose radiator hose clamp.

Have you checked the oil?

 

[SHOman247]

how far is milford from the warren area?? i can come out and look at it or you can bring it over on this side of town and have myself and several other detroit sho owners look at it including the owner of this site(beth-bizzy). Try posting in the tri-state club section on this board and you will get the help you need man

 

[pjtoledo]

..this problem started when I took the car down a dirt road(which I rarely do) and then all of a sudden starting overheating ......


How hot did it get? How far was it driven while overheated? An overheating condition can warp a head, and allow a head gasket to blow. The usual symptoms are any combination of: steam from the exhaust, coolant in the oil, dull gray milky appearing oil,,,that's the coolant mixed with oil, and bubbles in the radiator. The bubbles are the exhaust leaking into the coolant. The tests are cylinder compression and leakdown, and cooling system pressure test. If the head really is warped, it is junk. Milling just puts a flat surface on the bottom, the top of course is also warped so the cam bearings are no longer in alignment.


Perry

 

[SolidState]

I agree...if it overheated bad enough, you could have blown the HGs after warping the aluminum heads...

 

[newsho90]

thanks guys but yeah I messed up bad I've drivin the car a few times when I knew the car would overheat. Milford is about 30 min from warren and I would be glad to bring the car over or what not. I forgot to mention the car ran into a deer earlier this winter by my friend that I bought the car off of so I'm guessing there isn't ample coolant being supplied to the motor. But this is my first sho and love driving the car so if this car is too far gone(other problems front end, RR strut is broken) I will ditch the car and maybe buy another one this year. If I could get my hands on a gen 2. Those are the ones I really like.

 

[newsho90]

think I might just junk the car for parts..like I said before hood and both fenders no good other than that all the rest of the parts are good..start making offers boys 90 mtx white sho. 113,000 miles still runs good for a blow head or hg or whatever

 

[h1h0silver]

lemme get this right....steam from the exhaust means blown hg? i had a coolant problem too. in process of ripping the front of the engine apart. i couldn't ever find the coolant leak. i am assuming that it might have been from the water pump and leaked onto the cps causing the car to run no more. steam only came out for like 5 minutes. but my knocking noise got much worse. i have a bad feeling that tearing it down is a waste of time. i wanna get the heads off and look. the engine is probably junk. 141k and no known history of proper maintenance. makes sense in hawaii, all they care about are body kits and soup can mufflers. any help is appreciated.

 

[Bizzy]

Well, I've got a set of new Ford head gaskets if you need them. As for ditching the car let me know off-line. Depending on the condition I might take it off your hands. If you decide to part it let me know, again off-line, and we can arrange for a classified ad here on the forum. Send me some pics of it via email if you have any. [email protected]

 

[h1h0silver]

removed a head today. the left one, the easy one. would have done both but don't have extension long enough to reach manifold to exhaust fastners. pulled that head today and the gasket is one piece. but no.6 cylinder has water in it. with piston all the way down is was about 25% full of water. how does that happen if the gasket has no break in it. also all of the coolant ports in the block had this jelly type stuff in it. not a whole lot and mostly near the surface. what is that from? i have pictures of what i found but i don't know how to post them. im very new to the sho so i don't know what the head gasket is supposed to look like before it is installed, but how does is plug up coolant ports in the head. the ports on the head on the intake side were all blocked. almost like part gasket/part dirt. the ports on the exhaust side were fairly ok. any help is appreciated. more details to come.