89 lebaron head gasket

just want to know if you think its the headgasket.

this is an 89 lebaron 2.5 non-turbo. When you put water in the rad,
it'll bubble with no rad cap, shut the car off and put the rad cap on
and it'll start to steam out the exhaust pipe. Soon the water level
will get low and the car will hit redline on the temp gauge. Fill it up
with water while its running and the thermostat will open and it'll
cool down right away. Changed the thermostat already.

Its a school learning project so there's no time schedule, no hurrying
to get it fixed before the weekend, etc.

oh. also pulled the plugs. plugs 2,3,4 look normal (brown electrode and
tips) but plug 1 looked clean with a bit of oil on it. sounds like
there might be a leak there. And also, the car has a bit of a rough
idle sometimes, and a slight delay accelerating from idle. MAF sensor?

 

Possible cracked head/blown head gasket. If you have access to an air
compressor with an adapter that will screw into the spark plug holes,
apply about 100psi while cranking the engine over (coil unplugged) with
the radiator cap off and radiator filled. Stand back and crank the engine,
if you see the coolant spew out of the radiator you can believe its an
internal leak.

Glenn Beasley
Chrysler Tech

 

Noticeable steam out the exhaust pipe is a pretty bad sign.

How would a MAP (that engine didn't use a MAF sensor) cause one plug
to look different from the rest?

Sorry, but based on the symptoms you've cited here, a bad head gasket
is just about the best you can hope for.

 

Sorry, maybe i wasn't clear enough. I believe the clean spark plug
would be a blown head(gasket) around cylinder 1, but the maf sensor
sending the wrong readings. A friend had a 94 ford explorer with a
dirty maf that had a delay when accelerating.

 

i know hilbillys that won't do that crap

 

has a compression test been done on the engine? that should be the first
step

 

As long as you've got a lot of evidence that the head gasket is blown
(or worse), it seems like you should worry about that first, and then
worry about little things.

 

http://www.type2.com/library/engineg/leaktst.htm

And how long have you been diagnoising problems such as this dirty?.. #1
and #4 cylinders on that engine are the first to have headgasket
problems. There is no need to put the cyl on TDC, You dont even need the
gauge. Why would you do a compression test if you suspect an internal
crack or gasket failure? Stick around little boy, you may learn something


Procedure: Remove spark plugs. Set engine to TDC #1. Calibrate test gauge
per the instructions. Lock engine so it can not turn. Conect hose to spark
plug hole, Conect pressurized gauge to hose connection. Read leakage. If
looking for coolant leaks and nothing obvious shows up, bypass gauge and
connect shop air direct to cylinder. Open radiator cap before this. If
coolant sprays out, you have a head problem. Do same test on rest of
cylinders. Remember to set TDC of each piston for compression stroke. This
test is also great for air cooled haed leaks and valve problems. Note that
all engines will have some leakge past the rings. I always do full
pressure test when I suspect a problem. Make sure engine is secured with
full pressure test. it will spin violently. With gauge connected, you can
rock crankshaft to see if leakage changes. If so, this is a sign that the
ring lands are wearing, new engines will also do this until the rings are
seated.

 

Ummm...I know I'm missing something here, but just how would you rock
the crank enough to test the ring lands when you have it locked to
prevent it from motoring from the air pressure?

 

Do a cranking compression test- NOT a cylinder leakdown test with
compressed air. A cranking compression test will show a bad head
gasket a lot faster than a leakdown will. You already know you are
losing coolant, and steaming out the exhaust- sounds like a textbook
case blown headgasket. There's nothing mysterious about it.

The cranking compression test will show you what cylinders are
affected- then pull the head and look in that area.

It also "may" be a valve seat cracked, or cracked head, or cracked
block- but most likely just a gasket. Disassembly will reveal what it
is.