Blown Head Gasket ?

I have had my turbo tbird for a long time. It is an '86. with high milage, but I have pretty much kept up the repairs and maintenece on it. Lately I have noticed that when the rpm's went high as I put a demand on it it would start to miss. I checked the timing and it is right on the money. I especially noticed the missing when the turbo boosted. Recently it started missing sometimes even when the turbo was not boosting. I have tried to not use the car much until I figured out what the problem is. I went to go to the store last night and it ran so rough even at idle and was consitantly missing that I left it parked. I popped the hood to take a look and noticed that the black air intake hose that goes to the turbo charger was coated in a sort of greasy film that I never noticed before. I am starting to think the head gasket has gone bad and is getting gradually worse. Any suggestions or comments would be appreciated. thanx. I hate to junk this old gal has been quite faithful to me and I have come to love her.

[This message has been edited by Badbean (edited 04-14-2004).]

When was the last time it had a complete tune up with MOTORCRAFT parts? How long since the fuel filter was changed? Is the fuel pump original? What is your fuel pressure at idle, at WOT under boost?

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Jeff Korn

88 Turbo Coupe: Intake and exhaust mods, T3 turbo at 21 psi, forced air intercooler, water injection, bypass valve, Ranger roller cam, subframes, etc., etc.. // 86 Tbird 5.0 (original owner): intake, exhaust, valvetrain mods, 100 HP nitrous, ignition, gears, suspension, etc., etc.... // 91 Escort: Bone stock winter car // 02 Taurus Vulcan(wifes car)

run a compression test, all cylinders should be at about 150 psi. if it doesn't hold, its either a head gasket, burnt out valve, blown ring. or a crack in the block (i doubt that considering these 2.3's are the definition of bullet proof).

also check for coolant in the oil, and oil in the coolant. if thats there its a head gasket. if not then you could have blown the gasket between two adjacent cylinders. in which case, the compression test will show 2 neighboring cylinders with low compression.

I replaced the fuel pump about a month and 1/2 ago (I had problems with it idling as it surged, finally it just stopped running and I knew this was the problem as I could no longer hear it humming when I turned the ignition on). It also has a replacement fuel pressure regulator. I do not have the equipment to test the fuel pressure. I will buy a compression tester and check the compression of the cylinders. I also will look for the oil/ coolant mixture this evening in the radiator and block. I do not think the block is cracked. It has not overheated or anything prior to it developing this current problem. I guess it is possible that a ring has gone bad since it has high mileage but I hopenot as this would mean certain death for this car as I am not going to invest the time and $ to rebuild the motor. How do I chekc for a burnt out valve? thanks for your help and responses. I have had this car for around 12 years and it has been a great car for me, but if it is something really serious I suppose I'll give it the last rights.

well I checked the oil and water. No signs of them mixing. I am really perplexed by this. dunno why it is running so rough and missing. Guess I will have to get a compression tester and see what that reads... hope it is not a blown ring [Image: frown.gif]

for your engine to run right, it needs fuel, air, compression, and spark. all properlly timed. if your fuel delivery components are relativelly new you can probly check that off your list. that would mean check for proper timing, compression, no leaks in hoses or gaskets that affect air flow, and check your ignition components. next would be to check your sensors

Well I bought a compression tester today and tested each cylinder. Each was around 152 psi or so. None were more then a couple point from each other so that ruled out a bad cylinder or a blown head gasket. I then picked up a new distributor cap, rotor, spak plugs and wires. Installed them and waa laaa it ran like a champ again!!! Yay I don't have to junk ol' Steam Boat Bessie after all [Image: smile.gif] I don't know what the exact problem was but it had to be in the ignition system somewhere, perhaps a cracked dist. cap or a bad wire. Thanks for all your help guys.

[This message has been edited by Badbean (edited 04-15-2004).]