THSCC Forums

Well, I think the speculation about my mysterious mechanical failure has been identified.

I thought I had a bum ignition, but a few minutes of basic testing has revealed otherwise.

1) Charge battery (battery was fine).
2) Pull and inpsect plugs. Plugs are fine (look real good actually).
3) Plugs out, do a compression test.

Cylinder/pressure
4/190 psi (good)
3/180 psi (good)
2/30 psi (um, not too good)
1/30 psi (um, kind of bad like cylinder 2)

So, I think it's a blown headgasket. Just a big hole between cylinders 1 and 2, no oil in coolant, no coolant in oil, just 2 cylinders that like to share.

Scott

Ouch. Hope it's not too much of a pain to fix...

Glad to hear it may only be a headgasket. I feared worse when we were cruising around on that fatal lap -- the way the car was slowly losing power and sounding worse and worse made me think "motor problem". Fuel and spark problems tend to onset much more rapidly!

I really hope it's not actually a couple of burned exhaust valves (which was my first thought...)

_________________
Mike Whitney
whit32@gmail.com, 919-454-5445
V10, V8, V8t, I6, I6, V6, F4t, I4, I4, I4, I4, I2, 1, 1

Well, the head is off, most certainly a blown head gasket.

It is gone between cylinders 1 and 2, unfortunately, I drove it too hard in that state and I also vaporized a fair chunk of aluminum from the head (the block appeared to fare better).

So, I can't find a head gasket supplier, I don't have a functional head, etc. Looks like a bad weekend for me.

Time for some real soul searching, either I try to have the head welded and I get fancy with a copper head gasket, or I just step back, realize that "JDM" really means "Pain in the arse."

Don't laugh, but this is one option I am really considering:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayI ... 2433250662

Scott

That's a pretty good deal for that price! How hard is the tranny, ecu and other stuff going to be to get ahold of? Is this a bolt-in deal with mixing and matching engine mounts, or are you going to have to dust off the welder?

_________________
In need of car.

I've slept on it and am sober now...

Any engine swap like a V-8, etc is for the rich or stupid, I'm not going there... not this year.

I'm leaning more towards fixing it. I've now finally sourced several headgaskets (fiber and copper, not sure which way I want to go). Head bolts/studs are the next obstacle.

If I change engines, I'm down to an "easy" choice and a "hard" choice.

Easy is an old 22R Toyota motor with a 20R cylinder head. I can buy a built long block rated at 130 hp (what I have now, but it will have a lot more torque) for $2600, that is assembled (professionally) and ready to bolt in. All I do is add induction (a manifold and reuse my carbs to start). Alternatively, I build one myself and will save a fair chunk of labor charges.

Local Toyota shop: http://www.doaracingengines.com/4cyl.html

The "hard" engine choice is a 3RZFE out of a Tacoma pickup. Used these aren't going to break the bank, but I will need to do a lot of work. THese are distributerless OBD-II engines, so I will have a lot of wiring to deal with. I will need a truck tranny too (not a big deal, I think they are still using a variant to what is in the car now). In stock trim the 3RZ is rated at 150 hp and 170 ft-lbs. A bunch more than I make now.

I'm leaning towards a minimal investment to get the current engine running again, and in the mean time, start sourcing parts for a "killer" domestic replacement. Maybe even consider forced induction....(probably not).

The car is pretty good as it is now. While more power is cool, I don't really need it. In case folks didn't notice, even with a failing head gasket I was not slow. With an instructor I was able to pull away from Bill Gratton's Miata (he was riding solo), I could do the same thing to Steve's CRX. That is fast enough. Any faster and I need new brakes. Yeah, the V8 would get me to 140 mph at Roebling, but lets get real, I'd kill myself...

Scott

It's decided, the exotic motor is out. I'm selling off all the parts that I can and will be building/buying a new motor with domestically available parts.

I've got a lead on one right now that will probably come with an autocross prepped Celica chassis (that I don't want...) but it has good parts...

JE pistons
Crower rods
TRD cam (300 deg)
ported head
oversized stainless valves
dual valve springs
titanium retainers
45mm dual Webers
Header

and a rust free '78 Celica chassis with TRD sway bars and Tokico shocks.

The engine should be good for 150 hp (30 over what I'm at now) and probabally 160 lb-ft of torque (a bump of about 40 ft-lbs) and it will likely weigh a tick *less* than the current engine. Rumor is, there aren't any oiling issues with this one either.

All of this for under 5X what it will cost to fix the current engine.

Scott