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Hey guys, I just recently picked up a '95 Camaro with a 3.4 v6 that supposedly had a blown head gasket, and I need some help identifying what I'm dealing with. First let me say that I did a search on internal coolant leaks and didn't turn up anything quite like what I've got.
Here's the story: the previous owner was driving to work one morning when he felt a cylinder miss once. Shortly afterward, he says it felt like it dropped a cylinder, having lost considerable power. Upon turning off the main road, the car stalled. He popped the hood and didn't see anything unusual, so he started it up and kept driving, still with reduced power. A little later it stalled again, and this time he had a mechanic pick it up. The mechanic said that he found moisture in the oil and "tore it down enough to know beyond a shadow of a doubt" the head gasket was blown. The car was not started since that second stall for at least 6 months, all the while it sat outside. Then I brought it home.
I looked at the oil on the dipstick first thing. The level was a little high, but the color looked pretty normal for fairly clean oil and it didn't feel any thinner than normal. There was no foam, and it was not white in color. Wanting to do a compression test to confirm the blown head gasket, I charged the battery and cranked the car up. It ran a little rough at first, but after a while smoothed out and seemed to be doing nicely except for the smoke out the tailpipe, which to my knowledge was either coolant or moisture from an inactive exhaust stored outside. I tested the clutch action, and the motor felt like it had normal power, so I took the car for a little test drive to get it warmed up, and it felt totally normal to me. The previous owner said the power loss was significant enough that he wasn't sure the car could make it up a hill. My driveway is a hill, and it had no problems whatsoever. I shut it down once it was warm and fought with getting the plugs out for 30min to an hour, so the engine got to cool down some but not a whole lot. Compression figures were excellent, ranging from 180 to 200 psi. The car has 86000 miles. I thought that was too good for a blown head gasket. The oil still had no foam after being run and warmed up.
Next came an oil change. I hadn't seen any moisture on the dipstick, but when I drained it it was abnormal. It was very thin and runny for one thing, and it was a dark brown color with lighter brown "clouds" in it. I changed the coolant and flushed the system as well, and the coolant was dark green except in the reservoir, where it was rusty brown. I also noticed some droplets of (clear) moisture inside the oil filler cap after the car had been run. The tailpipe stopped smoking at all once the car was warmed up and run some.
When I removed the spark plug wires, one of them broke (or was broken) such that the end of it, rubber, wire, and metal clamp in all, stayed on the plug. The plugs all looked like they had been firing a rich mixture. I put in new wires and new plugs. After running the car more, I pulled one of the new plugs and it was clean as a whistle. I could only just tell it had been used at all.
So what's wrong? My theory (and hope) is that the plug wire that broke was faulty, resulting in the dropped cylinder the previous owner experienced. The injector then continued to squirt fuel in the cylinder, and it ran down the walls into the oil, thinning it out. The moisture in the oil filler cap and any in the oil would have come from the car sitting outside unused so long. If not that, the only thing I can figure is a small crack in the head or block allowing some coolant seepage into the oil. The car runs very well though.
I'm sorry this has been so long, but you need all the details to assess a situation. Any ideas? Thanks a bunch, all!!
[ April 06, 2005, 11:51 PM: Message edited by: peeeot ]
Here's the story: the previous owner was driving to work one morning when he felt a cylinder miss once. Shortly afterward, he says it felt like it dropped a cylinder, having lost considerable power. Upon turning off the main road, the car stalled. He popped the hood and didn't see anything unusual, so he started it up and kept driving, still with reduced power. A little later it stalled again, and this time he had a mechanic pick it up. The mechanic said that he found moisture in the oil and "tore it down enough to know beyond a shadow of a doubt" the head gasket was blown. The car was not started since that second stall for at least 6 months, all the while it sat outside. Then I brought it home.
I looked at the oil on the dipstick first thing. The level was a little high, but the color looked pretty normal for fairly clean oil and it didn't feel any thinner than normal. There was no foam, and it was not white in color. Wanting to do a compression test to confirm the blown head gasket, I charged the battery and cranked the car up. It ran a little rough at first, but after a while smoothed out and seemed to be doing nicely except for the smoke out the tailpipe, which to my knowledge was either coolant or moisture from an inactive exhaust stored outside. I tested the clutch action, and the motor felt like it had normal power, so I took the car for a little test drive to get it warmed up, and it felt totally normal to me. The previous owner said the power loss was significant enough that he wasn't sure the car could make it up a hill. My driveway is a hill, and it had no problems whatsoever. I shut it down once it was warm and fought with getting the plugs out for 30min to an hour, so the engine got to cool down some but not a whole lot. Compression figures were excellent, ranging from 180 to 200 psi. The car has 86000 miles. I thought that was too good for a blown head gasket. The oil still had no foam after being run and warmed up.
Next came an oil change. I hadn't seen any moisture on the dipstick, but when I drained it it was abnormal. It was very thin and runny for one thing, and it was a dark brown color with lighter brown "clouds" in it. I changed the coolant and flushed the system as well, and the coolant was dark green except in the reservoir, where it was rusty brown. I also noticed some droplets of (clear) moisture inside the oil filler cap after the car had been run. The tailpipe stopped smoking at all once the car was warmed up and run some.
When I removed the spark plug wires, one of them broke (or was broken) such that the end of it, rubber, wire, and metal clamp in all, stayed on the plug. The plugs all looked like they had been firing a rich mixture. I put in new wires and new plugs. After running the car more, I pulled one of the new plugs and it was clean as a whistle. I could only just tell it had been used at all.
So what's wrong? My theory (and hope) is that the plug wire that broke was faulty, resulting in the dropped cylinder the previous owner experienced. The injector then continued to squirt fuel in the cylinder, and it ran down the walls into the oil, thinning it out. The moisture in the oil filler cap and any in the oil would have come from the car sitting outside unused so long. If not that, the only thing I can figure is a small crack in the head or block allowing some coolant seepage into the oil. The car runs very well though.
I'm sorry this has been so long, but you need all the details to assess a situation. Any ideas? Thanks a bunch, all!!
[ April 06, 2005, 11:51 PM: Message edited by: peeeot ]
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