# Im afraid to start my car



## papereater (Sep 16, 2016)

People,
Like I didnt have enough to do (head gasket 2001 Civic), driving to work this morning and 1987 Sunbird GT started producing a huge cloud of white smoke. Immediately pulled off to the side and shut off car. Under hood, I saw watery fluid (coolant) oozing from left front bottom corner of head. So I immediately guessed it blew the head gasket (sheesh, another one to do now).

AAA towed it home, but first he turned over the key to try to start it. I cant remember exactly what happened, but it wouldnt start, and he said "it seems frozen". He said, driving with him home, that the engine is shot, not worth rebuilding. How can I verify this? I dont want to try to turn over the car if I will do more damage (assuming it is in fact salvageable, and actually not "frozen". 

Except for the people here, I dont trust completely advice given as I have proved even pros wrong in the past. 

If head is blown and coolant introduced, could I remove plugs, purge out any coolant, try starting again? Hate to start it if I can damage more. 

Thanks, people.


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## Nealtw (Jun 22, 2017)

If you shut it off before it stopped you have a chance, water doesn't compress so if water is in the cylinder it won't turn over, but you might turn it it backward to prove it is not frozen Remove the plug and remove the water. The sooner you can open it up and clean the water out the better you don't want rust in there.


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## BayouRunner (Feb 5, 2016)

Agree with Neal. Pull the plugs and turn it over. The water should blow out. If it doesn’t Turn over then I would say it’s not looking good


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## papereater (Sep 16, 2016)

Gonna try that now.........


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## papereater (Sep 16, 2016)

Wow, this made my day....no, my year. The car spewed out coolant on that one cylinder which apparently, has the broken gasket portion. Coolant all over the front of the car, which I washed off immediately. It is not frozen! All it needs now is a head gasket. 2nd one in 31 years. Not so bad. Will get to this as soon as I finish the civic head gasket. Sheesh. Anyway, thanks for the advice.


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## Nealtw (Jun 22, 2017)

papereater said:


> Wow, this made my day....no, my year. The car spewed out coolant on that one cylinder which apparently, has the broken gasket portion. Coolant all over the front of the car, which I washed off immediately. It is not frozen! All it needs now is a head gasket. 2nd one in 31 years. Not so bad. Will get to this as soon as I finish the civic head gasket. Sheesh. Anyway, thanks for the advice.


I would drain the water and put some oil in the there set up a rag to catch the mess and turn the engine over, You would like to get the water out. You may want to do that a few times. Once you are sure the water is out replace the plug. Oil might be contaminated too.


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## BayouRunner (Feb 5, 2016)

Wd40 works good too.


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## Nealtw (Jun 22, 2017)

BayouRunner said:


> Wd40 works good too.


We didn't have that when I worked on cars.


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## BayouRunner (Feb 5, 2016)

Nealtw said:


> We didn't have that when I worked on cars.













Works on four wheelers too!



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## lenaitch (Feb 10, 2014)

I was at my mechanic's shop a couple of years ago and he was working on a 'hydro-locked' engine and he had homemade nozzle made from some fittings and a length of brake line hooked up to his shop vac that he was using to suck out as much water as he could. Unless you are going to get at it right away, some light oil/WD40 down the plug hole after you have cranked out as much as you can should keep the rusting down (maybe more than once if it's going be a long time since it will likely leak down past old rings). Time for new oil and coolant, perhaps a couple of cycles.


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## de-nagorg (Feb 23, 2014)

A tip from a pro, every time that you open up an engine, change the oil, coolant just to remove any potential damage from something that might have gotten in that don't belong. 

Many modern auto-techs, won't bother changing the fluids, and in my opinion, are just Glorified Parts Changers, not mechanics.

Looks like you got the problem worked out, before I saw the post. 

You have the rarest head gasket failure, but it does happen.

And a dose of WD-40, will protect the cylinder temporarily, but get it repaired ASAP. 

WD-40 = Water Displacement formula # 40, from the inventor.


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## papereater (Sep 16, 2016)

Thanks, people. Will try to get to this asap. Dont want a rusty engine. It will be messy, though. Lots of old towels........


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## de-nagorg (Feb 23, 2014)

You can usually buy a box of old clothes at the Salvation Army store, marked as rags.

For a $ or 2. 

ED


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## Oso954 (Jun 23, 2012)

I don’t turn engines over with the starter when I suspect hydro lock. It may not be a problem with small displacement engines, but with large displacement engines the water (or oil) may not squirt out the spark plug hole fast enough. You can crack the head, bend connecting rods, or otherwise damage the engine.

Ever see a WWII film of a line of guys hand pushing the props through blade by blade on a bomber ? They are making sure that a lot of oil hasn’t drained down past the piston rings on the lower cylinders of those radial engines. 

Because of the 4 blades and the gear reduction, they had to pull 16 or more blades through to get 2 full revolutions of the crank (on each engine). Turning most car engines 2 revolutions of the crank is much easier.


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## lenaitch (Feb 10, 2014)

Oso954 said:


> I don’t turn engines over with the starter when I suspect hydro lock. It may not be a problem with small displacement engines, but with large displacement engines the water (or oil) may not squirt out the spark plug hole fast enough. You can crack the head, bend connecting rods, or otherwise damage the engine.
> 
> Ever see a WWII film of a line of guys hand pushing the props through blade by blade on a bomber ? They are making sure that a lot of oil hasn’t drained down past the piston rings on the lower cylinders of those radial engines.
> 
> Because of the 4 blades and the gear reduction, they had to pull 16 or more blades through to get 2 full revolutions of the crank (on each engine). Turning most car engines 2 revolutions of the crank is much easier.



Cool!. I was never sure why they did that 9I thought they were pre-circulating oil or priming the engine or something. Thanks!


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## Brainbucket (Mar 30, 2015)

You can wash oil off your hands with WD40. Just sayin. I use PB Blaster. But to each his own.:vs_cool:


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## rcpaulsen (Oct 17, 2018)

Glad to hear it worked out for you. This is slightly O.T., but many years ago, I let my wife's best friend borrow my full-size wagon with only 60,000 miles on it to haul some stuff to a location 150 miles away. When she returned the car, she told me the engine had overheated. I asked what she did then, and was incredulous when she told me she just kept going - more than fifty miles with the hot engine light on. It didn't seize up, but from then on it burned oil almost as fast as I could pour it in. When I told her she should pay at least part of the repair cost because she damaged the engine by continuing to drive it, the 'friend' said she had done nothing wrong - and that I owed _her_ an apology for lending her a defective car because she could have been left stranded on the highway when it overheated. Entitled b***h! The scary part is that she could have decided to sue me for 'reckless endangerment', or some such thing, and there are juries that would have ruled in her favor. With that in mind, I might have actually gotten off easy with just the repair costs. Now when people ask to borrow my truck, I tell them, "Enterprise will pick you up." I hate to do it beause I really like helping people, but it's become too risky in modern American society.


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## YerDugliness (Jun 2, 2008)

de-nagorg said:


> WD-40 = Water Displacement formula # 40, from the inventor.


Alcohol is the ingredient that provides the "water displacement". It can also wipe cylinders dry, so once you've sprayed WD40 into all the spark plug holes you should use the starter to turn the motor over. It won't start without compression (and it can't build compression without the spark plugs in their holes), but if you crank it a few revolutions with the starter you'll blow most of the alcohol and water out of the cylinders.

When I did this, I also squirted some 10W-40 oil into the cylinders before I tried to start the engine, but not much or you might "foul" your spark plugs.

The best outcome is for you to not need to replace the head gasket, but the chances of that are minimal. The worst outcome could be some engine damage if you got it started and didn't manage to get it shut down quickly enough. Since you will have all the spark plugs out the engine won't start, so if it were me I'd just crank that starter for about 90 seconds to get the cylinders all cleaned out before you seal it up with new spark plugs...make sure the spark plug wires are back on correctly, crank it and hope for the best outcome! :wink2:

Cheers from Dugly :vs_cool:


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## papereater (Sep 16, 2016)

YerDugliness said:


> Alcohol is the ingredient that provides the "water displacement". It can also wipe cylinders dry, so once you've sprayed WD40 into all the spark plug holes you should use the starter to turn the motor over. It won't start without compression (and it can't build compression without the spark plugs in their holes), but if you crank it a few revolutions with the starter you'll blow most of the alcohol and water out of the cylinders.
> 
> When I did this, I also squirted some 10W-40 oil into the cylinders before I tried to start the engine, but not much or you might "foul" your spark plugs.
> 
> ...


Thanks, yer. It does need a head gasket- I saw the coolant squirting out of driv side cylinder. And update: i drained all the oil as was recomended above, and wow, the first drainage was about a pint of greesnish anti freeze. Then came the oil. I dripped it for 2-3 hours till not even a drop would drip out.


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## YerDugliness (Jun 2, 2008)

papereater said:


> Thanks, yer. It does need a head gasket- I saw the coolant squirting out of driv side cylinder. And update: i drained all the oil as was recomended above, and wow, the first drainage was about a pint of greesnish anti freeze. Then came the oil. I dripped it for 2-3 hours till not even a drop would drip out.


Yes, the coolant squirting out between the head and block would be a regular sign of a blown head gasket, as would a lot of "steam" coming out of the tailpipe. I blew one on my Ford Ranger and had to tow it to the repair shop...it was too late, when the mechanic put it on the lift and pulled the drain plug from the pan the first thing to come out was water. I'm going to have to replace the $2300 long block now...:vs_mad:

Oil floats on water, so anytime water is the first thing to come out of the pan when you pull the plug, you'd better be ready for some mechanic work!

I'd offer cheers, as I usually do....but if you've never pulled a cylinder head to replace a head gasket, you find that you won't have much to cheer about. If you're an experienced mechanic with all the necessary tools you'll probably need about 2 hours; if you are not experienced, this might not be the job to start learning about mechanical repairs...it's a pretty labor intensive process and requires some rather unusual tools (do you have a torque wrench?) and quite a bit of time.

BTW...my past wife did not know about warped engine parts or overheating, so when that deer jumped out in front of her car and she hit it, she just kept on going. Imagine her surprise when the engine froze up because the coolant all leaked out and there was nothing to cool the engine. She was 90 miles from home, in the middle of nowhere...I had to fix it on the shoulder of U.S. Hwy 59S with all the cars whizzing by.

Best of luck...please let us know how things turn out!

Dugly


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## Bigplanz (Apr 10, 2009)

papereater said:


> Thanks, yer. It does need a head gasket- I saw the coolant squirting out of driv side cylinder. And update: i drained all the oil as was recomended above, and wow, the first drainage was about a pint of greesnish anti freeze. Then came the oil. I dripped it for 2-3 hours till not even a drop would drip out.


Your engine needs to be replaced.


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## Nealtw (Jun 22, 2017)

Bigplanz said:


> Your engine needs to be replaced.


For a head gasket?


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## Bigplanz (Apr 10, 2009)

Nealtw said:


> For a head gasket?


Everything is ruined. Main bearings, journals, all of it. If coolant comes out of the oil pan drain, the whole engine is shot. The end.

It isn't just a "head gasket" if the crankcase has so much coolant in it that it flows out of the oil pan.


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## Nealtw (Jun 22, 2017)

Bigplanz said:


> Everything is ruined. Main bearings, journals, all of it. If coolant comes out of the oil pan drain, the whole engine is shot. The end.
> 
> It isn't just a "head gasket" if the crankcase has so much coolant in it that it flows out of the oil pan.


That may be true you haven't asked enough questions to clarify the thinking to make that judgment.


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## de-nagorg (Feb 23, 2014)

Nealtw said:


> That may be true you haven't asked enough questions to clarify the thinking to make that judgment.


True, If it sat there for days, leaking down the cylinder wall, without running, all it did was fill the oil pan. 

Rings may be near wore out, and let fluid seep by.

Remember water gets by the tiniest space, because of it's molecular structure. 

His best option is to rebuild it, but with funding scarce, he might be able to squeeze another 25,000 miles out of it as is, after new head gasket. 

I would be more concerned about the mating surfaces of the block, and head, where the leak to atmosphere was.

It can easily erode there and not be sealable again.

So inspect those well, and clean all old material from the surfaces.


ED


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## Bigplanz (Apr 10, 2009)

A head gasket, that you can do yourself, might get the car running for awhile. The internals are damaged though. I wouldn't pay for that repair. I would pay somebody to replace the whole engine, if I wanted to keep the car. Hope it works out!


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## papereater (Sep 16, 2016)

Wow, I didnt know. Car sat for about 2-3 days before I drained it. Is there something I can do now to "flush" coolant/water out? Maybe even fill it with low cost motor oil, turn it over a bunch of times (maybe it will even start, now that all coolant has been drained as well) , and drain oil? 

Please say it isnt so, people!


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## YerDugliness (Jun 2, 2008)

de-nagorg said:


> I would be more concerned about the mating surfaces of the block, and head, where the leak to atmosphere was. ED


It will be important to take the head to a repair shop, for exactly the reason de-nagorg just mentioned. The head that is warped and leaking will need to be "magnafluxed" to see if it is cracked...if it is, it's "...new cylinder head time". If it is not cracked, it would still be necessary to have the mating surface of the head machined so it is flat...otherwise you'll have to do this whole job all over again. :surprise:

When my wife hit that deer and kept on going (not that I would have wanted her to stop so far from a town), the head was warped by the heat so it had to be surfaced...and even after that the head gasket was prone to failure.

We eventually sold the car to get rid of the maintenance headaches involving future gasket failures.

Good luck.....I hope your issue turns out better than mine did. 

Cheers from Dugly! :vs_cool:


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## de-nagorg (Feb 23, 2014)

papereater said:


> Wow, I didnt know. Car sat for about 2-3 days before I drained it. Is there something I can do now to "flush" coolant/water out? Maybe even fill it with low cost motor oil, turn it over a bunch of times (maybe it will even start, now that all coolant has been drained as well) , and drain oil?
> 
> Please say it isnt so, people!


I have done this.

Put Diesel fuel in the crankcase, turn it over long enough to build up oil pressure, and circulate the DIESEL through the system. 

Then drain it out, change filter, and use the oil of your choice to refill and new filter, And hope that the coolant has been flushed away. 

This usually works, if everything else is good.

But if the head has warped, or the block surface has eroded, you will have a problem too soon.

Check them very well. before reassembling the engine. 

If this engine is Aluminum block heads, give up now, and save your money, for a new long block.

Note a long block is a replacement engine with heads and intake on it. 

I hope you have a good current engine.

Was it driven very far overheating?


ED


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## YerDugliness (Jun 2, 2008)

de-nagorg said:


> If this engine is Aluminum block heads, give up now, and save your money, for a new long block.
> 
> Note a long block is a replacement engine with heads and intake on it.
> ED


Speaking of which...and sorry for the "drift"...but I can recall when one could go to the nearest Hi-Lo/O'Rieley's type parts store and order a "short block", which is a rebuilt engine without the heads. When I "abused" my Ranger's engine I tried desperately to find an auto supply store that could order a "short block". They tried, seems nobody produces short blocks any more, I couldn't find ANY parts store that could order just the short block, but they all carried the rebuilt long blocks.

Is this a Ford/Mercury product? I recently ran across an advertisement for a company who would ship a long block to your mechanic that was reported to be remanufactured by Ford, itself. The cost was in the $1500 range, but there were some very stringent requirements regarding the return of the original engine...still, if you're willing to look online and can find the company (I lost my copy...my apologies!!!) it looks like the least expensive way to get your car back on the road.

If it's not a Ford....well, you'll have to do your own research, Fords are all I drive!!

Cheers from Dugly! :vs_cool:


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## papereater (Sep 16, 2016)

de-nagorg said:


> I have done this.
> 
> Put Diesel fuel in the crankcase, turn it over long enough to build up oil pressure, and circulate the DIESEL through the system.
> 
> ...


Why deisel? Absorbs water? Will be a little pain to get a hold of some. How much? a gallon ? As I mentioned in my 1st post, it didnt overheat at all. It just blew white smoke everywhere, and I immediately pulled off to the side and shut it off. It took no more than 10 seconds. So, it didnt overheat, period. Only thing is a blown gasket.

Also, this happened oh, 17 years ago, 110,000 miles ago, and people said the same thing. Not saying members here are wrong, but we will see. I am taking precautions which were advised here seriously, people. 

Let me know, Ed! Deisel, or oil.........


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## papereater (Sep 16, 2016)

And dont worry, I will check for flatness before assembling if/when that happens. It already has been shaved down in 2002, hate to do it if it doesnt need it, of course, as it changed the head space. 

Again, my concern is water residue in the engine.


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## KaseyW (Nov 23, 2012)

de-nagorg said:


> WD-40 = Water Displacement formula # 40, from the inventor.


Thanks de-nagorg! I love knowing the basis for an acronym. Been using the stuff for years to loosen frozen nuts, joints, etc., but never knew it was intended to reliably displace water. I envision purchasing it a lot more frequently in the future.:biggrin2:


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## Nealtw (Jun 22, 2017)

papereater said:


> And dont worry, I will check for flatness before assembling if/when that happens. It already has been shaved down in 2002, hate to do it if it doesnt need it, of course, as it changed the head space.
> 
> Again, my concern is water residue in the engine.



Check your oil after you have it run for a while, if the oil is contaminated change it.


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## de-nagorg (Feb 23, 2014)

papereater said:


> Why deisel? Absorbs water? Will be a little pain to get a hold of some. How much? a gallon ? As I mentioned in my 1st post, it didnt overheat at all. It just blew white smoke everywhere, and I immediately pulled off to the side and shut it off. It took no more than 10 seconds. So, it didnt overheat, period. Only thing is a blown gasket.
> 
> Also, this happened oh, 17 years ago, 110,000 miles ago, and people said the same thing. Not saying members here are wrong, but we will see. I am taking precautions which were advised here seriously, people.
> 
> Let me know, Ed! Deisel, or oil.........


It don't absorb water, but forces it from any hidey-hole, that it might be in.

And no more than whatever your crankcase capacity is, 4-5 quarts.

Can't you buy it at any station that sells it, truck stop, in a gas can?

Remember to crank the engine a lot, get the pressure up to operating temperature for a few seconds, to flush the hiding water out. to the sump ( bottom of oil pan). 

Spewing White exhaust, is a sign that the head gasket to the combustion chamber has occurred, or the cylinder wall has cracked, so if possible look at all the cylinder walls to see if a crack has occurred, if you see a crack, you're done. :crying:

I hope that you have not wasted your time.

Once had someone bring one in that had driven miles with the engine overheating, it quit running. 

Started taking it apart to see what damage there was, they had melted 3 of the 8 pistons, into the oil pan. 

They bought a new engine. :vs_whistle:

Take a good look for any signs of damage, and keep you're fingers, toes crossed. 


ED


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## papereater (Sep 16, 2016)

Good plan, Ed! Yes, I can get deisel , and have a 1 gal red can. So, pour it into oil filler hole, just like motor oil, crank engine , and if it starts thats OK, right? Then run it for, as you say, it reaches a certain temp? I drained the coolant out already. 

When you said " get the pressure up to operating temperature for a few seconds," what temp? A few seconds of cranking will not reach any temp, Ed. Thats the only part I dont get. Thanks for all your patience and persistence in helping!


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## Nealtw (Jun 22, 2017)

I would be afraid of the diesel myself. I have never seen that done, I would be afraid of damage to the con rod bearings.


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## de-nagorg (Feb 23, 2014)

papereater said:


> Good plan, Ed! Yes, I can get deisel , and have a 1 gal red can. So, pour it into oil filler hole, just like motor oil, crank engine , and if it starts thats OK, right? Then run it for, as you say, it reaches a certain temp? I drained the coolant out already.
> 
> When you said " get the pressure up to operating temperature for a few seconds," what temp? A few seconds of cranking will not reach any temp, Ed. Thats the only part I dont get. Thanks for all your patience and persistence in helping!


OOPS, I mistakenly used TEMPERATURE, I meant to say PRESSURE, OIL PRESSURE, this gets the diesel into all the areas where any water could have been pumped when running.

And no Starting the engine might cause rod and journal bearing damage, but just cranking it over until the OIL PRESSURE reaches it's normal level, usually around 30 psi Will force any residual water out into the filter or the sump, and then changing the filter, and draining the sump, should remove all the residual water, if any was present.

I apologize for the mistake, t was careless to type temperature where I should have said OIL PRESSURE.


The diesel is lubricating enough if you are just cranking the engine with the starter, or by hand to protect the bearings, for a short time, but not for running. 

Neil: have you ever built your own engine?

It's recommended to assemble them with a 10W oil, as a primary lubricant, before the initial start-up, to lube the bearings, until the pump gets the oil pumped through, then change the oil very soon thereafter. and use all new oil. 

Again that should say OIL PRESSURE not temperature.


ED


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## rcpaulsen (Oct 17, 2018)

de-nagorg pours WD-40 in his swimming pool every fall so he doesn't have to drain it before winter . . . 


One spring, he forgot it was in there and dove right into the WD-40 - says it loosened his nuts.


:vs_laugh:


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## Nealtw (Jun 22, 2017)

Would do it with light oil, diesel scares me.


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## de-nagorg (Feb 23, 2014)

Diesel is a light oil, not volatile like gasoline. 

It ignites under pressure, and is not getting into the actual ignition chamber, unless the rings are wore , and if they are there will be no pressure to ignite it. 

And it lubes well enough for the safety of the SHORT time needed to push the water / coolant out, if any is present. 

ED


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## Nealtw (Jun 22, 2017)

de-nagorg said:


> Diesel is a light oil, not volatile like gasoline.
> 
> It ignites under pressure, and is not getting into the actual ignition chamber, unless the rings are wore , and if they are there will be no pressure to ignite it.
> 
> ...


 Not much of a film on the bearing shells. ??


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## papereater (Sep 16, 2016)

de-nagorg said:


> OOPS, I mistakenly used TEMPERATURE, I meant to say PRESSURE, OIL PRESSURE, this gets the diesel into all the areas where any water could have been pumped when running.
> 
> And no Starting the engine might cause rod and journal bearing damage, but just cranking it over until the OIL PRESSURE reaches it's normal level, usually around 30 psi Will force any residual water out into the filter or the sump, and then changing the filter, and draining the sump, should remove all the residual water, if any was present.
> 
> ...


We all make mistakes, but you corrected it right away. Thanks. Your idea may just save my old sunbird, Ed. Gonna get deisel maybe today, and do this. Got my civic all done (head gasket), so not on to the Sunbird.


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## papereater (Sep 16, 2016)

Well, I bought a gallon of diesel, poured it into engine, and cranked over the engine and nothing happened at all with the oil pressure guage. No change at all. Cranked and cranked. ZThen I figured, let me try to start the car, so I connected the coil wire and turned over the car but it spit/spat/sputtered, but no start.

So, the deisel is down there, but dont know if it did any good as that oil pressure didnt budge.


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## de-nagorg (Feb 23, 2014)

Hmmm, Interesting, if the pump was working at all, the pressure gauge should have registered at least a little pressure. 

And unless you got a gasket on wrong it should start, if the timing is accurate.

Drain the Diesel, pull all spark plugs , smell them to see if they smell like gas or diesel.

If gas they are not oil fouled, but a diesel smell, and you have a leaking gasket somewhere and the engine ain't going to start anyway.

even if you had never tried to clean out the possible water in the oil passages. 

Are you sure that you got the firing order correct?

The timing belt correct, any vacuum lines disconnected, the list is long at this point.


Sad that this is not working according to plans.


ED


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## papereater (Sep 16, 2016)

de-nagorg said:


> Hmmm, Interesting, if the pump was working at all, the pressure gauge should have registered at least a little pressure.
> 
> And unless you got a gasket on wrong it should start, if the timing is accurate.
> 
> ...


Thanks for your concern, Ed. All was working well before gasket blew. Timing belt was recently changed. Only thing is the air filter is removed, but dont think thats a big deal. Have not messed up firing order from mixing up spark plug wires. 

So, if as you say, car wont start because blown gasket that makes sense right off , so we understand that, but oil pressure still registering no movement upon much cranking. 

What do you ,en to say by "even if you had never tried to clean out the possible water in the oil passages. " ? 

I will smell plugs as soon as I get back from work and let you know what they smell like, then we can go from there.......


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## de-nagorg (Feb 23, 2014)

papereater said:


> Thanks for your concern, Ed. All was working well before gasket blew. Timing belt was recently changed. Only thing is the air filter is removed, but dont think thats a big deal. Have not messed up firing order from mixing up spark plug wires.
> 
> So, if as you say, car wont start because blown gasket that makes sense right off , so we understand that, but oil pressure still registering no movement upon much cranking.
> 
> ...


Meaning that if the gasket is bad already, this ain't my fault, with bad advice, like some others are thinking. 

This method has worked many times before to flush out a crankcase, and the oil channels. 

Sometimes gaskets are installed upside down, or are improperly aligned, or are not the correct ones, many things can happen before the installer gets them.


ED


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## papereater (Sep 16, 2016)

Oh, no, Ed, Id never put blame on anyone, and nor should any other fellow member, not that I think anyone is- its all in good faith. I know theres very little anyone can do now to damage my car! Its all a gamble now. Yes, we know gasket is blown. Anyway, will smell, and let you know.......


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## papereater (Sep 16, 2016)

It started! It started! The car started with me holding pedal to the floor ! It ran a little rough, at 2000rpm. I ran it for say, 1 minute or so, afraid to overheat it cuz no anti freeze in system anymore. Oil pressure did go up too. So, Im sure the diesel sloshed around a bit to do its job. Am I in good shape now? I think now I can proceed to do head gasket, and then see how it runs. Worst- have to rebuild engine afterward. Lots of work, but what the heck. What other source of fun is there?


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## de-nagorg (Feb 23, 2014)

Yes, you have driven any residual coolant out of the oil system, if you got circulation of the diesel.

Remember to drain it, change filter, then proceed to do the head gasket, and see if there is any damage to all the mating surfaces between the block, and head s?, and also if the intake manifold has cooling channels ( some don't) , make sure that it's mating surfaces to the head, and block are not eroded, Do clean ALL the old gasket materials from everything. 

It only started with the accelerator depressed all the way?

This is a sign of either poor fuel delivery system, or a blown head gasket, causing a serious loss of vacuum pressure, or compression to make the fuel a burnable mixture. 

My next step would to begin the teardown for the head gasket repair. 


I am glad to hear of the success, and continuing to get the old girl going again.

I drove my last one for 26 years before I gave up, and then only because the door would not operate right.

Got hit in the side by a DITZ, on the phone, entering the street from a driveway, at full street speed.

Was I :vs_mad:, you better believe it.


ED


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## de-nagorg (Feb 23, 2014)

Something that I forgot, after opening the engine up, and starting it for the first time after repairs, change the oil a second time within 200 miles, this insures that anything dislodged by the work, will be removed and flushed out, 

cheap in my experience, when you think about any lump of crud plugging off an oil passage and maybe ruining the engine . 

That's change the oil and filter twice, once when you are working on it, then once more soon after restarting and operating for a few (200) miles. 

ED


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## papereater (Sep 16, 2016)

Thanks for sharing my enthusiasm, Ed! Yes, it started only with gas opedal depressed all the way down. Dont suspect any problem with fuel delivery, as no such history but I can tell you for sure head gasket HAS to be busted as again, I saw the coolant spitting out just when I shut off my car, and ran to open hood to inspect. So, that has to be reason. 

Yup, head gasket tear down asap. Yes, I understand all the cares one must take, inspections, cleaning, etc. I will keep you informed! 

Just for the record, in 2002 I replaced head gasket. At that time I also has coolant mixing with oil, and had milkshake oil. Upon head removal I noticed the surface of the cast iron block, at one area, had slight pitting. Not much I could do but proceed. Heck- I got another 110,000 miles from it!


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