To you engine buffs

[snake37]

I hope you all don't mind me tapping your brain for a moment. I will do my best to explain my situation. I am driving down the street, all of a sudden, I start losing power. Now the car is still running, but I am pressing the gas but to no results. Speedometer is steadily going down even though I am tryign to accelerate. Now, I got the car in the driveway and cannot get it to turn over. Low compression results when tested and water in valves. I had been experiencing so over heating(possible radiator pipe leak) and this is the results(I think). My question is - Is this the symptons of a blown head gasket? I read a similar situation, but just wanted some verification. I hope you all don't mind. Thanks.

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[B_52]

Blown gasket or Cracked head. Both are possible from overheating, and both are found the same way..

OK, so you’ve got a few things to check, but the water in the valves might, or might not indicate a failure.
First and foremost, check your oil. If you have foam in it, your in deep do-do. Do not (I repeat DO NOT) turn the engine over any more till you drain and replace it, as coolant in the oil will eat crank bearings quickly, forcing a complete overhaul.
A cracked head is commonly discovered by one cylinder being significantly lower compression than the others. Or if the crack is between cylinders then those two adjacent cylinders will both read low. You should be able to spot a baseline by simple cylinder compression comparison.
If the leak was minor (and if you are in a “no-start� condition, I doubt that it is minor), you can also spot the cylinder by looking for the nice bright white (as in steam cleaned) spark plug. On smaller leaks, owners often notice white exhaust while driving.


You have other things to check that may be misleading you to thinking of a cracked head, but start here, and if all looks well, we can continue on then.

Hope it helps, maybe others here have more tid bits tfor you to consider....

Vince

[snake37]

car has been sitting for a while now. problably doesn't help my cause either. I appreciate your insight, wish I would have asked long time age. I will try to get the suggestions done and go from there. thanks.

[bigpimpin970]

Here is a suggestion, try your catalytic convertor, i have seen many many cars that have sat for a while and then when they start getting driven again there is so much carbon build up that it will block up the cat. conv. and since if it is blocked, no exhaust can get out, causing the vehicle to have no power when running, if you can even get it to run.... just a suggestion though, could be many things from your description.

[snake37]

ok engine buffs, i have finally gotten the head off only to find some serious rust. so where do I go from here. Is my block dead or do I have a chance of salvaging it? I have some pics if that would help illustrated the situation.

[B_52]

Some pics would be helpfull.
With the head off, your going to send it to a shop anyhow, so they will tell you if the head has any cracks. What did the gasket look like? Where was the rust?

V