New to the board and I think I am burning antifreeze

[origionaldz]

Hello. Just picked up a sidekick about two weeks ago. I knew I was going to have to do some work to it, but I didn't think too much. If you push the gas pedal all the way down from a standstill it feels like it misses alot but will eventually clear out and rev up. I took the spark plugs out, and it appears that all of them are really white with only a hint of yellow on some spots, the plugs do not look brand new. I topped off the antifreeze overflow tank and the radiator, burned about 3/4 of a tank of gas and I am missing almost all of the fluid that was in the overflow tank. It starts right up and has never stalled out on me. Am I battling two different issues or am I burning that much antifreeze that its making it hard to run efficiently. Are these heads common for warping or could I get away with just replacing the head gasket? Thanks for any help in advance. It is a 1995 Model year with the 16v engine.

[Backtracker]

Originally Posted by origionaldz

Hello. Just picked up a sidekick about two weeks ago. I knew I was going to have to do some work to it, but I didn't think too much. If you push the gas pedal all the way down from a standstill it feels like it misses alot but will eventually clear out and rev up. I took the spark plugs out, and it appears that all of them are really white with only a hint of yellow on some spots, the plugs do not look brand new. I topped off the antifreeze overflow tank and the radiator, burned about 3/4 of a tank of gas and I am missing almost all of the fluid that was in the overflow tank. It starts right up and has never stalled out on me. Am I battling two different issues or am I burning that much antifreeze that its making it hard to run efficiently. Are these heads common for warping or could I get away with just replacing the head gasket? Thanks for any help in advance. It is a 1995 Model year with the 16v engine.

Check your floor for antifreeze,a leaky hose or heater core can be hard to find if it only leaks under pressure. I would check all hoses and the rad while it's running,the water pump can leak only under pressure so check carefully. And of course there is always the head gasket..........

[jtgh]

the above. and.
id, check the tank each time cold , RAD top tank, look inside, see what is really happening, the overflow tanks can lie if not in perfect condition. (dropped straw, cracks)
always avoid it, for diagnosis (trust me)
if it is using fluid (antifreeze)
get it hot and look for leaks (12 to 14 psi on tank when hot) so leaks are easy to find.
just get it good and hot.
then have some one drive and you follow, do you see steam out tail pipe even though engine is fully hot ? any at all is bad .

no these engine wont warp a head unless you drive it with out coolant.


1you can also get a Radiator pressure test done. (leak down)
2and or a combustion gases test in the radiator test.
3you can do a compression test for $15 or less. ( or a cylinder leak down test)
all these tools are rentable.

Id do #3 first, as the gauge is easy to find. look for a weak cylinder.
kill spark and fuel before doing test. ask how.
this is for overheating ( your will soon if it is in fact leaking)

over-heating-why?

[origionaldz]

Thanks for the suggestions. First things first, I did a full tuneup (new wires, new plugs, new cap, new rotor and new pcv valve), also cleaned the MAF with the CRC spray and air box sensor. The hesitation from a mashed down pedal has seemed to clear up a little bit but has not entirely gone away. I did notice a power increase after all of that. The sidekick did sit for about a year before I bought it. Took it to the gas station, filled it up and put some berryman's B12 chemtool in the tank in hopes that it will dissolve any gunk or varnish in the fuel system. I found a coolant leak. It seems to be flowing right near the alternator actually flowing down it you can see where the aluminum is turning white, I think it is either coming from the upper radiator hose that goes into the thermostat housing or the thermostat housing seal itself. I think I am going to replace both (hose, thermostat and housing gasket) since they are probably close to original. I will see if I can get somebody to drive it while I follow them.

[JamesG]

Cool. I hope that is it. For cooling leaks, that is getting off lightly!

Oh, and when you are working on the thermostat housing, be mindful of the two vacuum solenoid valves thoughtfully installed predominately on the engine so they they would be very easy to break by a wayward wrench or elbow...

[jtgh]

that is vg james, many here have done that, they are so close and just hard bittle plastic.

get it real hot idling, roasting, and then kill engine with a flash light or high power lamp
just look it will be found. ( unless rad cap is bad but it would leak if it were bad)]]]


crossing all fingers and toes, no Head gaskets. !!

[origionaldz]

I also just noticed that my check engine light is not coming on at key on or startup. I wonder if the light is burnt out or the ecu is cooked? That may explain the weird hesitation from a hard acceleration.

[kelikran]

Check your bulb first, the CEL should come on regardless at key on. Once you have the CEL working, then you can see if it stays on which could indicate further problems, or it could just be a mileage triggered reminder.

[jtgh]

SES reminder ( i like to call it the mileage switch) only happens on USA FED cars and never Calif.or canada kicks. (btw) but first the lamp.

dont worry too much, if ecu is bad , 90% just need 1 , 33 cent capacitor changed.

ok that lamp. 2 tests.
one can pull spleeo and replace it or
one can pull ecu connector and ground the correct pin to glow lamp (fsm shows that)
it is a risk #2. (but ecu must be pulled to make it safe)

93 16v is ECU pin:A14 ( violet/ yellow wire is lamp)

but pulling ecu and removing the conn. is harder than the speedo pull.
for me its a toss up.
but speedo pull means not having to lay on floor boards like a pretzel.


ECU tricks.
lamp test at Keyon , no start fails , common squack.
no coded 12 , when commanded via diagnostic jumper.
will never idle because ECU is in limphome or worse backup.
code 12 comes out slow, ECU is crashing and waking up .over and over.
just runs bad. (rich all the time and ignition is retarded and attendant loss of power)

any of these.

lets shoot for code 12,

[origionaldz]

Ok. I put in a new thermostat, gasket and upper radiator hose. The leak is gone. I have also cleaned the entire undercarriage of the car. I noticed since I got the car some white smoke coming from underneath the car. I first thought it was coming out of the exhaust pipe, but it looks like its coming off of the outside of the catalytic converter and around where the down pipe connects to the cat. It does not smell like burning antifreeze or oil but smells like something I can't describe. Could the catalytic converter be burning or clogged? I let it idle in the driveway and it seemed to almost stop smoking, so I am assuming it only smokes when I take it out for a drive. I let it idle in the driveway for a long time before and no smoke.