this is bad, isn't it?

[jtgh]

Art's Automotive Berkeley, CA -- Cylinder head crack check

the attached is a 8v head.! what is yours?


those holes are, bolt holes , oil gallery, coolant and main oil drain back.

id examine the drain backs real carefully.

id say having a pattern like that an upside down gasket is impossible.


you could have the head taken to a machine shop (automotive) and ask them to pressure check or better , a full examination.
might be cheaper than you think.
but i bet dollars to donuts, I can see your huge hole with eyeballs and light.

[jtgh]

Art's Automotive Berkeley, CA -- Cylinder head crack check

the attached is a 8v head.! what is yours?


those holes are, bolt holes , oil gallery, coolant and main oil drain back.

id examine the drain backs real carefully.

id say having a pattern like that an upside down gasket is impossible.


you could have the head taken to a machine shop (automotive) and ask them to pressure check or better , a full examination.
might be cheaper than you think.
but i bet dollars to donuts, I can see your huge hole with eyeballs and light.

[rudar]

You're probably right. I didn't make any particular attempts to get light and eyeballs into all the holes in the head, so there may be something visible that I didn't look for...

The only other possibility I can think of is the water pump. I can't tell from the schematics I have whether that is lubricated by engine oil, or in any other way might bring the two close together... I ask because when I first started working on this, I drained clean coolant from the radiator. Then, after hammering and banging at the fan hub and water pump pulley to get those off, I disconnected the lower rad hose and got a cup or so of milkshake out of it... So might my efforts at removing the hub have b0rken something inside the water pump itself?

[jtgh]

no
wp has fixed packed in grease, ball bearings. (no path to engine oil side, at all)

when you first dismantled this engine. did it have antifreeze in it.?

i suspect this engine has freeze damage.

up where you live, engine inspections are non trivial.
and last owner could have lived way farther up North.

if in fact this is true below?:
engine dry of coolant, (pull water pump, look right into engine block.)
exhibit a:
http://carfix.stufftoread.com/t-belt/tbelt3w.jpg

see that greenstuff in WP hole, that is bottom of water jacket.
if you pour oil into engine and it comes out here , like a river.
then the HEAD is cracked big time. (like finger hole size crack)

there is no easy path here. any parts that are suspected of cracks must be tested
or exchanged. which ever is cheaper.?

i say it is freeze damaged but only you can discover that thru proper inpections.
there are huge web sites that go in to this detail , even with videos.
it is all hard work.

[rudar]

yeah, I think I'm cutting my losses on this one. I'll list it as a parts car, or the next owner can sink the time and money into testing and replacing cracked engine parts. I'll save on insurance and be car-less for a bit, write the damned thesis already, get a real job, and buy another Tracker in the spring.