2G 98 Eclipse GS issues

[xnevermorex]

I have a 98 Eclipse GS 2.0l non turbo. Just flushed the cooling system because previous owner had dumped fresh oil in the coolant reservoir. Since then, about 2 weeks, I have had to add another gallon of water. I noticed a little water coming out the tailpipe and white smoke. I'm figuring that the head gasket is blown or it has a cracked head. Hopefully it's just the gasket. Is there anyway of changing the head gasket without removing the engine? Or can I just drop the engine and cradle on the floor and jack the front of the car up? The reason I ask is because there are bolts on the front of the engine i can't get out cause there is not enough clearance between the front of the engine and passenger side wheel well.

 

[dsmcrzy]

You can take the head off with the engine still in the car. What you need to do is remove the the 2 roll stops and drop the cross member. Put a jack under the engine and snug it up to the engine with a block of wood between them. Then slowly unbolt the passenger side mount. This allows the engine to sing down and allows you to reach those other bolts.

Alternatively you can undo the axles and the driver side motor mount and drop he engine and trans out the bottom. I actually prefer this method. Esp if you have a car lift.

 

[xnevermorex]

Awesome, thank you for the info, . This is my first Eclipse. Bought it for a project car, but it's also a daily driver. So have to keep it going. Don't want to drive my wifes crappy durango that gets like 9 miles on the gallon, .

 

[spyderdrifter]

@dsmcrazy, what other two bolts are you referring too that needs the cross bar and engine/trans mounts removed? For a head gasket job, the head needs to be pulled off after the timing belt. I've done head gasket jobs plenty of times on turbo models without ever removing those parts. I know the OP has the 420a engine, but the job should be no different.

OP, are you certain your car needs a new head gasket? What have you done to determine it needs to be replaced? White smoke can also be present with bad valve seals under the right situation. Also, if you are positive the head gasket needs to be replaced, make sure you get a new timing belt too, and maybe a new water pump as well since the timing belt has to come off to replace that anyway.

 

[dsmcrzy]

Both trans roll stops need to be unbolted. And the trans top mount need to be loosened. For the 420a you need to swing the timing belt side of the engine below the unibody to get the harmonic balancer off. That's why you have to undo the roll stops.

 

[spyderdrifter]

Wow that's retarded. Guess I know what to look forward to if I ever have to do that with mine.

 

[Brando420a]

I did a cylinder replacement on my 97 gs and it wasn't that bad but the answer to your question i just left the engine in the car pulled the front and passenger side motor brackets and that gave me some wiggle room to get the job done but it was still kinda hard to get that stupid plastic cover for the timing belt i just cut the b***h off anyways if your head gasket had a crack or hole you would have very little if any compression and you would definitely tell your cars running like crap. white smoke you say and water? is it running rich?unburnt fuel maybe well hope all goes well