NEWBIE to 4G63T motors...think headgasket blown?

[duggyb]

well i am looking at buying a 1990 Plymouth Laser RS Turbo(FWD) and the guy is telling me it has a blown headgasket and he has to many other projects to worry about and no time to fix this car.

he is asking 800 bucks for the car...which does not all seem bad since body and interior are in nice shape so even if i dove into the motor and it was shot(internal interferance) i could part the car on ebay and make most if not all of my money back i think.

mainly i want to know if this guy is just B/S me or not on the headgasket.

i dont have pictures on this computer(i am at work) but when i took a look at the motor right around the area where that rubber peice lays over top the plug wires there is large amounts of oil...and also large amounts of oil around the valve cover gaskets and stuff(loooks like clean oil to...not used black oil?) why would oil be up here if a headgasket was shot?

now also down where the head mates to the block there is obvious oil leaking out with all the symptons of a blown headgasket....the guy said the car will run but he does not want to start it unless he has to to show me...he said it puffs greyish/white smoke out the exhaust when he fires it up.

now i am mechanically inclined but i am used to working on V8's(like my 97 F150 5spd 4.6 ) and my buddies 96 4.6 mustang GT 5 spd) so these 4G63(T) motors are forgien to me...only import motor i have ever worked on was my 1985 Z24 motor in a Nissan truck that needed a headgasket done..but it is SOHC and the timing chain was relativly easy to hold in place so i never had interference problems.

also if i do pull the head do the head and block need to be truued and resurfaced? or just slap a gasket on there and go? also what is the best gasket? just a good old Fel Pro or should i go with a mitsubishi one from a dealer?

all in all would it be that hard to do? by other buddy has changed a headgasket on a NON turbo version of these cars..is there any difference to the head/head gasket on the non turbo?

the guy also tells me that with about $200 in work the car can move from a stock 195HP to about 275HP is this true? he said all you need is a K and N air filter($50),boost guage($45),boost controller($100) and you crank the boost to 15lbs and you are good to go for 250-275hp..lie or truth?

should i give it a try? or am i getting in over my domestic mechanically inclined head? haha

here are the pics form the Ad.

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THNX
Duggy

 

[aaparker]

you can do either a wet or a dry compression check. do it dry first check you numbers. if you have a bad number in there put a tiny bit of oil in the chamber and redo the check if the numbers are still bad its the head gasket or valves, if they improve it is the rings, the oil will seal the rings. but if you suspect a bad had gasket it is always a good idea to do a compression check, even if it raises more questions at least you have some facts to back up your theories.

 

[duggyb]

i was thinking before i buy it if i pull the valve cover and timing belt cover i should be able to tell if the motor was really redone 2 months ago..or no?

what kind of things should i look for on these motors specifically?

like i know on a regular motr was the springs and such should look like if in good or bad shape...also what should the belt look like if worn? or not worn?

THNx
Duggy

 

[No_Skillz]

You don't want bpr7es plugs. They are one range too cold. Your car will be happier with BPR6ES.
You don't want a cometic head gasket if you are new to this car. If you don't get the block and head surfaced and prepped perfectly, it's just more headache.

The only two things you need to do at this point seems like headgasket and timing. You need to change all belts, pullies, waterpump, and tensioner. Then do compression test and see what shape you're in.

There are other vendors with better prices than Slowboy. (Welcome To Extreme PSI)

 

[duggyb]

well i went ahead and bought the car today i ran a compression test on it and 2 cylinders were 150 and the other 2 were 126

i am not sure which cylinder is which number....left to right was

150,150,126,126.

not sure how these numbers fair but i thought they sounded alright so i went ahead and brought her home.

pulled the valve cover off and took some pictures...definatley looks like all the seals are dried to plastic hence why it was leaking oil like a sieve.

here are the pictures, i will have the head off once i get it in the shop to take a closer look at it...tell me what you guys think.

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let me know what you guys think!

THNX
Duggy

 

[DSM1G90]

Nothing wrong with that head - looks pretty clean. Not all dark golden brown with being varnished up as with some heads due to lack of preventive oil changes.

T-belt DEFINITELY needs to be replaced .... see all of those hairline cracks on the outboard edge with small chunks of rubber/fabric gone ... ?

Hate to see how the teeth are holding up ...

That be the first order of the day ....

(cylinder no.1 is marked next to the cam pulley. thus you look at right to left in numeral order. Course, the sparkplug wire are numbered accordingly as well.)

Cyls 3 and 4 are the 150's readings whereas 1 and 2 are down some at 126.

Motor is a little bit tired but far, far away from being a dead one.

One almost could say that it finally got broke in some.

Do a ring and bearing job, headjob with new valve seals, T-belt/balance belt and you be set to go with a great little motor that'll last til the cows come home in the next millenium.

You did good on this one. It's definitely a keeper.


-DSM

 

[duggyb]

alright you can consider this thread closed as i will be starting a teardown/rebuild thread within the other forums.

thanks for all the opinions and help guys!!

THNX
Duggy

 

[SpawnedX]

Head Gasket is blown if you ask me, but it must be a hairline crack or something because the compression readings aren't below the recommended service levels. However, 99% of the time you have 2 lower compression cylinders next to eachother, it's going to be the head gasket.