quick question should i rebuild?

[Dustin269]

Ok here is whats up, I bought a 95 GST about a month ago and it ran good. Well it ended up somehow getting a hole in the radiator and over heating bad so bad that the throttle cable melted and stuck and it was almost redlining for a good 10 seconds with apparently no coolant at all.

After that iv been getting smoke did a dry compression test and only getting 90 psi on all 4..the thing is it don't smoke all the time just once in awhile but i know its not running nearly like it should im not sure if its the head gasket ,rings or a valve issue its all stock with a front mount and bov and im pretty sure it has the evo 3 16g.

well the real question is would it be cheaper to just buy a new motor or try to rebuild it myself? I have never rebuilt a motor but im confident i could do it.

 

[XTurbodTalonX]

Tough question to answer. There are a lot of factors to look at. Building a motor, especially if you do it right, can get spendy. So you've got to look at your budget. I've been driving a DSM for 12 years now, so rebuilding my engine VS buying one was no contest. I plan on having my Talon until I'm dead. If you see yourself getting sick of the DSM 'scene', then just slap another motor in it. You absolutely will NOT make the money you invest in a fresh rebuild back if you sell your car in six months. Most people don't give a crap if the motor is on its last leg, or you just stuffed it full of forged internals and ARP hardware. In a nutshell, if you plan on keeping the car for a long time, and you've got the money, build yourself a beast and don't look back. If you're not sure if you'll be driving your DSM or a Honda a year from now, don't waste the money. See if you can rehabilitate your current motor.

 

[Dustin269]

i have no intentions of any other car i love dsm's this is my second one last was a 420a though so i got me a gst in hopes of making my dream car so it sounds like i have a nice winter project ahead of me it just sucks i already messed it up only had it a month or so

 

[dsm92talonboost]

may not even need a rebuild, could be just a head gasket. pull the head check the piston, hg, valvese etc!

 

[XTurbodTalonX]

So you're running it currently? Is there any coolant in the oil, or oil in the coolant? Does it overheat when you drive it now? If you have a blown head gasket, something will go where it doesn't belong. Coolant and oil will mix or go into a cylinder, or compression will go into the cooling/oiling system. You've got 90 psi across all four cylinders, which isn't great, but each cylinder should be within a certain percentage of the others. The only ill effects you've noticed are that it doesn't run the same as before, and it smokes only sometimes? Is it doing anything else?

 

[Dustin269]

i dont drive it often only when i have to so right now the only other thing i noticed is my coolant does drop a little at a time i got a new radiator its not leaking there anymore im running 100% water though because i cant afford to keep putting coolant in it other than that it has a pretty bad exhaust leak thats all i know right now

 

[XTurbodTalonX]

You shouldn't be losing any coolant. If you can't see a leak external to the engine, then you might actually have toasted your head gasket. I have a fitting for my air compressor that threads into my spark plug holes. What I did was put each cylinder at top dead center and lock it there either using the cam bolts or the crank pulley bolt. I then put some PSI through each cylinder until I saw bubbles at my coolant fill (with the cap off). What color is the smoke you're talking about? I had a blown head gasket that was dumping coolant into one of my cylinders, and steam was literally coming out of my tail pipe.

 

[g4ebguy90]

100% water is not good. The 50/50 mix actually raises the boiling point of the fluid itself. Not to mention its anti corrosive properties on the cooling system hardware.

 

[XTurbodTalonX]

100% water is not good. The 50/50 mix actually raises the boiling point of the fluid itself. Not to mention its anti corrosive properties on the cooling system hardware.

Didn't even think of this. Were you losing coolant, or actually boiling over?

 

[Dustin269]

so i went out today and checked the coolant its bubbling but no very bad just a bubble every couple of seconds but im pretty sure there is oil in the coolant in a way that kind of makes me happy because i didnt want to pull the engine out yet im sure i can handle changing a head gasket thanks for the replies

 

[Rideit636]

If it really is 90psi across all 4, I would rebuild. You don't need to build it to the moon. Just a stock rebuild should do if you don't ever plan on making more than 400whp. And you should be able to keep it under $1000 if nothing in there is f.u.b.a.r. If it's not your only car, and you have the time and place. Make it a winter project. There's more than enough material online for someone that's never built an engine to successfully get it done.