1989 St162 12 months rego

[1990dezza]

guess what...

pretty sure the head just died..

everything was brand newwwwww ******kkkk

anyone got a spare one??? help a brother out!!! im like poor and have spent all my money on the car and now im ******eddd, cant even drive it..

was driving, it overheated so i took it home, even this morning in the cold it overheated and a **** bit of misty crap was comign out of the radiator as long as large bubbles..**** man,,, im so like depressed over it..im only 18 and this crap has happened..

[Keisari]

Hold on there matey, what happened exactly? What did you say was coming out of the radiator? Overheating is indeed bad, but continuing to drive it while it's overheating is even worse. Cylinder heads tend not to take well to that...

If it's a new engine you need, there's a good chance you'll get lucky. Hang around forums, people often do engine swaps and might be able to give you a deal.

Don't despair! Let's try to work out what's wrong first :)

[SeiferST162]

How bad did it over heat? was it spewing steam from the radiator? How far did you drive it after? Any odd noises? Any engine lights? These are all things you should think about before you run out and buy new parts! Does it still start at all and does it sound any worse?

[1990dezza]

i drove it home, the distance was like 2km to get back, the motor has only travelled a total of like <30km..

dad got a new thermostat this morning and tightened the heads a fraction more yesterday and put soem of that seal-it fluid stuff in as well to hopefully clear it up for the time being, but he just said he went for a drive (with the new thermostat) and the thing o verheated again so he is telling me we are just gonna have to get a new head or get an older one and recondition it... man..im sooo over this car honestly i dont even watn to look at it..

im most likely looking at another $300-500, wouldnt suprise me if its more...

[Keisari]

Make sure you've checked all the small and obvious things before you invest in another head.

Firstly, check the engine diagnostics (i'm not sure if your model has diagnostic codes. What engine do you have now?).

Is the water pump new? Is it actually pumping (not JUST cranking)? Did the cooling system get bled of air when it was filled? Any major leaks? The thermostat won't be doing its job properly unless it's in constant contact with a normal flow of coolant, and any of these four things might prevent that.

Is the ignition timing correct? If it's too far out you might be igniting into the piston, which would definitely cause overheating (among other things...). Get a timing light and make sure it's 10 degrees BTDC. I think there's some posts about how to do it around here, if not I can get you started.

Is the engine running lean? The air/fuel ratio is controlled by the ECU, but it is not infallable (eg: if you have a vacuum leak or if the ECU is faulty. Check the air hose, vacuum lines and PCV valve). If it's running too lean, this will make the engine run hotter.

Is there white scunge in your oil? This would indicate a blown head gasket.

That's all I can think of at the moment. Good luck mate, keep us informed how you're going! I'm sorry you've had such a terrible experience - I'm a student too and I know what it's like to spend a ****load of money only not to want to look at the car for all the more issues that come up!

[1990dezza]

i tried to tell my dad the things u said and he goes "yeh i know what he is saying mate, its a head gasket"

so i'd say he is convinced.. but yeh,, **** i hope it is considering im getting one done for me within the week but if its not and ive wasted my money.. im gonna light the car on fire hahah

[Keisari]

Lol, I hope it won't have to come to that :) I do hope that it solves your problem, and that it was indeed a bad/poorly fitted gasket.

Think of this as a chance for some learnin'. I've never been able to see an engine removed much less stripped, and wouldn't have the confidence to attempt it alone even with the correct tools. Statistically you've got another 60 years of driving ahead of you, so learning these things now will be invaluable.

[1990dezza]

man,. ive heard that soo much, twice like 20 mins ago my uncle and dad said it to me " this is when u learn, good to learn when ur young mate, so it doesnt happen in the future"

im like "well its costs me plenty of money, i think ive learned my lesson"

[1990dezza]

finally my head is done, havent picked it up yet...

guess whyy....gonna **** cost like 700 **** thats a joke

[1990dezza]

got the head in,

who wants to buy my car....its a piece of *****, overheated again! wtf $20?

[snappytwo]

got the head in,

who wants to buy my car....its a piece of *****, overheated again! wtf $20?

go get the radiator cleaned mate, probably wasn't done when engine overhauled !

shouldn't cost more than $100

[snappytwo]

got the head in,

who wants to buy my car....its a piece of *****, overheated again! wtf $20?

go get the radiator cleaned mate, probably wasn't done when engine overhauled !

shouldn't cost more than $100

where are you mate ?

where do you reside ?

[1990dezza]

I live in Lismore NSW far north coast :)

[lateralus]

I live in Lismore NSW far north coast :)

my first instinct wouldve been water pump

[Blind Kid Seeks]

when i did my HG on the 4AGE i put it all back to gether and made the simple mistake of not plumbing it right... the temp just kept climbing.. it wasnt till i figured out that there wasnt coolant flowing throught the head in teh right direction it was causing it to over heat.

double check the plumbing through the block/head/cooling system

[1990dezza]

its all fixed now, i just hate looking at the car as at has cost me too much

[ddot]

when you buy a 20 year old car you should expect to spend a bit fixing it at times.

[the_random_hero]

its all fixed now, i just hate looking at the car as at has cost me too much

At least you're not destroying VERY expensive things, like crankshafts :( It's much better to have your mistakes earlier on and with cheaper cars than things you spend all your dollars on in twenty years time.