Well, For those not familiar with the story - a week ago I blew the head gasket on my 220K mile 1990 1.6 LWSC. I took it apart and replaced the head with a known flat and reasonably good/clean head (estimated about 80-120K miles on it). I replaced: the head gasket with an FM all metal gasket, cam seals, front main seal, timing belt, water pump, accessory belts, injector seals, fuel lines, plugs and wires and other associated bits and pieces.
I drove the car to work today, 40 miles each way with a 5 hour shift in the middle. It starts immediately and sounds smooth and fantastic. Here's where I'm at: 1. Lingering white smoke on cold start and the exhaust smells extremely rich (like raw gas) at this point as well. By lingering I mean it sticks around even through windy gusts. When warm exhaust smells "correct" and there is no evidence of smoke. 2. The car feels generally low on power. Hesitation (but not bucking) is common when cold. It gets smoother but is still there when it warms up. Is consistent across the tach except for a dip at 3K that's always been associated with the CAI. Stats: Fuel Pressure is 30 PSI idle, 40 PSI WOT. Cold oil pressure is ok (30 Idle, 60 cruise); when warm it's a little low at idle (15-ish PSI), 30 PSI cruise, pushing 45 PSI under load. O2 is dithering properly but seems a touch on the low side (don't ask numbers - it's an LED Autometer gauge that I have had for years). Water temp is rock solid with the new 195* thermostat, new radiator cap and coolant flush. Here are my thoughts - 1. I jumped a tooth on the timing belt, thus the hesitation and rich odor. Other potential cause of richness is a dirty air fliter or other intake air restriction? My throttle body gasket was toast so I used a light film of permatex instead - is there a critical hole I may have blocked with this method? Does my fuel pressure seem correct? I recall vaguely 28-38, or was it 32-42 - I remember it wasn't even 10's. 2. The more frightening symptom of lingering white smoke says that I have a coolant leak into the engine. That it goes away when warm means that it's an expansion issue? Tomorrow I'll check the oil for coolant and coolant for oil. I'll pull the plugs and look at them before starting the car (to get tonights drive-home reading), then I'll cold start and idle for a few minutes and check them again. Once warm I'll double check the timing as well. I may get lucky by re-torquing the head bolts and pray for the best - that one is under-torqued and it's a head gasket expansion issue. If not I likely have a cracked block? While the cover is off I'll also double check the timing belt to make sure I have it on correctly. A cracked block would really suck. My apologies for this novel of an email. Any input to this novice is, once again, hugely appreciated! And I thank everyone who replied privately and on the list with advice as I have been going through this little ordeal over the last week. _______________________________________________ Miatapower mailing list [email protected] http://list.miatapower.net/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/miatapower
