Alrighty, after the trials and tribulations of installing my NA Engine (Due to Brytech snipping lots of my wiring etc), I had many problems with the performance of the motor, it was sluggish, slow, backfiring when I let off the throttle and over-fueling to the point I almost gassed myself in my garage. Oh, and two cylinders were inexplicably not firing at all (checked coil pack connectors) So, I went through the motions and eliminated PTU (installed a new one and cross checked with another one to make sure the unit was working) Replaced Spark plugs, ohmed injectors and checked for tapping with stethoscope, checked fuel pressure, cleaned MAF and MAF connector, cleaned TPS connector. Also looked for vacuum leaks and plugged them all up. So, after all this, checked the radiator and realised the bastid was empty (after filling 2 days beforehand, and no apparent leaks). Fearing the worst, I refilled it, and yep, bubbles in the radiator, the exhaust also had moisture and water dripping out of it, also had a buzzing sound. Fairly sure that is the symptoms of a blown head-gasket or block (but hopefully just gaskets) So, if it is the Head-gasket, how long would it take for lets say, 2 people armed with the tools required to replace said head-gaskets. Are there any write-ups online for this procedure? Would it be more feasible to replace it with another NA (I can get one for $500). The car wasn't overheating that much when I drove it home (about 25kms-40minutes) but could any damage have happened from that? I'll be doing a compression test Tuesday to confirm the worst, however my hopes are slim. Any advice on where I should head from here? Cheers Guys.
Pressure test the cooling system. Compression test the engine. A used engine for $500.00 may not be in much better shape than the one you have now, unless you can test drive & compression test it.
Head gaskets aren't hard to replace, but you do need a good torque wrench and I'm partial to new bolts each time you have the heads off. But if the heads are coming off you might as well put a full gasket kit through it. May not be the gasket itself, could be a cracked head. If you can get a known good NA for $500 I would go that way.
PS, what Crispy said and if you have the space, the tools and the time, you could spend the $50 for the gasket and do your NA engine later. Get your money back.
Headgaskets don't fail without reason. Pretty pointless replacing the gasket without fixing the cause
I would take my chances and chuck in another engine. As long as it works it would be cheaper and easier than disassembling the current one. Can have one engine out and the other back in within a few days. The fixing option is an unknown timeframe.
