just my luck

- M
- Midget Tosser
  
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posted
19 years ago

Wed, Sep 29, 2004 10:34 AM

Is it possible for a blown head gasket to make a car not start at all? My 84 lesabre "project" was finally taken on the road for a test drive and only had about half the power it should have. As i pulled back into the driveway, i had all kinds of white smoke pouring from the engine compartment. There appears to be a small amount of water on the oil dipstick and i was told it could be the head gasket. I tried to pull it into the garage and it started but as soon as i put it in gear, the whole car started shaking kind of violently, and it died. Now all it will do is turn over and sometimes sounds like it wants to start, but it just sputters for a second then goes back to just turning over. The motor was just replaced in april and I've drove it only once since the replacement. Im at a loss here, this car has given me so many problems and this time nobody seems to know what to tell me. Please help!!!! the engine by the way is a 307 from an 89 custom cruiser

- M
- Micah
  
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posted
19 years ago

Wed, Sep 29, 2004 1:35 PM

Pull the plugs & see if the cylinders hace coolant in them. You could have a blown gasket or cracked head.

- H
- Hairy
  
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posted
19 years ago

Wed, Sep 29, 2004 1:38 PM

Sounds like bad head gaskets or possibly intake gasket, to me. Pull the spark plugs and check for water fouling. H

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- Eightupman
  
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posted
19 years ago

Fri, Oct 1, 2004 1:06 AM

Yes, it sounds like a head gasket. And if it is that bad, it will cause a car not to start. By trying to start it several times, (IF there is a major problem),you may cause more problems. Fluid in the cylinders may bend the rods, causing more catastrophic failure.

Pull the plugs as suggested, all eight of them, and then by hand (socket on the harmonic balancer bolt) rotate the engine. Look for antifreeze being expelled from the spark plug holes. If it is all dry, empty the crank case. If water comes out first before the oil (oil floats). If no dice there then do a compression check, OR a coolant system leak down test to see if there is a problem there. There are more things to do, but start with the easy stuff, before getting too deep. I would also ask about that warranty on the replacement motor, just in case.