The car:
1982 Mazda 626 that just turned over 189501 on the odometer. 2.0 liter 4 cylinder engine driving a 5 speed stick.The symptoms: Was driving normally until I stepped down hard on the gas for a pass on the way to town this morning. Chugged, shook, acted "unhappy", power
*WAY* below normal. Nursed it to a parking lot, noticed puffs (not steady stream) of white from exhaust while limping into parking lot. Shut down, checked oil. A bit low (Maybe half to 3/4 quart low) Checked radiator. Seemingly empty, or at least low enough that I can't see water level. (Was fine day before yesterday when I added a small splash of water) No visible leakage anywhere that isn't usual for this old beater. Filled radiator. Ran it (idling rough, but idling) and got foam out of the radiator. Uh-oh... At this point, I'm suspecting head gasket.Got no time for this - the court tends to ignore excuses like broken cars, and start getting pissy and issuing arrest warrants when you don't show up as scheduled. Refilled radiator, and continued to town with it "acting funny". Several "make sure it has water" stops on the way. Temp gauge went high, but not redline and it gradaully lost almost all power
- Could barely move itself in 1st gear until I got the engine wound WAY up (3500, give or take a bit) Stalled at two stoplights, but restarted after prolonged cranking, but refused to idle. Running horribly rough unless I kept it wound up pretty high (Above 2K) Stalled at third stoplight, and no restart. Pushed off to side of road, abandoned it with a "please don't tow, I'll be back ASAP with a tow truck" note on the dash, and walked the rest of the way to courthouse. Took care of business there, and called AAA for a tow home. Got it here.
Pulled spark plugs - All "dry and normal" except #3, which has always shown a slight oil leak (almost certainly valve guide seals, which I've know it needs for ages, but haven't had the time to do anything about, or spare funds to pay someone to take care of.) No signs of water or oil except on #3, which, for this car, is basically "business as usual".
Compression test was the shocker for me:
Dry: #1: *NO COMPRESSION WHATSOEVER* - doesn't even jiggle the needle. #2: consistently about 25 PSI #3: 125 PSI +/- about 5 PSI between runs #4: 132 PSI +/- about 3 PSI between runs
Add oil and repeat compression test. #1: About 15 PSI (Hard to say for sure - needle moved, but scale doesn't start until 20 PSI #2, #3 and #4: Virtually unchanged - maybe a pound or two higher in each.
Conclusion/sanity check: Problem is blown head gasket, almost certainly between #1 and #2 cylinders, probably involving the block-to-head water passage.
Reasonable? Totally stupid? Otherwise? Should look elsewhere for actual problem?
Need any assistance I can get ASAP, since this car must either be ready to make a 600 mile road trip starting Saturday morning, or be abandoned as junk (I'm preparing to move, and won't be coming back if it gets left behind.)