Don't Know What To Do Next!

I would really like to get some opinions on this. The vehicle in question is a 1985 Toyota Cressida Wagon. I have been fighting with a cooling issue. I changed the thermostat. After changing it, I let the car idle for a good while and the car never got hot. So off I go. At one point while driving the car got really hot. Due to where I was it was not safe to pull right over, so I had to wait until I crossed the bridge. Before I got there, the engine died (I assume due to temp)

After I got the car home, I tried to start it. The engine would just crank, until it finally started. But the engine sounds sick. Happy that it did not seize, I set out to do some troubleshooting. The first thing I did is a compression test on all six cylinders. The reading on the first cylinder is 120psi. The other 5 cylinders are in the 60psi range. I checked the timing and it is within limits.

At this point I decided to try to solve the cooling issue. I replace the thermostat again, replaced the water pump, and flushed the system. I'm not sure I fixed the cooling issue that lead to this, I'm going to also replace the radiator.

The car does run, but it does not run well at all. It has no power (I can barely get it up the ramps), cranks funny but does start, rough idle, and now I have an oil leak comming from the front of the engine (not sure where yet).

What are your thoughts on where I should go next? My thought is head and/or head gasket.

Mike Minellono snipped-for-privacy@sbcglobal.net

You may have burned valves and/or blown head gasket, 60 PSI is way too low.

Another thing to check is the lower radiator hose. Many of these have an internal spring that keeps the hose from collapsing. These can corrode away over time, symptom would be cooling is OK at idle but the engine overheats at speed.

Five out of six cylinders have only about half the compression they should have. No wonder it has no power! Oil leak may be front main seal, or might be dripping down from the valve cover. Could even be the oil sender if it's located up front.

Aluminum heads do not tolerate overheating. They warp. It could be anything from a head gasket, a head , or a cracked block water jacket. Start with a head gasket and put a straight edge on the head. Or have a machine shop check it Any distortion at all to me would indicate replacement. I went through the same thing many years back. Cut your loses

Rebuild it or move on. you probably fried the oil seals

Your thoughts would be the parsimonious hypothesis. You may end up with a new head, though only an automotive machine shop can determine whether the existing one is rebuildable. Removing and replacing it is within the realm of the medium-good do-it-yourselfer armed with a shop manual, though it's a bit more of a pain on overhead-cam engines. If your car has a timing belt rather than a chain, this is also a good opportunity for preventive replacement.

This assumes that the block and the bottom end are in good condition. You always wonder, but heads and head gaskets seem to constitute the weak link in the system when chronic cooling problems finally result in a crisis.

The remaining question is why you had chronic cooling problems. The cooling system is fairly simple: pump, thermostat, fan, fan clutch (or thermostatically controlled electric fans), radiator, a few interconnecting hoses. One wonders if something is stopped up (or cracked) somewhere down below.

I'd say, replace the head. make sure the balance of the cooling system is in good shape and properly installed, and then watch the temperature gauge carefully. Also change the oil and watch for signs of coolant getting into the oil.

If it proves to be something in the block rather than in the head or the cooling system, you then get to decide whether the rest of the car is in good enough shape, and solves your transportation problems well enough, to merit an overhaul (or a used engine); or whether instead it becomes an organ donor for other similar cars. This is a pretty individual call based on your finances, the odds that several other problems of similar scale are waiting in the wings, and how gracefully the car has aged otherwise and how you like it.

Cheers,

--Joe

It's an 85' with a bad engine. It ain't worth much. Since the poster needed an opinion he's not in a position to repair it I'm guessing. Move on.