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Uh Oh...Did I TRASH My Engine?! Cooling problem...blown head(s)...


cutlassman

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  • 1 month later...

Alright, time for an update and a plea for help. After about 35 hours invested in ripping this engine apart and re-assembling, I got the thing started. Actually, that was the easy part - keep it running is a challenge! I spewed white smoke for about five minutes due to all the residual coolant after the hydrolocking, I'm sure. The problem is the car is running very rough. I can rev it and hold it at 2500 RPM or higher and it is smooth and strong, but it doesn't really want to idle. If it does, around 900 RPM with the AC on, it is rough. If I put it into gear, it will likely die. Sometimes it feels like it's running on a couple cylinders before puttering out. But restarting and revving makes it run smooth. The knocking noise is from the belt tensioner - a new noise after the work. The day the engine hydrolocked I washed the car and sprayed the lower front frame, likely spraying water towards the ignition module and coils. Could a coil pack be bad now? Perhaps the IAC is failing? I have a used one I might throw on to see if it makes a difference. The cooling system is fine and the oil level is holding steady. The car doesn't leak any oil or coolant, but it just runs really rough. Is there something simple I'm overlooking after the rebuild? FYI, I did the idle relearn procedure and the car has a good vacuum.

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When I replaced the head gaskets on mine, it ran poorly like that. I thought I'd screwed something up and figured I'd been beaten and drove the car around like that since it was all I had at the time. I think it was the sulfur/burnt smell of the exhaust that made me decide to check for spark with an inductive timing light and found 2 plugs not firing on the same coil. I replaced the coil, and all was well, I couldn't be happier. Moral of the story - check the coils. Since you sprayed water towards them, you have even more reason to check them.

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