Head gasket and lifters

[Dsamis]

been a Festiva fan for a long time but new to the forum

I got a Festiva last year as a fixer upper here in Hawaii for cheap gas efficient wheels when I come to visit family. Was told it was head gasket by last owner, Frappuccino oil. Have done basic mechanic stuff before but never have gone this far.

i ended up with about 7 quarts of mostly water when I drained the oil. Got head off ok despite getting one of three exhaust flange nut stuck and stripped.

the head gasket itself doesn’t seem too bad, but center two cylinders are full to top with water. Lot of rust. About to start trying to clean that

Almost done cleaning valve heads but not being an expert at this stuff it seems the right most out lifter/valve and second right intake are out of sync/alignment compared to the rest. All the others are flush closed but those two stick out about an inch and quarter inch the way they sit now.

do I need to replace them? Adjust them? How do I test to make sure they aren’t bent? And before I put on new head gasket is there any way to confirm that was responsible for all the water? Honestly the gasket itself doesn’t look too bad (again not having an experience in this)

any and all help appreciated
mahalo

[WmWatt]

Sounds like general engine stuff not specific to Festiva. Likely lots of info incl videos on Internet. Have read water in adjacent probably be leak in gasket between letting in coolant. I have only used standard compression test for which engine must be assembled and rotating. I'd be careful when cleaning rust not to scratch surface. Best of luck.

[Rick the Quick]

Sounds like you need to find another engine. You mentioned that two cylinders are full of water so the cylinder walls are probably rusty. You can reborn the cylinders and then you will need a new set of pistons. It's getting expensive fast. I didn't quite understand what you were saying about the valves but you would be best to find a good used engine if any still exist. Fortunately there are some models of Kias and Mazda engines which can be adopted to work in your car and these are getting hard to find. If you search on this forum you will find information on what engines will fit your car with details about the swap. There are B6 engines that are fairly easy to swap in and then the 1.8 engines that came single cam or twin cam. Unfortunately all the engines that are easy swaps are around 20 years old or older so most that you will find are junk. Also if you have the talent, tools, and money, most any engine will fit. The only problem is spending way more than the car is worth. I imagine there's a spot in the salvage yard waiting for it.
Good LucK.

[1990new]

I concur with Rick. If you could find a good used running 1.3 Festiva engine you could get the car on the road much cheaper that what it would take to get that engine running again.
There probably are a few good running 1.3 Festiva engines still around.. if you can get the word out and find them. I know of one that came out of Nellie when the guy I sold her to replaced it with a 1.6. It was in great condition and I believe it had less that a hundred thousand miles on it. I will send him a message and see if he still had that engine and let you know when I hear back.


SORRY.. He already sold it.

[WmWatt]

How many miles on the odometer? I have cleaned up lot of surface rust like that on tools and bicycles. If you have plenty of time, say retired, you might clean up the rust with fine steel wool being careful to vacuum out and wipe off any dust and debris. You could then replace the gasket, reassemble, and try a compression test without spending much money. The valves on Blogs and Groups cyclinder could be cleaned up as well but the carbon build up on the valve on Groups cylinder would be a challenge.