New car. New Issues.

[Oren09]

I bought a new 90 L Plus today.



The CL ad said it overheated and the engine was seized. It most definitely is not seized. It runs pretty good, actually.
26X,XXX miles

Except a few things:

very low idle/stumble/miss
The idle speed is super low. I checked the ignition parts and the wires, cap, and rotor were all crusty with corrosion. I replaced all of those along with plugs I had sitting on the shelf. Not new components, but they show hardly any wear.
Still idles/missing a low speed. The engine revs just fine. Sounds good with no knocks or rattles and revs up quick.

coolant fountain
I changed the radiator cap as well because the old one was clumped with what looked like red dirt. I'll assume its rust. The whole cooling system is full of it and the engine compartment has a coat of coolant rust from when the bypass hose blew.
While running, and barely even hot (the temp gauge hadn't moved, if it works), water was spewing out of my new rad cap. I took it off and ran the engine without it and a bubbly fountain of brown cold water came out of the radiator. What is this an indication of? I know I need to do a coolant flush. Badly. Clogged/stuck thermostat?

gauges
As mentioned, I suspect that the temp and fuel gauges may not work. Neither one moved at all. The Meter fuse is good.


That's all I can think of for now, but here's a few positives:
A/C blows ice cold and strong
Relatively clean in and out
Still has owners manual and original dealer packet
Factory radio
Tach cluster
I scored it for $180 + $50 in gas

[1chrisapple]

how do u make finds like this.and sounds like shes gonna need headgasket and head gone through.u don't wanna sell it do u.pm me if u do

[Oren09]

I just thought of head gasket a few minutes ago.
Pretty sure the head gasket is blown. The oil is milky.
And the engine has no power. Just turning the car around in the parking lot stalled it twice.

Also, I check craigslist daily.

[bravekozak]

Disconnect the heater core. Get a high pressure hose and flush that block out, alternating from both directions until it runs clear. Flush the heater core separately, alternating from both directions. Then run it again and check the gages. If it still doesn't work, give it a buff job and sell it for triple the price.

[burnt_toast]

Well when an engine "seizes" it's not like a heart attack where the engine floats off to aluminum heaven. The engine can seize when hot, then turn freely after it cools. Sometimes they straight-up weld the piston rings to the cylinder wall, but many times the cylinders stop expanding from heat but the piston doesn't and it wedges in there. Either way, the first thing I'd want is a compression test. Not only would that tell you if the rings are sealing (they can lose their elasticity from too much heat) but a seriously low number compared to the other 3 would show you where to look for a head gasket leak/cracked head/cracked block. I suspect that's what is happening with the radiator... so much compression is pushing into the cooling system it is overpowering the cap (afterall it's prob-ly a 20psi cap and at least 80psi of compression).

Certainly would also think about a new radiator as a flush might not get the job done if it's sat with water/oil mix for awhile. Still, $150 is a damn fine deal.
-toast

[Zanzer]

Coolant bypassing the cap is the blown head gasket pumping compression into the cooling system. If the oil is milky then you're getting coolant in the oil and I would suggest you run it as little as possible or the next thing to check out will be the bearings. Hopefully the PO didn't run it much with this condition.

[denguy]

Sounds like someone dumped a bunch of some kind of magic sealer into the radiator trying to plug a leaking gasket. This could have plugged the radiator and other tight cooling passages in the head and elsewhere. Pulled the head on one like this with a blown head gasket.

[jason_]

Sounds like they knew what they were getting rid of

Sent from my rooted HTC Supersonic using Tapatalk 2 Pro

[Oren09]

I'll do a compression check in the morning for a baseline test to see where things stand.
Then I may start on pulling the head to check for damage.
If all is good I should have this car back to being driveable with less than $100 in parts.
If the engine is bad a new one is only $300-400. Still worth it, really.

[burnt_toast]

Yep. With things looking that bad though (like they seemed to REALLY overheat it) I'd be keen on making sure the head is flat and crack free, along with the block's mating surface. It would blow (pun intended) to put it all together and have it still leak. For the price you paid it doesn't even matter if it EVER runs, you still got a deal in spare parts alone. I have a theory as to why I never see Festiva's in the boneyard around here... people know they are worth fixing.
-toast

[getnpsi]

Tach cluster and your ac compressor and top lines ill give you what you paid for the car...jk...not really...kidding...i would...anyway great score there i think it deserves the matt d head and stage 2 cam in its coming new life

[TorqueEffect]

Man what I would do to find a rust free Festy for $180, regardless if the engine ran.

[Oren09]

I did a compression test earlier:

1- 180PSI
2- 140PSI
3- 160PSI
4- 60PSI

And number four shot coolant out of the plug hole when I checked number one.

The rings seem to seal alright for 267K miles.
I went through the paperwork in the glove box and the guy that bought the car new in 1990 owned it until 2009. He did a lot of maintenance on it.

I'm in the process of pulling the head but have gotten snagged on an exhaust heat shield bolt that won't come off. I can't get a grip on it with any sockets, even turbo sockets, or with vise grips.

[TominMO]

You could take a chance on a JY head, get a different B3 motor altogether, or consider this the perfect opportunity for a motor swap.

[Oren09]

I have 5 heads laying around. That's not a big deal.