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alright so i've done everything i can think of other than flat out calling the block trash. I've changed oil cooler, turbo, and headgasket. My question is on the front of the motor there is a little tab of the head gasket sticking out. I've heard of people putting these on upside down etc. and was wondering if the tab is supposed to be there or not. its on the front of the motor, left corner (to the left of the turbo etc.).

A friend actually put the gasket down and like a fool i never really looked, but was just thinking about this. Any info asap would be awesome as i'm off work and gettin ready to drain the radiator and oil etc. today, and if the head needs to come off i can do that tomorrow evening. The car has to be legal or moved asap and this is about the only thing holding me up.

In all honesty if I cant figure this out and hopefully it is only the gasket, then i'll be pulling everything from the car and scrapping the shell until next year when i'll be making way better money doing hvac work and can afford another shell, preferably in better shape than the one i have now anyway.

thanks again for any and all info, i've got a pic that i will upload a bit later tonight if noone can tell me for sure off hand if its wrong.

Ben

well no thoughts on an upside down head gasket, or if its even possible? so I decided to drain the oil and only get 3 quarts out...doesnt look like water is mixing, so i dunno wtf to think from here...think im just gonna throw fresh oil and another filter on, add the coolant and get it inspected...by the time i get home from the inspection i should know for sure if i have an issue or not...reguardless i need some real antifreeze in the motor and not the little water i've got.

i know for sure it was 1 and 1/2 quarts over filled at one point...but the oil level doesnt suggest that at all, so now im questioning my sanity LOL. Maybe with the luck i've had it'd just be too good to be true to be good to go, i dont know.

If the block wasn't tested with a tool makers style straight edge and feeler gauges at multiple points per the manual, then yes it is possible that the block has an issue.
It is possible that the block has a crack where oil and coolant could mix, somewhere near the deck area; again only a mag test at a machine shop would show you this for cast iron.
If your motor has the oil/water cooler down between the oil filter and the oil filter housing, then it is possible that the studs has loosed off and or it was overtightened (the nut does not require much torque! - see the FSM), it can crack and mix the two fluids together. 90 DSM had the oil cooler up front, 91+ got the sandwich plate as mentioned above, if we are talking about DSM's, which seem to be where most local donor motors come from; but anybodies guess where they came from in this era with so many crate motors sent over from JDM land. Doesn't matter as this is the part you want to look for and check.

There is a tab on a head gasket, and yes it sticks out, you cannot install the head gasket backwards because of how it is oriented with bolt holes/dowels and passages.

Is it possible the head is cracked or warped, yes as again, it has to be checked with the same style straight edge and feeler gauges. Cracks have to be made evident with a dye process, as the head is made of aluminum and is non-ferrous; no massive electro-magnetic check here.

Check the oil cooler sandwich plate and get back to us. If you don't have that part, it is time to start looking a little deeper.

You did mention in your last thread that your turbo center section had issues and it could very well be cracked and mixing fluids.

Was that every sorted out?

LOL well, here goes.

Things i've done:

I changed the oil cooler, it was done for sure, had a hole in it, so i put another on...weather or not its overtight i have no idea, but will look again seeing how i have to go through and get a new filter/oil anyway.

I changed the head gasket before the oil cooler cuz i thought that was the issue

I changed the turbo with another turbo i picked up...if it was bad in the same way then i spose i'd have the same issue...

This engine was completely rebuilt and such done at a machine shop like 5 yrs ago. new valve seals in head and checked to make sure it was good, it was. New rings and bearings installed in the block, crank/block checked out good.

water was put in the engine before it got cold when i was working on it at a friends house one year, I didnt think to drain the water so i called and told him to, so he releases the lower radiator hose...which left water in the oil cooler (had a huge hole from water swelling) and turbo (had freeze plug popped out)

All of that was done when the motor was in the original talon, i decided to strip the talon and do the swap when my car spun a rod and rather than having 2 junk cars i decided to make one fast junk car LOL.

so, its possible the block has cracked, or the head if water was still in there somehow...the fact the oil cooler was done for for sure and the freeze plug in the turbo was popped leaves me wondering how much water sat in the motor itself. and if it did crack in the block wouldnt that force more water to enter while sitting? or is there a such thing as water only leaking while the engine is warm/hot?

I'd love to pull it all and bring it back to a machine shop to get everything sorted for sure, however im stuck in a position where the car either gets legal, or i pull the motor/trans/axles/brakes/fuel pump/ecu and wiring and scrap the shell to wait til next year to do it over on a different one...or i just throw it back together, finish the exhaust toss some 4 dollar wiper blades on with tags and insure it for a day and get it done legally / store the whole car where it sits for another year.

thanks for the reply, and sorry i know it doesnt help much with the info i've given i guess now im just looking for advice or what someone else would do in my shoes. heh, always fun when u race against time/money and u have no time or money.

the main thing im concerned with is the amount of oil i got out today was only 3 quarts, and the upper radiator hose was only about 3/4 low, i have a drip in the drain plug of the radiator so that explains the water gone but with there being way less oil in the motor i am left to believe maybe i've lost my marbles because the oil didnt look like what i expected...i did store it in a jug for oil so tomorrow it will have sat long enogh for me to tell just about how much water if any was in there and if i have a real issue or if i'm just paranoid some how.

I am still looking for any personal thoughts or ideas as to what to do if it were them lol for all this headache im about ready to start saving for another block/head re-build those and such at a machine shop and drop them in next summer...or do i worry about salvaging what i have and scrap the shell of the car to start over possibly needing the same...block or head and a new shell LOL

Was the block ever left with water alone, in it and it went below zero C/freezing point. Could be an issue if that is the case.

Was the motor ever overheated, if so, the head could have warped.

It doesn't sound like there a proper mixture of coolant and water has ever been used in the motor combination while it sat or ran. It is never a good idea to leave water alone in a motor, as it will rust up and you won't get proper lubrication for the water pump amongst the other awesome features like increased boiling points and no freezing until you reach arctic temperatures. I never understand why anyone would not use coolant in their motor.

lol the water in the motor was an "experienced" friends idea since it was just to see if the motor would run etc. in the past 6 years i've learned he wasnt as smart as he was dumb due to my own research etc.

right now i only have water in the motor because i was making sure that the coolant wouldnt leak/waste 20 bux etc....i did have coolant in the motor before this bit but found it was mixing, so instead of wasting another 40 on coolant and oil i just put oil and water in, today im actually getting ready to throw the coolant in since the oil i removed seemed fine.

If i have learned anything at all though, research before you let ur "experienced" friend tell you anything is a good idea.

thanks for the help and info, once i get another filter and a bit of oil i'll re-post to let you know how it turns out.

Ben

Would be good to hear back on what happens.

Dislike it when members are plagued with problems and cannot get their setup running properly.

added the oil and coolant, ran it for like 15 mins and cut it off, no signs of mixing etc. so i guess its good, just some little things to take care of...spose i should make a new thread about the idle surge? LOL