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Faulty cylinder heads; mixing up coolant and oil
Topic Started: May 19 2013, 01:35 PM (637 Views)
Mode256
New Member
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Ok, so my 1994 Geo Metro 3cyl AUTO is having problems with the cylinder heads.
The car will have trouble starting up and it will stop during travel.
The LA Metro (not to be confused with the Geo model :D) service stopped by me while I was on the freeway. The autoguy checked out my oil tank and said that water (from the coolant) was mixed in there.
I've also seen dark splotchy dots and globs in my overfill tank.
What I've been told is that my cylinder heads are having issues and may need repair.

Does that sound about right? Is this something I can do myself or do I have to take it to a mechanic? (I have no issues taking it to a mechanic if I have to.) Will most mechanics be able to do it or do I have to find a specialist?

Thanks...
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Old Man


Most mechanics sneer at a Metro. Sounds like you might need a new head gasket at the very least. You might need more but with so little info there is no way to tell. If you could give your city where you live there might be a member near where you are that could take a look.
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PTA2PTB
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I'm totally awesome! I swear.

Mode256
May 19 2013, 01:35 PM
What I've been told is that my cylinder heads are having issues and may need repair.

Head. Singular.

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Deleted User
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Engine coolant and crankcase oil mixing can certainly be attributed to a failure of the head gasket.

The underlying cause of the failure may be due to the age of the head gasket, overheating the engine, or corrosion of the cylinder head, engine block, or both.

The head gasket is made of steel and graphite. They don't last forever.

Overheating the engine, if that is the case, may have occurred on an occasion that you may not be aware of due to a radiator that is not functioning properly, or low engine coolant. Your radiator fan may not be working.

Corrosion of the aluminum structure of the engine case and the cylinder head can be caused by lack of adherence to the manufacturer's recommended coolant system service intervals, or improper engine coolant.

Engine oil is difficult, but not impossible to remove from the engine cooling system.

Engine coolant is more difficult to remove from the engine lubrication system.

It may be possible to remove the cylinder head, have it repaired and reinstall it. Getting the engine coolant out of the oil may be possible to do by changing the engine oil on very frequent intervals, like every 100 miles for 3 or 4 times. The most effective way to remove engine coolant from the engine is to disassemble the engine, clean the parts, and reassemble with new parts, as required.

Depending on your skill level, you may be able to repair the engine and coolant system.

Engine work is not hard. Cleanliness is the key to success. I have seen many engines that have had the head replaced. A small amount of debris from the cleaning of the old head gasket and mating surfaces can find it's way into the crankcase. This debris will proceed to damage the bearings and associated surfaces.

How long to you plan to operate this car?

How many miles on the engine?

Does it use any engine oil?

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Mode256
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I want to use it at least another year.. if not longer.

About 105,000 miles.. I think the same engine has been in this car since initial purchase.

Yes, I use 5W-30 Hi-Mileage.
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Mode256
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So I'm set on buying a rebuilt cylinder head... I'm still not 100% it's the problem..
Anyway, are there any differences among the 3cyl models? I've been seeing the G10 spec out there often... along with something called S10 and S2. Maybe those refer to something else.
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metromizer


90% of the time, carefully installing a rebuild cylinder head will cure the problem you are reporting. But you really need to first ensure there isn't some secondary problem causing it to overheat (which is one of the causes of head gasket failure). Otherwise, you could be doing this job more than once.

On that subject, most shops (around here anyhow, $100/hr labor rates) don't like doing head gasket repair on vehicles. Their are too many chances they will have to do the job more than once, and the too often the cost of the entire job out weighs the value of the car, and chance are they will have an upset the customer in the end. They'd rather sell you a used or rebuilt engine, which cost more, but has a higher chance that the customer only cries once over the initial cost.
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metromizer
May 24 2013, 01:21 PM
They'd rather sell you a used or rebuilt engine, which cost more, but has a higher chance that the customer only cries once over the initial cost.
I looked at a guy's engine last week in the State of Washington. He was thinking that replacing the head would solve his problems. I suspected the condition of the lower end of the engine would render the time and money spent on head repair wasted resources. He opted for a complete engine overhaul.

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