Is This Bad?

[HalveBlue]

http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l96/HalveBlue/th_240sx.jpg (http://s94.photobucket.com/albums/l96/HalveBlue/?action=view&current=240sx.flv)

Background Info:

No shit, there I was waiting in line at the automatic carwash on post. Unfortunately, a dozen other apparently had the same idea.

So, after the umpteen minutes I'm finally done with the car wash I notice that my temp gauge has just gone through the roof.

I pull into one of the manual car wash stalls and check under the hood to see what the problem is. At the same time I follow all the standard over-heating procedures (turn the heater to hot on the highest settings, etc.) Additionally, I try spraying down the inside of the engine bay with water in the hopes of dissapating some of the heat. I turn off the engine and continue spraying.

Let it cool down for a few minutes and try to start her up. NOTHING! Try again. Again nothing. I figure I must fried something when I was spraying down the engine bay.

So I tow my car back to my apartment and check the engine bay the next day to see what's up.

Problem #1: Electrical connection from fan to fan relay was loose and came undone. That explains the overheating.

Problem #2: Somehow the timing got all jacked up. So I pull the CAS and after a million tries I finally fire up the engine only to see cloud of white smoke envelope me and the car. AWESOME!

So, tomorrow I'm gonna a do a compression test (although I don't know if I dare run the car up to operating temperature) to see if I'm looking at "just" a head gasket or if I need to install new piston rings also.

Fuck.

[ThatGuy]

Not if you're Spy Hunter.
http://spyhunter007.com/Images/spy_hunter_smoke_screen.jpg
Head Gasket FTL. :(

[benefitx]

i would say blown hg

[gotta240]

You have one of two things...

blown hg, or bad ring. White is water, blue is smoke.

How does your oil/coolant look? If either one is fucked, STOP RUNNING IT.

[kleenS14]

Def. looks like a good ol' busted head gasket. Have fun!

[swayray]

just cross your fingers and hope its just a piston ring....

[s13gold]

..........blue and whie smoke.

[iiEddieGii]

Does the white smoke smell more like steam or fuel?

Even though I doubt it's the problem, a stuck fuel injector could also be possible.

Did you run the car hot recently? That could also be a sign of a blown hg.

[Team Rootbeer]

could also be blown turbo oil seal.

my car does the same thing, but stops when i start driving it, or it warms up just a bit. been doing it forever. i think its my turbo, as my coolant and oil both look fine. also hear it could be exh valve guides/seats.

[SSC299]

I would say hg with that smoke.... but would it be running that smoothly?

[markyboi]

why would you spray/hose down your engine bay with water?

why didnt you just turn the car off to prevent more heat?

[LA_phantom_240]

Hot engine + Cold (or just not so hot) water = Bad news. Being that you did that, and pending what exactly you sprayed, you could be looking at simply a HG, or a ring or two... to something as serious as a warped/cracked head, or a crack in the block itself. My dad told me to NEVER spray a hot motor with colder water for that reason.

[Team Rootbeer]

so did you look at your oil/coolant yet?

is the oil milky looking?

[Landers]

^^----absolutely correct heat transfer is bad bad news on an aluminum head...:-/

[snappy]

Blown HG for sure same thing happen to me, then a week later my car was hella chuggin. It would barely start.

[HalveBlue]

why would you spray/hose down your engine bay with water?

why didnt you just turn the car off to prevent more heat?

I didn't turn the car off because you're not supposed to turn it off immediately. Besides, I needed to get the car out of the car wash. I turned the car off after I realized the e-fan wasn't working properly.

This all happened within a matter of 30-60 seconds after I realized what was going on.

You got me on the water part though. Didn't think that one through at the time. Very stupid move on my part in retrospect.

Tomorrow I'll check the fluids and compression (unless there's another blizzard moving in).

[spiker]

warped/cracked head, or a crack in the block itself
<- thats where my money is at from u spraying the water

[JDMClifford]

if theres coolent in your oil, oil in your coolent, or your coolent smells like gas its headgasket.