Water flowing into crankcase, head gasket or crack block/head? - Zilvia.net Forums | Nissan 240SX (Silvia) and Z (Fairlady) Car Forum

crazyorigin · 04-11-2019, 01:59 PM

First post and just purchased my first 240. It's an 89 S13 hatch with a ka24e. 3 cylinders have 90 ish PSI of compression and one is 125. Have only had the car running just a little bit and it was not promising, wouldn't idle. I know the compression being that low is bad and I am hoping my issue is just a head gasket.

My main question is, would a terribly badly blown head gasket cause water to flow into the oil quite fast, basically just as fast as it would settle into all the veins in the radiator? The rad took a lot of water and I realized something was wrong and suddenly the oil was like 4 quarts high. Drained all the oil and now need to figure out if its just a bad head gasket, or if I have a cracked head or block.

I do have a spare motor that came with the car, so hopefully I can put one good motor together from the 2 and freshen everything up a good bit.

I am between Charlotte and Fayetteville NC if anyone has a cheap, good ka24e or de they want to sell. I will also be looking for some other small parts once I get the motor sorted out.

If you choose to help, I appreciate it. If you choose to flame, everyone will be impressed with how cool you are.

*brndck* · 04-11-2019, 02:23 PM

uhhhhhhh YEAH, if the head gasket is totally blown, and allowing coolant into the cylinder, it will seep past the piston rings pretty quickly, especially if the piston rings are worn out. if the motor has had coolant sitting in the cylinders or oil pan for very long, chances are shits rusting, and you may need to hone those cylinders and have some machine work done

*e1_griego* · 04-11-2019, 02:43 PM

If the timing chain rubbed through the port behind the water pump that would also dump all the coolant into the oil pan.

Not uncommon with a failed tensioner left un-fixed for a long time.

crazyorigin · 04-11-2019, 04:24 PM

Thanks for the replies. I didnt think a .030 or less thin fracture in a gasket would let coolant run into the case as quickly as it was and it still may not be the case. I am gonna pull the head off tomorrow and see what it looks like. The height I am filling the radiator at looks to not be much higher than the deck on the block so I wasnt sure if coolant would even flow into that area when filling the radiator anyways. Just curious if anyone had run into this before.

Odometer is only showing 140k but I dont know the history of this car but looks to be the original engine. Previous owner was not that knowledgeable and he said the people he got it from were really sketchy so who knows. Car was cheap enough that even if I have to totally rebuild the engine I will still be in good shape to drive it a while and make money or just have a cheap beater.

The water I drained out of the pan looked clean and not brown and rusty so hopefully it's not too bad inside. If it is the spare motor will be what I focus on to put in the car.

04-11-2019, 01:59 PM	#1
crazyorigin Join Date: Apr 2019 Location: Jackson Springs NC Age: 37 Posts: 22 Trader Rating: (1) Feedback Score: 1 reviews	Water flowing into crankcase, head gasket or crack block/head? First post and just purchased my first 240. It's an 89 S13 hatch with a ka24e. 3 cylinders have 90 ish PSI of compression and one is 125. Have only had the car running just a little bit and it was not promising, wouldn't idle. I know the compression being that low is bad and I am hoping my issue is just a head gasket. My main question is, would a terribly badly blown head gasket cause water to flow into the oil quite fast, basically just as fast as it would settle into all the veins in the radiator? The rad took a lot of water and I realized something was wrong and suddenly the oil was like 4 quarts high. Drained all the oil and now need to figure out if its just a bad head gasket, or if I have a cracked head or block. I do have a spare motor that came with the car, so hopefully I can put one good motor together from the 2 and freshen everything up a good bit. I am between Charlotte and Fayetteville NC if anyone has a cheap, good ka24e or de they want to sell. I will also be looking for some other small parts once I get the motor sorted out. If you choose to help, I appreciate it. If you choose to flame, everyone will be impressed with how cool you are.

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04-11-2019, 02:43 PM	#3
e1_griego Premium Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Independence, Ore. Age: 36 Posts: 2,642 Trader Rating: (24) Feedback Score: 24 reviews	If the timing chain rubbed through the port behind the water pump that would also dump all the coolant into the oil pan. Not uncommon with a failed tensioner left un-fixed for a long time.

04-11-2019, 04:24 PM	#4
crazyorigin Join Date: Apr 2019 Location: Jackson Springs NC Age: 37 Posts: 22 Trader Rating: (1) Feedback Score: 1 reviews	Thanks for the replies. I didnt think a .030 or less thin fracture in a gasket would let coolant run into the case as quickly as it was and it still may not be the case. I am gonna pull the head off tomorrow and see what it looks like. The height I am filling the radiator at looks to not be much higher than the deck on the block so I wasnt sure if coolant would even flow into that area when filling the radiator anyways. Just curious if anyone had run into this before. Odometer is only showing 140k but I dont know the history of this car but looks to be the original engine. Previous owner was not that knowledgeable and he said the people he got it from were really sketchy so who knows. Car was cheap enough that even if I have to totally rebuild the engine I will still be in good shape to drive it a while and make money or just have a cheap beater. The water I drained out of the pan looked clean and not brown and rusty so hopefully it's not too bad inside. If it is the spare motor will be what I focus on to put in the car.