Escort Head Gasket...maybe?: Grassroots Motorsports forum: Grassroots Motorsports Magazine

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Dec. 7, 2011 8:59 a.m. PHeller Dork

It's that time of year again. I get paranoid about the amount of steam coming from my 1.9's exhaust.

Coolant gauge reads normal. Goes from the bottom to the lower/middle area of the gauge. It's moving, that's good.

Cars performance is dismal, but this is normal.

Fowled some plugs this summer, but I think those were old plugs anyway. Installed new plugs, runs good again.

MPG isn't the 35 average I was getting when I first got it, but then again the rear brakes are dragging a little bit.

The coolant reservoir is brown. The only giveaway that something is off. It also goes through an entire coolant tank every couple of months.

So is all this steam an indicator of something serious? Or more just a "let it go, let it blow" type of issue?

I really don't want to do a headgasket in winter, nor do I want to pay someone to do it.
Dec. 7, 2011 9:04 a.m. N Sperlo SuperDork

Sounds like you may be doing what you don't want to do. Its not leaking externally. Its gotta go somewhere. My guess would be head gasket. And its brown. Yuck.
Dec. 7, 2011 9:07 a.m. Ranger50 Dork

1.9 CVH escort? I would suspect the head is cracked before a gasket, if it is. Normally crack right between the seats. Even the last of that version had problems with it.
Dec. 7, 2011 9:11 a.m. N Sperlo SuperDork

You have to figure, you're going to have start taking the upper end apart. Ranger knows more about that engine than me. I defer to him.
Dec. 7, 2011 9:18 a.m. PHeller Dork

Yep, its a CVH.

Heads are not cheaper than head gaskets. Bugger.

How long will it last?
Dec. 7, 2011 9:23 a.m. Ranger50 Dork

PHeller wrote:

Yep, its a CVH.

Heads are not cheaper than head gaskets. Bugger.

How long will it last?

Bummer.

Bummer.

FIIK or Fuk If I know.
Dec. 7, 2011 9:34 a.m. PHeller Dork

What will come of this if I just ignore it?

Great commotion or just a messy ending?

Haha...I said messy ending.
Dec. 7, 2011 9:46 a.m. Curmudgeon SuperDork

Lots of cars have steam from the exhaust when cold since one of the byproducts of combustion is water. It will be clear with exhaust carbon floating in it. If it's engine coolant in the exhaust, it's generally a bit milky and you can get a whiff of the 'sweet' antifreeze odor at the exhaust. Antifreeze will break down and change color, BTW. I've seen it look brown and also look like black jelly. That Dexcool stuff will also turn brown if it's mixed with the green old type. I don't know whether the new 'universal' antifreezes will do that.

If the oil gallery to the head is squeezing pressurized oil through/around the HG, it can get into the cooling system that way and that will cause a color change. But you generally see the oil rainbow 'sheen' on top of the coolant.

The answer about failure mode: it depends. Two different times I have seen a HG blow big time and cause the radiator to explode. Most times it just gunks up the oiling system and overheats if you look at it crosseyed. If it gunks up the oiling (gets that 'chocolate milk' on the dipstick), that can lead to rapid main/rod bearing failure since the emulsion doesn't lube well.
Dec. 7, 2011 9:50 a.m. PHeller Dork

So far, the oil has looked fine.

Again, this is not a new development...its been steaming on cold days for months now, and I don't remember the last time the coolant was normal colored.
Dec. 7, 2011 9:58 a.m. Curmudgeon SuperDork

If it's not overheating and the oil looks OK, I'd just keep coolant in it and drive on. FWIW, the other day I was behind a very new something (I think it was a Lexus, it still had dealer temp tag) or other in traffic on a cold morning and it had a thin stream of water running out of the tailpipe.
Dec. 7, 2011 9:58 a.m. RossD SuperDork

Time to swap in a zetec. There are "how to"s online...
Dec. 7, 2011 10:04 a.m. N Sperlo SuperDork

RossD wrote:

Time to swap in a zetec. There are "how to"s online...

It will make it a little more peppy at least.
Dec. 7, 2011 10:16 a.m. PHeller Dork

Honestly I'd consider a Zetec if I needed/wanted a wagon.

Now that I've got a trailer, the women will soon be in a more modern high mpg practical car, I'd like to be in something with an airbag, and maybe something a little more fun.

I've had a ZX2 before and would take another.
Dec. 7, 2011 10:53 a.m. PHeller Dork

Curmudgeon wrote: Antifreeze will break down and change color, BTW. I've seen it look brown and also look like black jelly. That Dexcool stuff will also turn brown if it's mixed with the green old type. I don't know whether the new 'universal' antifreezes will do that.
I haven't made an effort yet to smell the exhaust. I'll do that. Provided it is the coolant breaking down and turning brown, should I do a coolant flush? Or would that do more harm than good?
Curmudgeon wrote: But you generally see the oil rainbow 'sheen' on top of the coolant.
No rainbow sheen last I looked.
Dec. 7, 2011 11:49 a.m. N Sperlo SuperDork

PHeller wrote:

Curmudgeon wrote: But you generally see the oil rainbow 'sheen' on top of the coolant.
No rainbow sheen last I looked.

And the white floaties. You get the white floaties in there too!
Dec. 7, 2011 1:09 p.m. erohslc HalfDork

The Escort 1.9 heads like to crack. I drove mine for 2 years after daughter lost a hose and continued driving it until it shuddered to a steaming, smoking, halt. Of course, I had to add water every morning. But no color or sheen in the coolant.
Dec. 7, 2011 2:31 p.m. Curmudgeon SuperDork

Forgot about the floaties, you see those too. That's the marshmallows in the hot chocolate!

If this is a DD and other than the slow loss of coolant it's running fine I'd leave it alone. Chemical flushes might dislodge something you don't want dislodged.