HELP, car is missing pinging

[t-bone]

I just installed a Weber 32/36 last week. The car has been running great oter than no power at the top of 3rd 4th and 5th, well now she is barly running suddenly. Last night I lost one or more cylinders. She was driving fine for about 20 miles, still no top end power but smooth and otherwise good. We gassed her up with regular instead of premium like I was putting in thinking it should run on it and she started to ping. We pulled the timing back a bit. She started running like garbage, missing and pinging. No matter where the ignition timing is it runs horribly. Not driveable at all. White smoke is pouring out the back today. Pulled the plugs, covered in oil. Put new ones it. Fouled them instantly almost. Compression test. 120 psi in each cylinder. I am running out of ideas. HELP!

[2ndGenGuy]

That compression does seem a bit low... Maybe it's time for a new head gasket...

[85SE-i]

Yeah, I'm thinking head gasket too. Could also be possible worn valve guides or worn oil control rings but not likely. And pinging, which is low grade detonation can easily blow an already weakened head gasket.

[t-bone]

Ya it just surprises me how quickly it started, it was from one minute to the next.... cylinder 1 is totally clean, cylinder 4 is dirty as all hell. So it looks like if it is leaking it is one side of the engine and running all down it. Seems like the gasket is the only thing that could happen that fast. I am sure the guides are worn, but it couldn't change with severity that quickly could it?

And 120 seems low but not low enough to cause the severity of problem it is having I can't imagine. It was actually closer to 130 on the gauge, but either way it's lower than it should be, but at 190K that is to be expected.

My main concern is just weighing out doing the head gasket. Is it worth the energy to do just that or am I going to open the can of worms "well once you have it open you might as well...... replace the world".

I only paid 300 for the car, but at after the carb install and all the other stuff I have bought, wheels, tires, radio, seat covers, fluids, spark plugs, brakes, valve cover and oil pan gaskets..... I have almost 1K in it.

I'm just ridiculously irritated and barely thinking clearly, not sure what I am going to do.

[2ndGenGuy]

How does your oil look? Not getting any coolant in it are ya?

[t-bone]

Nope. Oil has not had coolant in it. I should check it again, would that show on the dip or do I need to drain it AGAIN lol.

[ekoms]

bad rings & valve seals id say, my 96 talon has bad rings & bad valve seals @ #4 & she smokes. burns oil bad & #4 plug gets fouled very fast, but 1-3 plugs are fine. it time for a rebuild bud. the extra blow by forces the oil past the seals. you probably have a bad head gasket if she is smoking white.

[Ju_S12_Turbo]

Well one way to test to see if there is water in the oil, is to take a lighter and run it under the oil dip and if you see bubbles there is water in there. Don't hold it underneath in one spot cause it would just catch fire, run the flame a little away and move it back and forth so the heat will evaporate the oil. and there can still be water in the oil even if it does not look milky.

[2oodoor]

gee i hope you plugged off the coolant passages under the carb, or does the 1geez even have those>?

[2ndGenGuy]

1gee doesn't have those.

If there's water in your oil, you'll have white goopey shit on the bottom of your oil cap...

[2oodoor]

was this a new carb or used? I would clean it up a bit and record the jet etc. sizes, check float level.. This sounds like more than one issue (some existing already before this) and the symptoms are throwing off your logic.

[85SE-i]

The pre existing lack of power concerns me too. With a Weber, even though it's only a 32/36, it should still pull pretty strong. It makes me think something else was already going wrong. I suppose the pinging (low grade detonation) could have blown your rings on #4, but if this were the case, you would see low compression on that cylinder. As long as there is no more than a 10% compression variance across all cylinders, it should still run fine. The valve guides don't just go bad all of the sudden, it happens over time, but valve seals can go bad fairly quickly. You won't always get coolant in your oil with a blown head gasket. My 96 Accord had a blown head gasket but the oil stayed clean. It just blew directly from a coolant passage into the combustion chamber. I drove it for 6 months like this and just topped off the coolant every week or so. One more possibility could be that the auxiliary chamber seal on #4 cylinder has gone bad. This will allow oil to seep into the auxiliary chamber and foul the plug. This was somewhat common on CVCC engines long ago, and could cause similar symptoms. I believe Honda also put out a service bulletin or service news thing on this a long time ago.

[t-bone]

hhmmm, it sounds like she needs to be torn apart. I still haven't decided what I'm going to do with the damn thing. The head gasket it one thing but a rebuild is another. I will post updates as things progress. To stop now and scrap her for parts is a possibility. I don't have a major investment yet but it seems like a waste... Once we get the head off I'm sure the causes will be easier to find.

[2ndGenGuy]

I doubt you'll need a rebuild man. The bottom ends are so solid in these... While you have the headgasket off, if the cylinder walls look good, no need to go any further.

[t-bone]

Ya I'm thinking you're right. I saw how beefy the crank is from underneath when I had the oil pan off. It looks like a tank motor lol. I guess we will just pull the head off and see whats going on in there. I was told to change the valve sleaves and check out the valve guides. Any idea what is involved there parts wise and how much of a pain it is to do? I figure once the head comes off I might as well do what I can under there. Obviously a new timing belt is going on etc.