My temp gauge does not work and i just replaced the head gasket and the car runs like crap at idle. Does it have anything to do with me removing the battery and may be it lost all its stored parameters. Does the temp gauge have anything to do with it and where it the temp sending unit?


Thanks Martin

 

Martin--

You haven't provided much information. I suspect you replaced the head gasket because you were already having a problem with the car. Before the gasket change, was the car running like crap? What motivated you to change the head gasket? Who many miles do you have on the engine and what is the car's overall condition? How would you describe the "crap at idle?"

--SAM

 

 

Okay i bought the car with a blown head gasket. The compression gasses were pushing though the gasket thought the coolant over flow. When i went to pick up the car with a dolly it ran weird and could not tell if it ran funny because of the blown head or what. So i pursued to take the car home and pulled it into my garage. After all the work i put everything in place correctly and the thing runs like crap.

The temp gauge does not work.
Does this have anything to do with it?

I had the heads resurfaced and everything from timing belt to timing is good.

I removed the battery and i was wondering if it had anything to do with erasing parameters in the ecu?

I am stuck right now.

I hope this will help.

 

well you bought the car with a blown head gasket. which was a really bad idea.. because you dont know the history of that car and motor..

most obvious thing is the blown head gasket.. means the engine was over heated thus there is more of a problem than a blown gasket.. water passage ways may be blocked.. oil passages may be blocked.. lots of things could be wrong.. the idle (aac valve) may need some tinkering..

i dunno its very hard to solve a problem like that over the internet

 

Like mykizism suggested, this is a tough one to diagnose over the internet since you started with a broken car -- a big unknown. Hopefully you got a good deal on it.

There is a common cause associated with blown head gaskets and that is an overheated engine. Many a head gasket has been blown because of a broken thermostat or running the engine without sufficient coolant. Some remanufactered engine warranties are void if the thermostat isn't replaced with the engine installation. Perhaps your water pump has bit the dust and not moving enough water, i.e. dissintegrated impeller blades? Engines may also overheat if the timing is set way off. Did you have to make much of a change when you reset the timing?

You mention the temperature gauge doesn't work. Some vehicles (don't know about yours) won't register a temperature if the coolant level falls too low because the sender unit is no longer immersed in fluid. You'll also want to replace the radiator pressure cap if you plan to continue working on it. I've seen cars overheat by boiling out their coolant because of a leaking and/or fatiqued cap.

I guess you probably don't know how long the car was operating in this failing condition, so I suggest you do a compression check just to get a feel of the mechanical state of the rings and valves.

Good luck,
--SAM

 

I will continue to check the compression first thing in the morning. I will check it to see if i have bent a valve or something. Hopefully not. I know that the timing is on but do not know what the temp is suppose to run at. I have a laser pointing thermometer but i still do not know what the normal operating temp is supposed to be. The fans are working therefore the coolant is reaching the top. I believe it has something to do with running rich or lean. Just maybe. I am very mechnically inclined person but still need experience at diagnosing. I will try ur test first and i appreciate the help.

Martin

 

Thermostats are typically set to open in the 165 to 180F range. I recently replaced mine with a factory Nissan one and the temperature set-point was stamped on the thermostat in degrees C.

I strongly recommend changing the thermostat as it may have been a contributing factor to the original head gasket failure or when the head gasket failed the thermostat may have been damaged. It doesn't take much overheating to damage the thermostat's wax pellet...plus they are cheap and easier to replace than another head gasket. As you know, if the engine is running too cold or hot it could be affecting the idle quality.

Let us know how the compression numbers turn out.

--SAM