2.0L ('83-'88) Head gasket

[Paul in OKC]

Have an ‘88 2.0 carb’d 5spd. Been working on it for a little while. It sat for a long time before I got it. Anyway, done lots to it, and it ran good for about 30 minutes, then started to get warm. Shut it down before it got passed the upper normal line on the gage. Now will barely run. Just did a compression check and two cylinders are 130+, two barely reach 60. Debated engine swap but not sure at this point in life I want to mess with it. But at the same time the time and $ spent I don’t want to give up on it either. So figuring a head gasket change. Just venting mostly, but open to others thoughts in the area. Thanks.

 

[JoshT]

That sucks, but head gasket would be easy on that engine. That is of course assuming that head gasket is your problem. Bad rings, scored cylinders, bad valve seats, there are several things that could cause low compression. High coolant temps could also be attributed to stuck thermostat, bad water pump, or poor air flow.

Were the low cylinders next to each other?

I'm sure someone will come along with good more info on how to troubleshoot before tearing.into it.

I'd probably consider a used 2.3L if I were going to change whole engine. It would bolt right in place of the 2.0 and should use same intake, accessories, and everything.

 

[Paul in OKC]

Water pump and thermostat are new. The low cylinders are 1 and 3.

 

[JoshT]

Was wondering if gasket might be blown between cylinders, but that doesn;t appear to be the case.

To copy a youtube celebrity: NEW = Never Ever Worked

Not uncommon to have a bad thermostat right out of the box.

Did you try a wet compression test? Might also want to see if you can rent a leak down tester from a parts house before tearing into the engine.

 

[Paul in OKC]

Took out the thermostat to test. That started the not running well. Thought about a wet test, but…. Will check into the leak down tester. Not in a huge hurry, so……