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So I'm swapping out a friends motor and I got this one from a junkyard with a 90 day warranty.
I didnt get a chance to pull the plugs when I picked up the motor and found this today as I'm stripping it down.

What do you guys think? I'm 90% sure its a blown head gasket but I thought I would check with everyone here.
The exhaust valve stem for that cylinder is also coated in white buildup.

This is from a 2004 EX manual.

 
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Or maybe its was just burning oil on that cylinder?

 
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Once again answered my own question.
Yes. See the clean combustion chamber.

 
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The white ash is from oil burning. Slowly, but burning oil nonetheless.

 
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Yup. The clean cylinder is from coolant weeping in.
Same with the clean spark plug.

I was freaking out earlier and not thinking clearly.
I'm still pissed as this was a junkyard motor with a "warranty".
That warranty turned into install the motor and I pay for the gasket if it ends up being bad.

I told them "f**k you" and your warranty.

 
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Blown head gasket is common on that engine. They don't normally leak water into the cylinders as much as they leak compression into the cooling system.

Make sure the head is perfectly straight before you stick it back on. IIRC max warpage is 0.002"

Now is the time to take care of the rings, since it looks like it was using a little oil.

 
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I'm going have the guys at the machine shop check it quick when I pick up the flywheel I'm having resurfaced.

I'm more of a Subaru guy.
Do these engines tend to leak oil past the rings more or the valve seals?

 
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Rings is what I see the most. May be worn if high mileage, and/or (oil rings) might be just stuck due to carbon in the grooves.

 
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Well the amount of carbon buildup in this motor I wouldn't be surprised if they oil control rings were gummed up.

I suppose I could chance it and just clean the rings and the grooves.
I'll be replacing the valve seals as well.

 
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How many miles on it? If it was like 150-200k or more, I'd probably just stuff new rings in if I planned on keeping it.

If it's like 100k or less, I'd think cleaning the carbon from the grooves would be sufficient.

If you get it that far apart, you could probably measure the end gaps and tell if it needs rings or not.



JMHO, HTH

 
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Supposedly it has 128k on it

I really don't want to have to replace the rings then I'll have to hone the bores and check roundness etc.
I suppose I could check the end gaps easy enough. I have the tools but this is getting out of hand.
I was supposed to just swap the motor out.

 
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Ummm, I might just leave them.
Honestly, I'd probably just stuff new rings in if I did that. No honing or anything. Break in would take a bit longer, but if it was my own then no biggie.
You already got the head off, and you have what looks like one plug with ash on it from (I'm guessing) oil burning.

You're way past a simple swap already. At least most of this is a lot easier when it's out of the car.

What happened to the old engine?

 
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The old engine threw a rod.
I counted 3 holes in the block. Check your oil folks

My only issue with putting new rings in without honing is break in and seating.
I would hate for the rings to basically never seat properly.

 
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Ah, the "tax".

If the driver is like so many others I see in my area, you may not need to worry about fixing much. It may not last long no matter what you do.

 
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I like that. The irresponsible shall be "taxed" whether they want/know it or not.

 
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Actually he is normally a great driver and babies the car.
He just doesn't take care of maintenance stuff. The clutch had 158k on it and still looked like it could go another 50k.
He blew the motor trying to get out of a snow bank.

 
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A couple of pretty conflicting statements right there.

 
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Agreed.

 
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Thanks for taking this off-topic and into the useless area.

Neither of your posts offer any helpful information.

What's done is done. He had an oil leak and didnt check his levels often enough.
Too little oil and too much stress threw a rod.
You can drive carefully and be oblivious to maintenance.

Lets move on please.

 
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OK, so, on the oil change reminder sticker I sometimes write CHECK OIL OFTEN and stick it on the windshield.
Maybe even stick it to the speedometer so it gets seen daily.

I believe the owners manual would say to check oil at every gas fill up. Show that to the driver?

 
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You're welcome. I'm always glad to point out the failures of irresponsible car owners.

I'm sure you can if you're an irresponsible owner of a vehicle. Must be nice living in that fantasy land.

 
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We've talked at length about this subject now.
The owner will be sure to pay more attention to his vehicle.
Thank you for your opinion and advice Ezone.



This post only serves to stroke your ego and make yourself chuckle.
No new or helpful information is presented.

 
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Doesn't stroke my ego whatsoever, but I'm always happy to see someone on the defensive since this obviously bothers you. Have a nice day.

 
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Troll

 
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Yeah, I'm a troll. Typical of you liberal thinkers. You always use the SIN tactic. Shift the subject, ignore the facts and name call.

It must be nice to live in your fantasy world and not hold anybody accountable for anything. God forbid you place any type of blame on the vehicle owner you're helping with their current situation.

And I'm sure you're going to come back with the vehicle owner understands they're ****ed up, but I don't give a ****. They're always going to be ****ed as long as they can afford a kind hearted person like you, who's able to fix their vehicle.

Once again, have a nice day.

 
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Yes sure enough the oil rings were all stuck.
I cleaned the pistons in a chemical dip and checked the ring gap.
It came in within spec. (Towards the outer limit) and stuffed them all back in.

It felt wrong to reassemble without replacing the rings and bearings but then I'd be into a whole round of machine work.