slowpokem2

After some heavy rain i hit a huge puddle on the interstate doing about 60, and water came up over my hood. I thought water could have gotten into my intake but nothing happened as i drove out of the puddle, everything felt normal. But when I started it up the next day the engine was making a high pitched whining sound, but i didn't hear any knocking or anything. I shut it off immediately, drained the oil, and let it sit for a couple days with the oilpan bolt and spark plugs removed to hopefully dry out the engine.

I just put in fresh oil and compression tested it today, all the numbers were okay: 140-141-141-144, the minimum for the D17A2 is 128 psi right?
Anyways after the good compression numbers i decided to try starting it up again, and the noise was just as bad as before. After running it for a second i checked the dipstick and saw what looks like coolant streaks, so i checked my coolant reservoir tank and sure enough it was just below the minimum line.

So my question is, where do I go from here? to me it looks like some gasket is blown, but I thought the compression test would show that. I might be able to fix the problem with a new head gasket set, but that's a **** ton of work so I hope there's some other explanation. anyone else had a problem like this? I don't want to risk driving it down to a shop or something for a diagnosis in case I do any further damage.


[youtube][autostream]http://autostream.com/ibcivicforums/?page_type=firebirdplayerthumbnail&framepage=1395& transactionid=1365374284-2425315135&posted_by=_www.civicforums.com&youtube_ video_id=9iY_JiDKfac[/autostream]

ezone

That alone means nothing more than it needs refilled.

No, it won't. There's like 15 different ways a head gasket can fail. A compression test only checks for maybe 2 of those ways.

2 ideas:
Locate the loudest area with a stethoscope.
Remove the accessory belts and run it, see if the noise is gone.

How would a blind person locate the noise?

slowpokem2

Thanks for the quick reply, i'll try and source the noise tomorrow after work. It would be great if the noise is just a belt or something knocked loose from the puddle (it was on top of a huge pothole as well), but I'm pretty sure at least some water got into the engine. I forgot to mention in the first post but i took out my air filter and it was pretty damp.

Do you have any thoughts on the streaks on the dipstick? i thought the engine was dry when i put fresh oil in, but it could be left over water. i'll do a coolant system check as well to rule that out.

ezone

It won't be a belt, and it won't have been knocked loose.

If you take the belts off and the noise is gone, then spin each accessory pulley. See which one is not smooth and quiet.

I can't see a dang thing from here.

slowpokem2

Here's what it looks like:

ezone

That's interesting. I have no idea what that is...
Not real sure that I'd be worried yet though.

How long has the engine been run since you changed the oil?

ezone

Put it over a flame, see if it spits pops and crackles.

Matt_75

I'm not sure if the OP is the original owner, but that poor car must have seen some extended oil changes with those kind of numbers. Those aren't very good numbers at all for these cars. ezone can attest to that.

ezone

Using MY methods, I'd be scared of it.

Someone elses' methods don't always give the same results *I* expect.
So I didn't say anything.

And I sure wouldn't expect the timing to jump a day after driving thru a puddle.

slowpokem2

I'm the second owner of the car, and have changed the oil every 3,000 miles with synthetic. I bought the car from some navy guy though, and I believe he took care of it when he was in town but the car only had 60,000 miles. I think he left it sitting for extended periods a few times while on deployment, do you think that could be a problem?

I'm pretty sure i got accurate numbers with the compression test, but i don't know how far above the minimum a healthy car should be.

I just tried, it didn't.

Only about a minute, just enough to take the video. I just let it idle as well, no revving.

ezone

No way of knowing on my end.

I wouldn't worry about sitting though, yours is running and driving.

I deal with it every time I want to drive my truck or get the lawnmower out for spring....It's really kind of a PITA sometimes.
My methods will produce 180-220 PSI on a healthy engine of that type.
Then it isn't significant water. Probably nothing to worry about, probably still mixing old and fresh oils....or condensation? You need to run that engine (IMO).
One minute??? Aww hell, drive that sucker. Get it all warmed up, then recheck the oil......Then drive on the highway for a half hour or so.
THEN look at the oil.

ezone

Wait, I forgot about the original noise questions.

Run it long enough to diagnose the noises.

Matt_75

Kind of sugar coating aren't you with "a healthy engine such as yours"? Yeah, it's running and his compression test looks consistent, but would you really call it a "healthy engine" with those readings? Just my novice observation and opinion. Feel free to lay in to me all you want.

ezone

You're absolutely right.
My bad for not proofreading it as someone else.
Ok, it's edited due to poor wording.
What I had in my head didn't transfer to typing very well.

slowpokem2

thanks for the help you two, I got everything figured out after your suggestions. I pulled off the accesory belts and found out the squealing noise was a bad a/c pulley, and after driving it around a bit everything feels fine.

I'm still worried about the low compression numbers though, so I'm gonna give it another go with a different compression gauge. i'll let you know what kind of numbers i get

ezone

If it runs good (runs like it should) then don't worry about it.



Or post your method so I can critique it.

slowpokem2

I just went by my Haynes manual.

Removed all the coils and spark plugs.
Removed the PGM relay behind the glovebox.
Put a brick on the gas pedal.
Then screwed the gauge into each spark plug, cranked 5 or 6 times for each one.
I also tried putting a drop of oil in each spark plug hole after the first go, but it didn't change the numbers.

When i screwed the gauge into each spark plug socket i couldn't get it very tight however, as soon as i got some resistance the rubber tube would start spinning free of the attachment. I don't really know how to explain it but its like with an air compressor hose, there's a rotating part so it doesn't get twisted. I feel like i couldn't get it in tight enough, but there wasn't really anything i could do.

I had rented the compression gauge from Pep Boys, but my friend has one and knows his **** with cars so i'm gonna get him to try.

ezone

You gave each cylinder an equal # of "hits" (hopefully) and obtained nearly identical readings. That was fine, and I didn't point out an issue because they are all even.
But this is what I do different:
Keep on cranking until the gauge stops climbing.
Until you MAX it out, and are certain it isn't going to gain any more.... (Could be 10-15 "hits" depending on the engine.)
Now see what the readings are. This is where I expect to see minimum 180 PSI. I usually see over 200.

I also watch how much each "hit" increases the gauge reading. Erratic rises with this part can indicate valve sealing issues.





Oiling the cylinders is a test for rings. Not normally necessary unless the first series of tests indicates some problem.



I know what you mean.
Lower quality tools. Usually as long as the O ring around the base is sealing against the cylinder head, the readings will be close enough. Unless there is a leak between the hose/fitting.



HTH

Biscuit

I think you are good to go.
Run it till the wheels fall off!
A small error from a tool in testing on a daily driver will not burn your *** in this case.