justinSC

Driving home from getting new tires yesterday and my check engine light comes on. All of a sudden the car is idling like an old truck and stuttering when I gas it. A couple seconds later smoke is coming from the engine bay. Upon inspection there is oil and coolant all over the place, mainly towards the front of the engine bay. I'm assuming the headgasket but maybe someone's had this experience and it turned out to be another issue? My car only had 105,000 miles on it and was always maintained well, this seems really strange it's been running great lately.

RedPhoenix

iTrader: (10)

That is really strange... These engines are not known for HG problems. But it seems the cause for the bad idle would be bad compression.... due to a HG... Best thing to do is a compression test to confirm but I would put money on HG... Check the oil, does it seem milky?

justinSC

The oil didn't seem milky from the dipstick but I didn't thoroughly check it yet. The coolant however is definitely milkshakey... Further leading me to believe it's a headgasket issue. I'm aware that these engines aren't known for having this problem either which is why I'm really confused. Never expected this. I had to leave it at a friend's house down the street from where it broke down because it isn't drivable in its' current state.

RedPhoenix

iTrader: (10)

If the coolant is oily, then I am 99% sure its HG, cannot think of anything else where oil and coolant meet together.

justinSC

Exactly. So basically the engine is toast. Probably not worth it to fix. Now I don't know if I want to just sell the car as is and buy something else or swap to a 1jz... Either way this is going to get expensive!

RedPhoenix

iTrader: (10)

If you don't do the work yourself it will be expensive... You can get a 1uzfe from Aliga for cheap

t70 supra

iTrader: (-4)

hey i got a complete sc parts car forsale hit me up

justinSC

Who has the time to do a full swap themselves on their daily driver!?

Asha'man

iTrader: (1)

Take a weekend, rip the old one out, put the new one in, bam you're done. Stock for stock engine replacements are not that hard. I would try to find one locally as opposed to getting one from Aliga, though, as shipping will kill you on something like that.

TLDriver

iTrader: (4)

if you can be down for a bit get the swap. If not then start looking for a new car and fix it later if you want to keep the car.

RedPhoenix

iTrader: (10)

Gotta do what you gotta do... Trust me, been in similar situations many times...

stevechumo

iTrader: (5)

It seems like a blown head gasket 99%. Usually, the coolant goes into the oil, but in your case, the oil goes into the coolant. Well, the oil & coolant passages are right next to each other. It's very strange for a car with such low mileage having a blown head gasket, but anything can happen. It's just not your day.

Instead of swapping or buying a used 1UZ with unknown history, you can rebuild this engine for cheap. Get a set of OEM head gaskets with maybe other aftermarket gaskets and replace everything. If you don't want that hassle, then get a low mileage 1UZ and put it in. A low mileage 1UZ typically runs around $650-$800. Pay about $500 for a mechanic and you can have it running in 2 days. There're some motor yards around the El Monte area.

Snarfblast

I realize that this thread hasnt been touched in 3 years, but I think I might also have a leaky gasket. I just bought a '92 sc400 and I'm getting oxygen sensor codes and apparently the previous owner said that when they took it in for a rough idle to the dealership in November, the tech pulled the plugs and found antifreeze on one. Theres no coolant in the oil or oil in the coolant though.

Any help would be awesome.