few days ago i coudn't start my sc400 and had it towed to my reg shop.

few hours later my mech called with deadly news.. my cylinders..low compression and 2 are out..so im due for head gasket job supposedly

now since im going for a bigger work.. i was wondering what else should i upgrade? cylinders? pistons? pulleys?
what would you guys suggest?

i mean i dont want to spend another 1000$ on top of my head gasket...however i know there is few upgrades i could consider right?

thank you in advance

 

the pistons dont have to come out during a head gasket replacement, although the cams have to come out. the cams that ttc sells will set you back about a grand so it might not be in the budget.

my suggestion, is to consider putting in a lower mileage 1uz and do the basics: timing belt, water pump, and starter.

how many miles on the car?

 

what did you do it ?!

how many km on it? 1UZs are bullet proof
just picked up an SC4 with 420k, and it just passed aircare no problem

maybe take it somewhere else just to be sure?
even with low compression, or no compression in 2 cylinders, it should still start

 

well get this my water pump, timing belt , serp belt, rad, hosing were all replaced about 5 months ago if even

my car: 164000mls (its actually in kms but i converted it for you )

dudes.. i treat my car like a baby... always, motul synthetic oil, reg manintenance.. i dunno what the heck happened...


im kind of pissed since it is supposed to be bulletproof...

guy that im dealing with is japanese mechanic --hes been working on my ride for years--i hope he is right about this...

do you guys think there could be something else wrong with my car?
it cranks but only smoke comes out and no comp...

 

maybe the timing belt skipped :P

aslong as it's an early SC (pre 95 i think), you won't do any internal damage.

the car i mentioned that i had purchased, that's exactly what happened.
the t-belt had jumped. it still ran, but it ran poorly at anything more than about 2000rpm. i put the belt back where it was supposed to be, and it ran great!

as unlikely as it may be, maybe yours jumped more than 1 tooth, though that would seem unlikely with a t-belt that new. Maybe your guy forgot to pull the pin out of the tensioner, and the belt wasn't under tension.

easiest to hardest!

the smoke on the other hand, that i can't explain. What colour smoke?
is there coolant in your oil or oil in your coolant?

 

well compression is out on 2 so im pretty sure its not timing belt-- plus timing was done 5 months ago...

i wonder if swap would be better..or..should i risk doing the head gasket...

 

it would probably be cheaper to just swap the whole thing
matching years and production takes is important though, for a hassle free swap.

the crashed one for sale locally is a 96, which had a lot of changes
it would probably be complicated

 

mine is 95

 

then it might not be bad at all
maybe ask around on the forum and see what people think

 

take it get a second opinion for all you know the valve could be stuck thus giving no compression.....but not seeing the car first had i'd say get a second opinion and if you need a head gasket just drop a motor with less miles lots cheaper and easier to do
btw there is no such thing as bullet proof on a car

 

What color is the smoke? Is there any oil mixed with coolant? If you remove the oil cap after letting the car sit overnight and see some white residue (coolant mixed w/oil) and have white smoke?

Has the car overheated latey? The above are signs of blown head gasket, but usally overheating is involved.

I just hate to say head gasket, so basically the car will turn over but does not fire?

 

no car never overheated.. hmm...

im actually thinking i will get second opinion...
is it really possible that my valve is stuck or its something minor?

 

noone wants to help me.. all mechanics are too busy...

 

doesnt sound like a head gasket to me. find another mechanic to work on your car.

 

i got another mechanic tell me it might be head gasket as well..

i will update you guys once i get something going..