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Head Gasket Repair Quandary
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Posted by Matt [Email] (more from Matt) on Tue, 24 Jun 2003 12:40:20 Share Post by Email
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BACKGROUND:
This past weekend I was driving my '88 900 turbo and had an upper radiator hose burst in a major way while driving at highway speeds and lost a lot of coolant. It took maybe 60 seconds to fully realize the coolant smell was coming from my car and when I looked down again the temp gauge was pegged in the red. I immediately pulled over, let the car cool down, rigged a repair to the hose and added water.

It was very reluctant to start, but once started would idle and gave good power under load. I drove it slowly the ten miles to home. The temp gauge did not go past the normal range. It would stall out when ever I pushed in the clutch. (There was already a low idle problem with the AIC or dashpot, so not like it was perfect before.)

Upon later inspection, I found water in the oil and the spark plugs were wet and smelled of coolant and gasoline, so it appears the head gasket needs to be replaced and the head checked for warping, valve guides, etc.

MY QUESTION:
Is it very likely that the brief time spent in the red may have caused permanent damage to the engine (pistons, rings, etc.) such that repairing the head and replacing the head gasket isn't enough to render it a healthy engine again.

I am inclined to get the car repaired as I enjoy driving it and even with 240,000 miles it is in great condition, but I'm concerned about it becoming a "problem car" now. I don't want to spend a buch of money to have the engine repaired, only to have it be flakey and in need of a complete rebuild. This is not a hobby car, it's my transportation. So if I don't repair it, I will have to find something else to drive.

I'm trying to get some perspective on this and welcome your input.

Matt


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