If it’s not one thing causing a problem it’s another. We take a little time this Memorial Day weekend to try something my father-in-law told Wes about. I’ve seen it in the parts store before but have never tried it. Block Seal. I’ve heard of Stop-Leak for your radiator but never of Block Seal. It was only $2.13 so we purchased it and gave it a try. We drained the radiator and poured this mixture in. Ran the car for 20-30 minutes as directed. Flushed it out again and let it dry over a 24 hour period.
We had to change the oil anyway so we did that while we waited. Just a little over 24 hours we filled it up with fluids and was going to crank it. It wouldn’t start. Seems Wes left the interior lights, etc. on overnight. Drained the battery. No problem I thought, we’ll just jump it off. Well, it turns out the battery would not jump. Took it back to Wal-Mart for the 2 year replacement warranty and they couldn’t charge it either. So they replaced it. We needed a new positive battery post connector so we got one of those as well.
I cut the old battery post connector off and install the new one. Connected the battery, but didn’t notice we still did not have power on the interior lights. The car did start however, just that weird power issues are going on. Wes is going to check the fuses throughout the car today and I will replace the positive connector with an entire cable section and factory made connector.
We’ll Wes and I finally have the engine put back together. It wasn’t easy, but it is done. Problem is that it is still leaking water into the engine. Must be a crack in the block. I feared this from the beginning but was really hoping it wouldn’t be.
So at this time I am looking for a new motor, block, etc. to see if I can still get this vehicle running for Wes. He will hopefully start a new job this summer and will need transportation. SO, that’s where we are today. Anyone with a S13 KA24E laying around and wouldn’t mind parting with it for a small fee please let me know.
Got the call last week to pick up the cylinder head. Just picked it up today. They said it looked fine and they cleaned the rust off of it as well. Jackson Cylinder Head seems to think the head was not installed properly and after speaking to the person that did put it back together, he thought JCH may be correct. We’ll purchase a new head gasket and re-install it per factory specs.
We also will need to replace the water pump. Back to getting our hands dirty.
The cylinder head was dropped off at Jackson Cylinder Head yesterday. I’m really hoping they find no trouble with the head and it only needs to be re-installed properly with a new head gasket. Awaiting a call.
Well, Wes and I finally were able to remove the head this past weekend. I am taking it to Jackson Cylinder Head Service of Jackson, MS. They did the work for the guy I acquired the car from and my friend Marshall gives them high praises. They feel the water leaking may be due to the head gasket failing. I certainly hope that is the case and that the head is not warped. I’m going to follow their lead and have it pressure tested to check for any potential problems that may have resulted from it possibly overheating. They’ll also check the head for warp and the valves leak tested to find out if rust may have pitted the seat or valve which could be a potential future problem.