A couple months ago I picked up another 1997 Escort wagon. 2.0 SPT SOHV 110,000 miles.

Yesterday morning I drove it for about an hour with no problems. Parked it. About 10 hours later I went to drive it and it barely started rand horribly and stalled after a few seconds at idle. Engine light is on, P0303. Spark at plugs ok but the 2 and 3 plugs were black. Not fluffy black just a thin layer of black. Not ash colored like 1 and 4.

Unplugged injectors one at a time. Engine died as soon as 1,2, or 4 connectors were removed but almost no change when number 3 injector was unplugged which I believed confirmed the code and rough running. Resistance on all injectors is 15.3 ohms.

Compression next next. 1 and 4 are 120. On 2 and 3 the needle puffs up a little then drops right back to zero. Put some oil in 2 and 3 with no change. Checked the timing belt. Belt looks good and the marks show that it is in time. Removed the valve cover and rotated the engine by hand. All of the valves appear to be ok from the top side.

While I think it's unrelated I should note that the IAC valve makes a very loud buzzing noise. It's been doing that for a while now.

So, what next? Does the head need to come off?

 

I does sound like the vehicle has a head gasket problem with leakage between cyls 2&3.

 

Let's hope so. That would be a whole lot less expensive that a rebuilt head. Is there a way for me to confirm that before I pull the head. I've never removed a head before so I want to be sure. My Haynes manual looks like it offers a pretty complete how to for the job.

 

Even if you could insert a boroscope , all you might be able to see would be the valves and the top of the piston. The compression check would be confirmation enough.

 

Thanks, Hanky. Already started the process. Now to get those bolts that hold the exhaust manifold to the cat.

 

You were right, Hanky. About a half inch of gasket is missing between #2 and #3 cylinders. Parts were on the shelf and I'm starting to put it back together today. Might not finish today because I'll also replace the timing belt and water pump since it's all exposed and I have no way of knowing if anyone else has already done it. Also new O rings on the fuel injectors. The ones that were in the head were starting to crack.

 

It's always nice to see when someone does the complete job and does it right. While it's open, how do the upper and lower rad hoses look?

 

The hoses are not the original ones but they look almost new. I suspect that the head gasket went bad because it over heated 5 or 6 weeks ago because the cooling fan had seized up and I didn't know it. Rock Auto had one in stock that is already in the housing that fit and works perfectly for about $60.

Things like that can happen when one buys a used car in early spring. I drove it for over a month before the fan was needed the it was too late.

Not finished yet. Needed to take a break from the heat. Did run a compression check with new timing belt. 120 - 130 on all cylinders.