I just bought a 87 hatchback for $200. The friend I bought it from said the electric fan went out and the temperature gauge went sky high. At the time he was sitting in traffic on a bridge on a hot day and didn't stop. the hotter it got the rougher it ran. as he made through traffic and back up to speed he drove a few more miles to home. It ran real rough. After I took the head off the gasket showed no signs of distress or leaking between cylinders. however there were some plugged water jackets in the head. If the gasket wasn't blown, what else could it be? the head is a cast head.
Hi, If the water jackets are clogged in the head, it could be done to various problems such as Electrollysis (no idea if ive spelled that right), possible a high ph level of the antifreeze which would cause some lime scale build up. Hows the Heater core? You could try some Prestone Radiator flush and there other products to see if that will clean out those gallies. Hope this helps.
Head could be cracked, that was what happened to my '90 when it overheated, although it didn't overheat for that long...just a few minutes.
