BAD HEAD GASKET?

[mustang90]

Mycar will run great until it warms up, then it will hesitate and buck resulting in the rpms going wild and I will have to pull over to let the car cool down. After it cools, the car will run great till it warms up and does this again. My question is, could this be a head gasket going bad? If so would a tablet fix it for the time being? It has new plugs, wires, distributor, etc.

 

[slystang]

Do you have any unusual smoke coming out of the tailpipe? To me it sounds more like you've got a problem with a sensor than a blown headgasket. Does your check engine light come on? You might have a bad O2 sensor. The computer doesn't acknowledge the information coming from the oxygen sensor until the vehicle warms up or for a set time limit from the time the car was started, even if it's already warm. If you've got access to a code scanner you should see if you've got any stored codes.

 

[mustang90]

The car is carberated and I do not notice any smoke. This has me stumped!

 

[NKau]

What does the oil and coolant look like? How hot does your engine get?

 

[mustang90]

the engine temp does rise a good bit. its on my 1986 honda accord

 

[NKau]

the engine temp does rise a good bit. its on my 1986 honda accord

Would have helped if you had mentioned that earlier, LOL. Anyway, an engine will typically lose power and run poorly when it gets hot; you should be off the road and kill your engine once temp reaches 230. After that you're risking serious engine damage.
Again, what do your oil and coolant look like? If the coolant has a brown/orange look to it, or if your oil looks like a milkshake, you could definitely have a blown head gasket.

 

[mustang90]

I believe the oil looks brownish last time I drained it? Will a tablet fix it for the time being? It is an 86!

 

[NKau]

Not familiar with this "tablet" you are referring to. Your oil should look almost whitish if coolant has gotten into it. You might just be running hot due to a bad t-stat, radiator, or any number of things.

 

[slystang]

whoa! mid 80's Hondas! The ones I've worked on all had a ton of vacuum hoses, it's like there were 2 for everything they could control by vacuum. I'd get under the hood with the engine running and try to listen or feel for any vacuum leaks. Thats one of the main things with those cars when it comes to drivability problems.

 

[mustang90]

Thanks very much! The car does have tons of vaccum hoses! Its like everywhere you look there's a hose running from one side to another! Maybe some carb cleaner will find the leak?

 

[blkstangman88]

dont just look at the gaskets, check ur distribitor, my mustang, the moduel on the dictribitor went out and my car ran like crap everytime it was warm too....it wouldnt even accelerate

 

[mustang90]

I think its a vaccum leak. I will take a look and let you guys know. Englishtown swap meet is this friday, saturday and sunday so you know where I will be then!