starting issues

Ok guys...we are dealing with a 98 Talon, NT/NA, 2.0, DOHC, manual shift.

A while ago the car definately got hot. I suspect that the issue is with the head gasket of course, due to a leaky water pump (fun stuff...)

Well after it got hot it now has problems starting. When I say problems I mean it takes it a few minutes to start up after continually cranking the engine. We are talking about drowning it with gas (holding the gas pedal down after turning the ignition key), literally everything to get it started. Once the engine rpm reaches about the 1000 rpm mark it will start up, but it idles rough for a while.

I pulled the spark plugs and replaced them. They looked like they had normal wear/ carbon build up on them. I was expecting clean ones if the head gasket did go out. Did an oil change and replaced the thermostat.

For whatever reason the only thermostats that are sold around here open at 195 degrees so the car will get hot and then cool down (annoying).

Well start ups have been getting longer and harder to do. The car does start up right away when it is jumped started-they should really call it "pushadamncar" starting. Well today I pulled the timing belt cover to see if that could possibly be it. I can press firmly on the timing belt down an inch. I don't know if that qualifies it as being too loose cause the car to actually come untimed.

I'm hoping for the best (timing issue) because its under warranty, but I'm thinking it is a head gasket issue. I don't have the equipment to do a compression test myself unfortunately.

The plug wires appear to be fine. I thought about the ignition coil, but I don't know how to test it. All of the electronics run fine, except when I have my blinker on or my system up. I can see the temp gauge jumping to either the click of the turn signal or the beat of the subs. I have checked for shorts earlier and didn't find any.

Oh I know I have an oil leak in my 4th cylinder. When I pulled the plug the plug had oil on it. Not enough to cause these problems though. Also no smoke from the tail pipe. A little water does come out, but more as condensation, not a flood of water (head gasket issue).

Thanks ahead of time from a frustrated Talon owner!
Aaron

The only way to really check timing is to line up all the timing marks. If you're off a tooth or two, the car will run like shit throughout all rpm ranges, not just starting. When was the last time you did a full tune-up?

To be honest it has been a while, but that would be outside of it getting hot. What would change after it getting hot then?

Overheating a car is never a good thing not even for a second. You could have possibly killed the coolant sensor and that regulates quite a few different ECU signals on how to operate the vehicle.

If it were a blown head gasket or even a leaky one , there would be water in the oil or a excessive amount of fluids draining from your tail pipe ( haha..that sounds sick. ) Or oil building up in the over flow bottle.

You could always shoot to autozone / Pepboys / Checker and get a free OBD scan done because sometimes when something is wrong , it won't always kick the CEL on.

Good luck man.

lol yeah funny stuff. well i did take it to autozone-threw back an vac code. i was told it was a manifold leak or a gas cap leak. i already know that the headers need to be replaced. im guessing a bad vacuum or something to that effect. i would be assuming a head gasket, but there's no evidence of such.

You should not have 1 inch of play in your timing belt.. if your saying you can push a section of the belt down and it moves an inch..you definately need to pull the timing belt off and set it over again...honestly. overheating..you could have blown the headgasket.. but.. with the timing belt all jacked up like that .. you could have been bending valves this whole time..thats y it gets harder to start... everytime your cranking it.. your making it worse.....reset the timimg.. if it works ....good.. take it to get a compression test to check the damage..if it dosnt and u still have the same prob.. your head is jacked up and your gonna need another.. or take it to an automotive machine shop to for repairs..


just noticed you mentioned timming being under warranty... you should go ahead and take it in

Depending on how bad you overheated it, you could have warped the head, giving you bad compression/leaky HG. One simple way to check is to pull off the coolant cap on the water neck while the car is running and see if you can see air bubbles coming from the head. If you do, chances are you've got a blown HG/warped head. Other than that, I'd run a compression test and/or a leak-down test.

As for the post above, you can't really bend valves more and more the longer you run it. If timing is off enough to bend one valve, it will bend many, and the car simply will not run anymore.

I'm 100% with garrett om this one, got a feeling your head is done buddy.

Yeah I have a feeling that the head gasket is blown too. I guess we will see. I'm going to take it to the shop that did the timing and HOPE that that is the issue. That being said, I guess I'm prepared for the worst, the dreaded head gasket.

I would try do a tune-up before you take it back to the shop. Filters, plugs, check the wires, fuel filter, etc. Did the car sit in storage all winter or is it your DD? If it sat, I'd drain out the old gas and put in new stuff as well.