Would a blown head gasket cause my car not to start?

[zalex]

I bought a 280z a few weeks ago and it started up and ran fine. There was water visible in the radiator when I got it home, and the oil was clear. Now after replacing the water with antifreeze and water, I have found I have a blown head gasket as shown from no liquid in the radiator and a milky oil color. Now my car won't start. I can't figure out why it won't start aside from the leaky head gasket. I'm going to try and seal it with some gunk you put in the radiator that will hopefully seal the leak from the inside. Any ideas?

[sblake01]

A blown head gasket would need to be properly dealt with. I wouldn't even think about trying to seal it with some type of additive. What would be the point? You wouldn't be able to drive the car with any kind of peace of mind. And hopefully it is only a blown head gasket. It could be a cracked head or cracked block.

[Mr Camouflage]

Any ideas?

Yes. Pull the head off and replace the gasket. Engine wont turn over if the cylinder is full of water.

[zalex]

Well I would just want to fix it temporarily with the additive until I could find someone to help me out. I've never done it, and I don't know a ton about working on cars. But I'm going to have to find out, hah. Not taking it to an auto shop.

The engine cranks and sounds like it is going to start, and then doesn't.

[FastWoman]

Imagine having all of that leak-sealing gunk stuck in all your engine's moving parts! Replacing the head gasket is a LOT easier than rebuilding the engine.

[SteveJ]

My reply to your duplicate post was nuked with that post. Unfortunately, I'm not sure whether or not cheap, old and desireable can be used at the same time to describe a car. While you only paid $600 for your car, you can consider that a downpayment of about 5%.

You have another thread saying you need to replace floor pans, etc. Did you have a mechanic go over the car before purchase, or did you fall in love with it and just decided to buy it? Most everybody makes an impulse purchase at some time or another. Sometimes it works against us.

At this point in time, you need to step back and think about how much money you're willing to pour into the car. Also take the time to research what it will take to fix the known problems.

If you REALLY love the car and have the time and money, go for it. If you get pleasure out of it and you value that pleasure, it's worth it. If money is really tight for you, you may benefit more from cutting your losses and waiting until you have enough money to buy a Z (or other hobby car) that requires less initial maintenance.

[Weasel73240Z]

"Fixing" a blown head gasket with radiator sealing "gunk", is really the same as saying "I'm trying to ruin this motor". Replacing a head gasket isn't that hard, but you need some skills. The fix for a bad head gasket, is a new head gasket, there really is no other option. Sorry.

[conedodger]

Then there is the "as long as you are in there" factor. You have the head off, you should check that it is straight and not warped. A lot of people would take the opportunity to do the valves. I have seen warped heads and blown gaskets before but they always ran. Basically a steam caliope but they ran...

[26th-Z]

zalex, the direct answer to your title question is; "Yes". And all the advice you read here is good advice. Radiator stop-leak is for radiators, not head gaskets. It won't work. I can't believe that you can't find a mechanic in the Orlando area to fix your car and a machine shop to deal with the rest of the head issues as they may exist. There are PLENTY of Z guys in the Orlando area.

[zalex]

It's definitely not about finding a mechanic in Orlando, I would just rather not pay for auto shop cost. I am going to try to replace the head gasket tomorrow morning myself. I knew I would have to replace it, but I was just wondering if it would cause my car to not start as it has been.

[SteveJ]

When you say in your initial post "my car won't start", you are not providing enough detail to tell us anything. The same goes for the statement "no liquid in the radiator". A dead battery or burned fusible link would make it where your car doesn't start, and neither is related to a blown head gasket. Yes, that's a little sarcastic, but the responses you're receiving are based on the information you're giving.

The main elements for having a car start are air, electricity (starter & spark), fuel, timing, and compression. Remove any of those, and that could cause your car not to run.

Since you say the oil is a milky color, the best advice is for you not to attempt to start your car. The oil is contaminated and cannot provide the lubrication needed to prevent engine damage. You need to drain the oil and refill with clean oil at a minimum. Of course, the damage could already have been done, such as a spun bearing or trashed valvetrain.

A new head gasket may be only marginally better than the radiator stop leak if the head is warped or if a water passage has rusted through or if the head or block is cracked.

I wouldn't throw parts at it on a whim, unless you have money to burn.

[xa1973]

A quick way to check if your head is warped is to coat the edges with bearing blue and run a piece of 5mm thick glass covered with wet and dry back and forth over the head, as you sand the bearing blue off this will show you any high or low spots, remember to retorque the head studs in the required order and torque setting if your changing the head gasket yourself, if you need the specs drop a line

Cheers