Middian

hello all,
ive recently ran into a new issue with my car and i have no clue where to begin. Local auto parts store guy told me it is a blown head gasket. heres the issue. about a week ago i took the car on a long trip in summer heat. My car never ever overheats maybe runs a little hot in stop and go. Anyways was cruising on the freeway for about 20 miles and stopped at the grocery store for about 15 minutes and got back on the road. what i had not realized was that the car got hot while it sat and i was driving the car for about 10 or 15 miles at about 230 degrees. i only realized because i kind of felt the car getting a bit sluggish. Never overheated or got any steam out of the engine bay. so i let the car cool and ran the car to my destination in traffic for about another 30 minutes after this happened, car ran fine at about 190 degrees. After about 7 hours i started the car and i was getting random sputtering and to this day i get this more while the car is cool and under more throttle. car starts every time no issues no over heating at all runs at temp at about 190-195 even in hot weather. the other day the car shut off at a stop but started right up. any suggestions. I do have a small leak in passenger exhaust at the manifold to pipe donut connection but this leak has been there since i have gotten the car. thanks in advance

MDchanic

230° is not overheated.

Nothing you say describes an overheating situation.

Why did someone think your car had a bad head gasket?

I'd start by going through the basics:
Has the timing shifted? Has the rubbing block on the points worn? Has the dwell angle changed?
Are your coil and your your condenser operating properly?
How does your spark look?
How are your carburetor settings? Has your idle adjustment changed?
Is your choke opening all the way?

Etc.

- Eric

oldcutlass

So your saying you turned off the car and when you restarted it the temp was 230? If thats the case, its normal.

I would start by going over the tune, inspecting the spark plugs to see what they tell me, and looking at the carb for odd operation, like fuel dribbling. Basically your going to do a tuneup without replacing parts.

Tedd Thompson

Do the usual checks, Any water in oil? Any oil in water? Is your radiator cap good? No leaks in hoses (all of them ). Can you smell antifreeze anywhere at the radiator inside the car or at the exhaust? Are you loosing any fluid to speak of? If no look somewhere else. From what you have told us so far I don't think it's a head gasket and you need to find a new parts supplier.... Just my thoughts from afar ... Tedd

Middian

thats exactly what i thought. I checked the dwell a day or two after this happened and adjusted to 30. a day or two later same issue. I tried checking dwell the other day and the dwell meter wont read anymore. weird. I KNOW im not overheating even now car runs at about 190 but still sputters from when cold. sometimes when at operating temp. I adjusted carb idle speed and screws about 5 months ago and havent touched em since. ran like a charm after adjusting. I pulled a spark plug the other night while running and had constant blue spark to ground until it would choke a tiny bit and dided once. im shooting for carb issues. choke is always open. no water in oil or anything funny no coolant leaking or smells. im gonna go with oldcutlass and say i need a major tune up but this happened abruptly so im scratching my head

MDchanic

Your dwell meter won't read. That's not normal.

Open up your distributor and check your points, condenser, advance mechanisms, and wires.

- Eric

oldcutlass

If the engine is running the dwell meter should work. Check its connections.