Overheated now doesnt run right...

[91325ix]

Hey everyone before you say search it trust me I have and haven't found a whole lot of info beyond headgasket but I dont have oil in the antifreeze and vice versa. The fan clutch was the reason for overheating stop and go traffic and no fan equals not good. The symptoms; it has are really rough idle, won't hold rpm, smells really rich, spark plugs are oil fouled. Now i Know that overheating is usually a sure for blowing a head gasket but i dont want to tear it appart till I know a likely cause for the issues. I am failry capable and comfortable in tackleing most anything, just would like a direction to go. Any help would be great.

car specs 1991 325ix with 98'000 miles auto.

[hotballs]

How bad was the overheat episode? Like how long were you still driving while it was "overheating?"

Also white smoke is a sure sign that you're burning coolant.

[scottinAZ]

you wont neccisarily have coolant and oil mixing if the head gasket is gone. check to see if the cooling system is holding pressure well after the car is cooled off. if so, the head gasket is shot (at least it was on mine)

[91325ix]

I let it cool as soon could as I could then drove home maybe 2 miles. It doesn't have any white smoke

[jlevie]

But how hot did it get and how long did it run while "into the red"?

A severe overhead can, as we all know, damage the head or head gasket. But it can also, if severe enough, damage the piston rings to the point that they no longer seal. Compression and leak down tests will tell a lot about what may be going on.

[91325ix]

It went all they way red only for like a min though. That is what I'm afraid of in reguards to head damge or destroyed piston seals. :(

[jlevie]

Have compression and leak down tests run. That will give you a better idea of the extent of any damage.

[hotballs]

It went all they way red only for like a min though. That is what I'm afraid of in reguards to head damge or destroyed piston seals. :(

I think that's long enough for a HG. The second a car goes into the red in an overheat situation, it is pull over time. Sitting/driving for 60 seconds "in the red" is good enough to blow the HG, esp if it's running poorly now.

But yeah comp test will tell you if it's more than just the HG.....but won't the numbers be off anyway if the head gasket is bad even if the piston rings are fine?

[scottinAZ]

compression numbers may not be off that much, mine read good across the board with a blown gasket. It depends on if its leaking, or if it is completely blown out. I bought mine with overheating issues, and have no idea how many or how hot it got, but it still read good on a compression test. Only clue I had was running like shit and a constant loss of coolant.