So, Today went very badly.
I finally got the exhaust fixed and replacement prop however upon finally starting the car after my last encounter where it suddenly stopped then smoked from the intake, it would crank nice and easy, however it would not start up, it sounded like it was losing compression, however I was not sure why, I unscrewed the lid to the coolant and no signs of blow-by, I turned the engine by hand and it was nice and smooth no tough spots but then I took the oil cap off... and I could see the blow-by which means somehow the exhaust gasses or the combustion is getting into the crankcase and finding its way out the oil cap.
So I guess now it could be a few things;
It could be the Head Gasket actually it is incredibly likely, especially as I think this car is still running the Original Factory head gasket at 85k Miles, however I am not massively sure as the blowby is quite significant and after the spectacular failure, I am afraid the cylinder wall / head may be cracked, however to build on top of that the car does not have any oil or coolant loss during it's time being stationary.
My main question I suppose is, I wonder if anyone has had any issues with cylinders cracking or oil blow-by as I am not familiar with the layout of coolant and oil galleries in the block or how likely those kind of issues are.
I guess question 2 is that if the cylinder is cracked/f***** then I would be seriously considering an engine swap, of which I would like those that have done it or thinking about it opinions on the best engines taking into consideration, difficulty, compatibility and reliability, I think the Rover 75 engine mounts to the 1.8 Petrol Gearbox but not sure about the IRD, any help would be amazingly appreciated!
I finally got the exhaust fixed and replacement prop however upon finally starting the car after my last encounter where it suddenly stopped then smoked from the intake, it would crank nice and easy, however it would not start up, it sounded like it was losing compression, however I was not sure why, I unscrewed the lid to the coolant and no signs of blow-by, I turned the engine by hand and it was nice and smooth no tough spots but then I took the oil cap off... and I could see the blow-by which means somehow the exhaust gasses or the combustion is getting into the crankcase and finding its way out the oil cap.
So I guess now it could be a few things;
It could be the Head Gasket actually it is incredibly likely, especially as I think this car is still running the Original Factory head gasket at 85k Miles, however I am not massively sure as the blowby is quite significant and after the spectacular failure, I am afraid the cylinder wall / head may be cracked, however to build on top of that the car does not have any oil or coolant loss during it's time being stationary.
My main question I suppose is, I wonder if anyone has had any issues with cylinders cracking or oil blow-by as I am not familiar with the layout of coolant and oil galleries in the block or how likely those kind of issues are.
I guess question 2 is that if the cylinder is cracked/f***** then I would be seriously considering an engine swap, of which I would like those that have done it or thinking about it opinions on the best engines taking into consideration, difficulty, compatibility and reliability, I think the Rover 75 engine mounts to the 1.8 Petrol Gearbox but not sure about the IRD, any help would be amazingly appreciated!
