Ok so I'm planning on getting back to work on the Mera soon, I have one of either of the 2 worst case a cracked head or block (hope not) The cars symptoms are
1. Its using coolant and a lot of it,
2. It pours white smoke out of the exhaust and it has a sweet smell to it,
3. The heater will only work under idle conditions.

The car runs and drives great aside from a high idle So thats why I think its not a cracked block or head. It has not overheated on me at all yet. Its a stock 2.8

Sounds like you have a bad headgasket. Which is why your exhaust smoke is white and smells like burning coolant, along with the fact you are using coolant.

If you had a cracked block you would have the coolant in the motor oil.

[This message has been edited by craigsfiero2007 (edited 01-30-2014).]

quote Originally posted by craigsfiero2007: Sounds like you have a bad headgasket. Which is why your exhaust smoke is white and smells like burning coolant, along with the fact you are using coolant. If you had a cracked block you would have the coolant in the motor oil.

Thats what i was thinking/ afraid of.... How hard are they do to, I'm thinking about doing it myself

quote Originally posted by pontiackid86: Thats what i was thinking/ afraid of.... How hard are they do to, I'm thinking about doing it myself

Head gaskets are time consuming and you will need to replace all the other gaskets as well. I would replace them all since you will have most of the motor apart anyways. A service manual will be handy to have around as you will need the sequence to torque the heads as well as the torque specs. This is also an opportunity to do an engine swap.

quote Originally posted by craigsfiero2007: Head gaskets are time consuming and you will need to replace all the other gaskets as well. I would replace them all since you will have most of the motor apart anyways. A service manual will be handy to have around as you will need the sequence to torque the heads as well as the torque specs. This is also an opportunity to do an engine swap.

Ehh i dont have the equipment to do a swap I just want to get this car running for the summer.

Ran a compression test on the car and wouldent you know it the 1st cylinder i hooked it up to is the problem. I did the back 3 cylinders (will be doing the front's this weekend. ) From the distributor over this is what i came up with.

1. 100 PSI
2. 150 PSI
3. 145 PSI.

Now I know all the cylinders need to be within at least 15 PSI of each other My question is What would most likely cause a 50PSI drop? Could i be looking at a cracked block or a bad head?

Not 15psi between them,they need to be within 10% of each other (which would be 15psi at 150psi so meh lol)
Sucks man,but honestly I never mind repairs. They show a weakness and are an oppurtunity for improvement!
At least that's what I tell myself after I throw the wrench.

Use a leakdown tester to determine where your compression is going.

[This message has been edited by DefEddie (edited 01-31-2014).]

quote Originally posted by DefEddie: Not 15psi between them,they need to be within 10% of each other (which would be 15psi at 150psi so meh lol) Sucks man,but honestly I never mind repairs. They show a weakness and are an oppurtunity for improvement! At least that's what I tell myself after I throw the wrench. Use a leakdown tester to determine where your compression is going.

I will be once i get my compresser up and running.

Also Just to note. the oil pressure in the car is holding at around 50-60 PSI at about 2500-3000 RPM's. (car has a really bad high idle issue right now) So i dont think it could be a cracked block or head