1990 929S engine trouble; questions

[likethestarsabove@msn.com]

Hi,

We bought a really sweet, 1 owner, 1990 929S in Apr 07 for our daughter. Within a few months lots of things started going wrong. We think that, although the car was well cared for, it sat for a long time. When we bought it the tire tread looked fine, within 4 months the tires were literally falling apart. Then the exhaust went (we replaced), then the suspension (we haven't replaced yet), then the alternator (we replaced, along with all belts), then, just when we were scheduled to have the valve cover gaskets replaced, it started blowing smoke and running weird. Almost like the transmission was "slipping". We replaced the valve cover gaskets, but...

Our mechanic found that the #3 cylinder on the drivers side isn't holding pressure. He said the trans fluid was low, but that he couldn't get it to do the "slipping" thing. We drove it home, smoking a bit.

I've looked up "replacement" engines for this 929S, and they are around 2000.00. That's how much we spent on the car in the first place! We've got another 1000.00 into it already.

Do any of you know of less expensive replacement engines? We are not mechanics, so we are considering selling it. Our mechanic said we should ask around 750.00. There is some body damage. We're trying to decide whether it is even worth putting any more money into, because what if there is something wrong with the transmission?

Anyway, I thought this web site looked promising. Everybody here seems to know alot about these cars. Are there any engines more reasonably priced? If not, does 750.00 sound like a reasonable asking price? Thanks, jd

[pipit@aol.com]

"Our mechanic found that the #3 cylinder on the drivers side isn't holding pressure. He said the trans fluid was low, but that he couldn't get it to do the "slipping" thing. We drove it home, smoking a bit. "

Sounds like the head gasket is blown if you are losing cylinder pressure & blowing white smoke. If your oil looks milky on the dipstick or filler cap that is a sign. It would be cheaper to replace the head gasket than the whole engine. Your transmission is probably okay. A bad running engine causes similar symptoms as a bad transmission
on an electronically controlled transmission. I would get a second opinion.

Good Luck
Danny Mac

[likethestarsabove@msn.com]

Sounds like the head gasket is blown if you are losing cylinder pressure & blowing white smoke. If your oil looks milky on the dipstick or filler cap that is a sign. It would be cheaper to replace the head gasket than the whole engine. Your transmission is probably okay. A bad running engine causes similar symptoms as a bad transmission
on an electronically controlled transmission. I would get a second opinion.[/b]

It is actually blowing bluish smoke. It idles perfectly. The smoking increases when the engine is working harder, like going up hill, etc. When we drove it home from the mechanics it ran just fine, aside from the smoking, then a few days later we decided to drive it around the neighborhood, just to see how it was driving, and the engine/transmission was doing that weird reving/slipping thing again.

Is there any way to determine blown head gasket vs. bad ring? Or do the just have to take it apart to find out? When our mechanic took out the valve cover gaskets he said they were so brittle they just snapped. I would imagine if they were in that kind of shape, the head gasket is probably in a similar shape. I think I love the car more than my daughter. She wants some kind of small SUV now or something, but I love the lines of that sedan. We're still not sure what we're going to do. I did find a replacement engine on ebay for like 1250.00 or something, but our mechanic said probably 18-20 hours of labor.

Like I said, we think the car must have sat for a really long time, or taken only for the occasional short trip. The people we bought it from still had all the original invoices, manuals, and even a VHS tape from the dealer about the car. They always took it to a reputable garage. I guess we just "lost" on the deal, and didn't realize just how long the car was in disuse. Lesson learned. Thanks for your help. jd

[mazdaspeed929]

How meny miles on it? Was it garage kept or did it sit outside? Can you discribe the body damage? Did you do a tune up when you got the car?

There are some additaves you can get a parts store to help with the smoke issues. If the car is in good condition it is probably worth saving.

[DMiester129]

Transmission modulator

this is a part known to fail on 929's
It controls how the car shifts gears?
when it fails it leaks transmission fluid into the manifold which causes white/bluish smoke.
You also get hard shifts.
This part only costs $20
Easy way to check: go underneath the car and pull the vacuum line running into the lower drivers side of the transmission. If fluid falls out you have found your problem

[pipit@aol.com]

I think Dmeister's diagnosis sounds the most plausible as this would explain the low transmission fluid level that your mechanic found. If your tranny isn't leaking that fluid has to go somewhere.
Worth checking out!

Danny Mac

[likethestarsabove@msn.com]

You guys are awesome! I'll see if we can get that checked out. It won't be me. I just had spine surgery on the 25th, but if it can be fixed for 20.00 plus some labor, cool. Thanks a bunch. jd

[likethestarsabove@msn.com]

How meny miles on it? Was it garage kept or did it sit outside? Can you discribe the body damage? Did you do a tune up when you got the car?

There are some additaves you can get a parts store to help with the smoke issues. If the car is in good condition it is probably worth saving.[/b]

The car currently has 192,000 miles on it. I think it mostly sat in the driveway. That's where it was when we looked at it. It was very clean and had NO body damage. That has happened since my daughter got it. For reasons unknown to us (the parents) the front passenger side door started hitting the front fender. My daughter said she was giving her friend a ride home and that it just wouldn't open when the girl tried to get out. So the front quarterpanel is kind of munched in at the door junction where it was forced open. Then, a truck slid backwards into the drivers side rear door (icy hill), around the door handle area. It also dented the body behind the door a little. I got a quote for a new door of 150.00, including shipping from somewhere in Oklahoma or something.

The only other things that need fixed are: the pneumatic (sp?) rod that holds up the hood, doesn't hold up anymore, the seatbelt motor on passenger side, and something needs to be done about the gas door, because somebody has to open it while somebody else is pushing the release button, otherwise is locks up before you can get to it, oh, and the antenna motor.

Thanks for all the input. jd

[DMiester129]

take it to the dealer seatbelts have a lifetime warranty right???

[likethestarsabove@msn.com]

" It would be cheaper to replace the head gasket than the whole engine. Your transmission is probably okay. A bad running engine causes similar symptoms as a bad transmission
on an electronically controlled transmission.[/b]

I'm taking the car to our mechanic tomorrow to pull the vacuum line as suggested by Dmeister. Since I know nothing about engines, this might sound like a stupid question, but....

Assuming we find out the transmission modulator isn't the problem:
If we replaced the head gasket, would it also be necessary to replace the "ring" or whatever on this cylinder? Or would you assume that by sealing things up with a new head gasket that it would take care of the pressure problem with this cylinder? If we do one cylinder should we just do them all?

I just don't know how things look, or how they're "layered", in this engine, so I don't know if the cylinders are easily accessible when you're down to the head gasket, or if there would be a ton more labor involved.

Thanks for the help. jd