Head gasket woes

[Pariah]

Well, I found out this morning that I've got a seeping head gasket on my 92 MX-3 GS (130K mileage). The car has been running well, just going through oil a bit more rapidly than it used to... maybe up to qt a month. Its still driveable, just have to keep topping with oil. (The radiator was cracked and replaced about 6 months ago).<P>Any advice here from the experts? I assume its not wise to continue driving it in this state for any length of time. Should I get the repair done, or is it time to give up on my otherwise-reliable friend? <P>I was quoted US $1000-$1200 & 3 days for the job. This sounds a bit high to me, even for the Boston area. Any advice is appreciated.

[Pariah]

Actually, after talking to a few mechanics, it may or may not be the head gasket. An equally likely suspect may be the valve cover gasket (more likely to seep oil?).<P>The car is driving fine, but will cut out completely if I go too fast, say above 40 mph, for any length of time. No high-temperature indications or funny smells. I can always restart the car after I give it about a minute recovery time, after which the cycle repeats. It's acting like there's a kill switch kicking in if oil pressure gets out of range. Is this the case with the MX-3 GS?

[Drogan]

i had the same problem with mine. it was cutting out when i went over 50 or 55. my distributor was going bad and finally went bad when my car wouldn't start at all. it was fine after i got a new distributor.

[Pariah]

Drogan:<P>I sure hope you're right. A new distributor & wires would be much cheaper than taking my engine apart. I'm a little doubtful though... my car is sometimes cutting out while going slow, too. Seems pretty random, like its based on a certain amount of driving time or something. <P>Did your problem get worse in the rain?

[Drogan]

no, i don't think the rain had any effect on it but it did get worse and was cutting out at slower and slower speeds. it might not be your distributor but its a thought.

[Pariah]

I brought the car to a dealer garage, and they say (after looking in a database) that it's most likely a faulty temperature sensor. He tested the part, and it seemed to be out of whack. Replacing it should be about $250, but not guaranteed to solve the problem.<P>Anybody think this is not the way to go?

[ddmalcore]

first, i would bring it to yet another mechanic, have them check just the sensor- dont say anything else, just say that another mechanic said that it was bad so they dont keep on saying different things are wrong. if they confirm the problem with the sensor, then get it replaced. i've found that its the best way to go without having to buy any parts you dont need.

[Pariah]

Just for completeness, let me say that this problem turned out to be a bad distributor. Total repair ran around $700 for the distributor and temp sensor replacement. So it's good news, bad news... no gasket problems, but MX-3 GS distributors aint cheap either.<P>Hope this helps the next guy.

[z_rawi]

I was wondering what happened to your oil use problem. Did that clear up after you fixed the distributor?