[natalia13]

Hey, need some help here please…

I bought my very first car an 87 ford escort and had a problem with it. My car was over heating and the gauges for the temp and fuel would be rising randomly like crazy so I brought it into the mechanics and they told me that the fan belt switch was gone and they had to replace that. So I got that fixed and then a few days later I noticed that my car was leaking antifreeze fluid. I brought the car back to the mechanics and they took a look and said that I over heated the head gasket and that it would coast me 2,000 Canadian dollars to fix it so instead they added this sealing fluid as a quick fix. I want to fix the head gasket on my own. I wont have any help besides a repair manual that Ill buy … so I really need some help here because I have no experience with cars :? .. But im willing to work on mine so if anyone here is willing to help me out that would be really great! Also, I need to clean one of my headlights because there’s condensation building up and I wanted to ask how do you remove the head light bolts because one has already snapped and it looks confusing.. One last question, I have rust building in one spot which is above the driver side on the corner of the roof (where the rain runs off) I cant seem the find the name of the paint on the car.. Its grey, I will need to upload some pictures of the car. Anyways I want to remove the rust and fix the problem. Does anyone know how to do this too? I know that all these things will be a big project and time consuming.. So I need some help Please.

Thank You!

 

[reverend]

On the door post should be a sticker with a paint code on it. Usually a digit code, either letters or numbers. Use that code to find your touchup paint. I get my paint at automotivetouchup.com. They can mix any color you need.
I can not help you on thr headlight removal, never tried on that generation Escort.

 

[natalia13]

I found the sticker on the inside door, it says Exterior paint: Body= 58D, Type 2 , 6 , KUUFF
Which of these is the code that I need to use? Thanks for your help

 

[EscortLX97]

I've read some reviews that Bar's Leak Head Gasket Fix is good on that kind of problems but i think it is more a temporary fix than a long term solution, but you can give it a try.

 

[natalia13]

okay, thank you.

Anyone else??

 

[therieldeal]

head gasket replacement is not for noobs with faint of heart.

once you get the head off it will also have to go to a machine shop to be "decked" i.e. machined flat. aluminum heads generally warp when they get overheated, and installing a warped head with a new gasket will blow that gasket in short order.

one thing to check is the intake manifold gasket. i know on the second gen they can blow out and give the illusion of a bad head gasket since they can leak coolant into the intake manifold as well as out onto the ground.

 

[zzyzzx]

head gasket replacement is not for noobs with faint of heart.

I was goingt o say this. Don't try to do it yourself without doing a lot of reading about it on the internet and maybe having a friend over who knows more about you.

Also look on Youtube to see if anyone posted a video on how to do this and watch a few of them.

 

[bran20man]

"58D" would be your paint code. try the above website to get some touchup paint. as for the headlight, i dunno, just get a mechanically inclined person to help ya. but on the head gasket and sanding/painting the rust spot, you tube would be a great source

 

[EscorGo]

I hate to sound negative also but a head gasket job is not somewhere to learn about cars. The first thing owners of cars with aluminum heads is; never let them get hot. Shut it off and walk home if necessary!

Besides needing a lot of tools, the process is complicated and several things can cause problems if not done exactly right. Breaking old bolts loose and keeping track of where everything goes is painful. You can expect to have to take the head to a shop for resurfacing, while it's in you may as well get the valves reground and new seals installed - they come in the gasket kit along with new head bolts and other necessary gaskets. The re-torquing process is critical as well.

I don't know folks, will an SPI motor fit a 1G?

 

[TSiemens]

2,000 bucks? Shop around..... my 2nd gen head gasket was fixed for under 400 Canuck bucks just 2 years ago....

 

[StealthStyle]

yea, a headgasket job would be a pretty bad thing for someone who wants to start working on cars.

its one of the most complicated jobs short of taking apart the whole engine.