I have a 1984 245 with the slushbox that I have owned for a little less than a year. The body and interior are in very good shape for the age of the car and I really enjoy driving it. The engine is strong and runs well for the most part, but the wiring harness is crumbling. I am in the process of curing all the small maladies that plague the car. Within the past six months I have replaced the water pump, thermostat, and O2 sensor in addition to the standard oil and coolant changes to bring the car to "Stage Zero". The water pump was replaced to stop leaks at the base of the head. The more I drive the car, the more I am beginning to believe the head gasket is slipping. Upon startup and initial warmup, the temp gauge needle will rise to the 9 o'clock position and pause, then continue to rise to the 10 o'clock position. The gauge will then fall back to the 9 o'clock and hover between the 8 and 10 o'clock positions depending on how hard I press the car and whether or not I am climbing a hill. This behavior matches the initial headgasket failure signs under the 7xx/9xx FAQ section. I am waiting on the NAPA coolant tester to confirm this, but in the meantime here are my thoughts:
Today at my local pick-a-part, I saw a 1989 with an automatic and a supposed dead fuel pump with 137K on the clock. I checked and it has a 933 ecu in place of the problematic 556 stock unit. The wiring harness is also in excellent condition. I looked at all the fluids and all appear clean and clear. Now, if both engines are in the same relative condition, is one better/more reliable/more fuel efficent than the other? Is the B230 a better designed engine or not? Would it be worth changing out the engine/transmission and other components to untilize the LH jetronic 2.4? I checked in the Bentley book and it looks like the B230F has more torque lower in the rev range. Is this true in driveability? I was thinking in terms of time and degree of skill, it might be easier to simply change out the engine than try to pull the head off in the car. Especially if I can end up with a car that has an intact wiring harness with self-diagnostic capabilities and EZK ignition. Or am I completely wrong in my diagnosis? Could it be a simple(r) overheating problem? I know I need more info on the condition of the boneyard car and I intend to return with a battery and compression tester. In the meantime, any opinions out there?
Thanks in advance,
Nick