Symptoms are pretty good that it is a cracked head. If you have a conscience you won't put it on eBay so you can think of it as either a project or something to sell if you don't have time and money to put into it. Either way its eventually going to need some work as driving it like this will eventually lead to hydrolock and may even damage the crankshaft, break the cam, etc.
I happen to like dealing with a car project once in a while so I bought my crapshoot at a small investment and will be happy to give the car to my brother or to charity as a donation for a small tax write off if it doesn't keep my interest. I like the way the 603 engines run when they are running well they are a joy, plenty of power to run thru traffic and get to where you are going without using a lot of fuel.
You have a car that has a potential value of something between $4K and $6K if the body and interior are in good condition and it had a good engine. Some SDL's in excellent condition are bringing $8K (or more to the right buyer!) with low miles and excellent condition. There is a wide range in values depending on whether the AC is working or not, if the seats are in really fine condition, etc.
So putting $3K to $4K into it wouldn't be a waste if you wind up getting some use out of the car, and it will be easy to sell in good running shape.
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Originally Posted by dieselpwr
Thanks for everyone's input. I'll have to take some pictures of the car. It is the charcoal gray color with tan interior. I am located in St. Louis, MO.
Here is a little info of what is going on with the car.
The car starts just fine. I had the starter replaced 2 months ago. That was something that I forgot to mention. Anyway, the glow plugs do need to be replaced. Knowing that the glow plugs need to be replaced, when I start it, I let the glow plugs go for a while after the indicator goes out. It starts right away, but will hickup a couple of times. It doesn't want to stall, but just a shutter or two than it's fine. I believe that may go away when the glow plugs are replaced. At idle, it makes a tapping sound. Not the usual diesel music. It does not make the tapping sound when you are driving it. It will smoke, but that goes away when it is driven. It will not smoke right away after starting, but within 10-15 seconds it will start. I guess that really is right away? Anyway, it sounds great when it is driven. It does seem like their is less power, but I mean slightly. It still wants to cruise 75-80 though. The temp will stay around a few clicks above the 80 mark, but on really hot days under repeated full throtle with the a/c blasting, it will hit the 100-105 area. Fan does kick on. Sometimes after cruising on the highway and slowing down to a stop at the end of the ramp, it will start shuttering like it wants to stall and really start smoking. Sometimes it will do this without being on the hwy. The car will be very sluggish and hesitent when taking off from the stop, but then it's like it just coughed and cleared it's throat and then accelerates with power. I have been keeping an eye on the radiator reservoir level. It does lose coolant overtime, low level indicator will light up almost all the time when I drive. It just comes and goes at will, but mainly will stay on, even if I just filled it to the proper level. There is never any coolant on the ground. The engine does not burn any engine oil either.
What I have been told is that the tapping noise is coolant getting into the cylinder and sence it is a foreign substance to the combustion process, the mechanic said that that is the tapping noise that I hear. I also explained the coolant situation. He immediately said cracked head. I friend of mine is pretty knowledgeable about engines. He said that I should loosen the reservoir cap 1 click and let it get up to operating temperature and see if the nosie and smoke goes away. He said that having the cap loose results in the coolant psi dropping and if there is a crack or weak spot, the coolant would not be under as much preasure and would not be as likely to force it's way through. Anyway, I tried it. I let it warm up. I drove it around the block. Parked it and let it run at idle. No smoke. No tapping noise. Very nice to hear the diesel. The coolant low level indicator never came on.
So that is where it stands or actually sits right now.
What do you guys think???
Thanks, Scott
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