Hi, all -
I recently past the 230k mile mark in my 1993 MX-6 with the 2.0L I4. Obviously, this car is no gem. However, up until recently, the engine was in quite good shape (I have a UOA on the board here). About a year ago, however, it developed a serious vacuum leak. It is where the intake manifold seals with the head - could be a bad gasket, or could be a bad manifold. Either way, I don't think it's worth fixing on a car with so many other things wrong with it (body is terrible, suspension not so great, interior getting worse every day, no A/C, power steering leaks, etc. etc. etc.).
So this leak brings in massive amounts of unfiltered air - it idles on three cylinders, and the check-engine light comes on when cruising (O2 sensor's readings don't match what the fuel injectors think they are doing, since it's not burning well in that cylinder). Still get about 35 MPG on the highway, which is really the only place I take it anymore with the idle problems.
Within the past few months, I've started to notice some little drops of liquid on the dipstick, going all the way up. I drive mostly highway miles, 100 miles a day, and it was winter, so I thought it was just normal condensation.
Now, I have some pretty nasty rust on the dipstick. My questions are:
(a) is there some way to get this rust off and/or prevent more from forming (short of fixing the car, of course
)
(b) is this rust from "normal" condensation considering the vacuum leak, or does it mean something else is going wrong, too? No noticeable loss of coolant or anything like that, but could it be the beginning of a head/head gasket problem?
I recently past the 230k mile mark in my 1993 MX-6 with the 2.0L I4. Obviously, this car is no gem. However, up until recently, the engine was in quite good shape (I have a UOA on the board here). About a year ago, however, it developed a serious vacuum leak. It is where the intake manifold seals with the head - could be a bad gasket, or could be a bad manifold. Either way, I don't think it's worth fixing on a car with so many other things wrong with it (body is terrible, suspension not so great, interior getting worse every day, no A/C, power steering leaks, etc. etc. etc.).
So this leak brings in massive amounts of unfiltered air - it idles on three cylinders, and the check-engine light comes on when cruising (O2 sensor's readings don't match what the fuel injectors think they are doing, since it's not burning well in that cylinder). Still get about 35 MPG on the highway, which is really the only place I take it anymore with the idle problems.
Within the past few months, I've started to notice some little drops of liquid on the dipstick, going all the way up. I drive mostly highway miles, 100 miles a day, and it was winter, so I thought it was just normal condensation.
Now, I have some pretty nasty rust on the dipstick. My questions are:
(a) is there some way to get this rust off and/or prevent more from forming (short of fixing the car, of course
(b) is this rust from "normal" condensation considering the vacuum leak, or does it mean something else is going wrong, too? No noticeable loss of coolant or anything like that, but could it be the beginning of a head/head gasket problem?
