Any 3.5l gurus out there?

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Pound

Pound

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Looking for ideas/suggestions here. I can get a 1996 Concorde for FREE! The car was my parents before my niece bought it. The rub is: she overheated it to the point it stalled on her. The car re-started later and she has been driving it for several months now. However, it is low on power, so it was checked out by a competent mechanic. He determined that 5 cylinders have 120psi of compression, while 1 has 80psi. My question is this-blown head gasket, warped head, or just bad motor? Hate to junk the car because the body is really nice and has low miles.
 
Bottom end should be good, take the head off and have it checked. They're easy engines to work on, check the timing belt while everything is apart too ....
 
I would have a leakdown test down on low cylinder first. Depending on what that shows, it may or may not be your biggest issue. I would check fuel pressure, check for restricted exhaust, and cam timing before I pulled a head on that engine.
 
65wgn440 said:
I would have a leakdown test down on low cylinder first. Depending on what that shows, it may or may not be your biggest issue. I would check fuel pressure, check for restricted exhaust, and cam timing before I pulled a head on that engine.
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Thanks for the suggestions. I guesss I'll have to check it out when I get my hands on it.
 
'S far's I'm concerned you get ANY engine SO HOT it stalls, it likely needs major work. It would be coming out of there for a full teardown and inspection of piston skirts and rings, head condition IE warp cracks loose seats you name it, and bearing and crank condition.

The question becomes "is it worth that?" What are the chances of finding a CL/ junkyard running engine to drop back in?

96 Concorde? What could they be worth?
 
Have had more than a few customer's overheat their engines to the point of stalling after a loss of coolant problem, and engines survived with no immediate issues. Lot of factors at play, aluminum and mls gaskets among them.
 
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