when buying a mx3 GS

[kira_kira]

ok forgive me but you've prolly alrdy seen this a thousand time but the keywords are being ignored

i took a buddy of mine to look at a 95 mx3 GS sitting on the side of the road. body is mint and was taken care of seller wants $900 obo for it catch is seller thinks the head gasket is blown. so i gave the car a once over but cant find anything that sticks out. so i start the car, listen to the engine with my trusty screwdriver, watch the exhaust for signs of coolant leaking into the pistons, check the oil, we get the car up to running temp and theres nothing that indicates a blown gasket. however for some reason the engine and some of the bay is scorched from when seller thought it blew cuz it over heated and stalled. now im thinking car was smart enuf to turn itself off before permenant dmg was caused. i checked the coolant levels both res and refil cap. refil cap was bone dry so poured some water in (would have mixed in some coolant to check if it was gasket) car seemed to run fine. is there anything else i can do other than rip apart the block to check it? theres no massive puddles under the car too just needs a new oil filter imo.

thank you

[mazdags94]

heads could have warped due to overheating also. Would be a good candidate for a DE swap or ZE though!

[_-Night-Shade-_]

now im thinking car was smart enuf to turn itself off before permenant dmg was caused.

Doesn't happen. Not with these cars anyway.

[davmac]

If you can you should test the coolant system with a coolant system pressure tester. It is the best (only) way to test and find coolant leaks if they are not obvious. The tool can be rented at most tool rental places. I rented one essentially free at an OReilly’s auto parts store. You give the store a credit card. They charge you for the tool (about $150) and then give you full credit when you return it. Other tool rental places will charge something minimal. The tester is a small pump with pressure gauge attached to a radiator cap. Put the tester cap on the cap by the radiator. If you attach to the refill cap at the front of the engine you’ll just push coolant into the overflow tank. You simply pump up pressure to about 18 psi and look for leaks. Use a flashlight to look in the valley between the cylinder heads and below the intake manifold – usually a leak there is an external head gasket leak. Look for leaks in the radiator or at the front of the engine (water pump). Look for leaks at the many pipes and hoses – many on the left side of the engine bay (driver). If the tester holds pressure then magically there is no leak. If the pressure is lost but you can’t find a leak anywhere then you know there is head gasket internal leak into the cylinder and / or oil passages.
If the car overheated enough to cause it to stall then it ran without coolant or at least without sufficient coolant flow. This does not mean the engine has been damaged. If it was running smoothly my guess is that you will just need to repair the leak and you’ll be set. Though head gasket replacement is not cheap or easy – about $500 if you DIY includes many new gaskets, machine shop inspection, decking and cleaning the heads, fluids, etc.