TheAngryItalian

Hello everyone,

I have owned my 1998 2.5 TL for a while now, and have not used it due to a few issues and want some advice on how to possibly fix it.

Some background on it: It has about 133,000 miles on it, 5-cylinder engine, automatic, never drove it harshly, it was my a-to-b car for college/work.

Issue #1: The engine. It is leaking oil somewhere and after maybe 5 minutes of running it, smoke comes from under the hood.
Issue #2: On top of this, it had a blown head gasket. Yes, you read that right-blown head gasket. I used Blue Devil Sealant a while back, but I don't really think it truly took care of the main issue.
Issue #3: It never likes to turn over without putting up a long, hearty fight. Takes about 10-15 minutes of cranking to get it to fully turn over (the gas pedal and the starter love it!).

Advice on how to possibly fix this night-mare of an an engine, or if anyone knows of compatible swaps, that would be great.
Onto the transmission...

The tranny, the tranny, the tranny... it's not pretty. Has a rough shift in the first few gears. Doesn't shift smoothly like it should. Brought it to a transmission specialist, and he told me it'd cost $1,500 to fix it... he said the gears are basically worn completely, and it's either fix, or replace. Anyone know of good transmission-makers that'd be compatible with this car?

This car also has no thermostat in it (every time I had the thermostat in the car, it'd over-heart to the maximum-line). So no heat comes through the vents, but eh, I'm not really concerned about it... just more info on what's wrong with this poor car.

I appreciate your time and help!

Kenyatta

Hey I have a 98 to 3.2 with blown head gaskets also did you ever find a fix for your tl?