ok so i thought i smelled a tiny bit of coolant after a hard run yesterday. pop the hood ive got some dried coolant on the lower rad hose, frame rail and tranny case. my overflow tank also was 90% empty (hose was still submerged) it was full 2 min before that. the radiator was still full, and my coolant and oil temps never moved from normal.

i pulled the plugs and #1 and 4 were perfect, #2 had tiny tiny evidence of detonation and #3 was a little bit whiter than the others.

compression check is 190 dead on, just as its always been.

 

bump i would like to know as well , my car did the same thing once and its not even boosted yet

 

headlifted probally, pushing air into the coolant system.

 

test the radiator cap

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by qfast817 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">test the radiator cap</TD></TR></TABLE>

yes. i did notice that the rad cap was hissing a little bit right after this incident, so i already bought a new one

 

i would say headgasket, sounds like typical signs of pushing coolant from a headgasket issue.

 

First determine if your therm. housing or rad hose might be the culprit. But I doubt it since there is coolant on the fuel rail. I would also suspect the HG. You got arp headstuds in there?

 

yes they are arp's. the head is fresh from the machine shop where it was milled. maybe has 500 miles on it since. block has around 6k. however, the studs have been used a bunch of times already and i wouldnt be suprised if they are stretched a lil.


this didnt happen on 13-15 psi, but when iwent up to 17 at the track (im tuned for up through 18) it happened. i turned the boost back down to 12ish currently.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by miller &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i would say headgasket, sounds like typical signs of pushing coolant from a headgasket issue.</TD></TR></TABLE>

im still a noob on this because its never happened to me before, but if i was pushing coolant, wouldnt the overflow be full and then **** out of the top of it? mine was just about empty.


thanks for the replies, this board never goes this fast on a sunday id like like to get this formally solved so i can go run b3 at fall nationals

 

up

 

up. why did my coolant blow over? can a leakdown show a lifting head?

with the boost back on 12 psi evverything has been fine

 

Sounds just like when i've seen my head lift on my sohc back when i first got into this turbo game.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by SOHC_MShue &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Sounds just like when i've seen my head lift on my sohc back when i first got into this turbo game.</TD></TR></TABLE>

i remember you going through that...


right now im on 13 psi and i just did a 3rd gear pull and killed it at redline. no signs of detonation on any of my plugs, and my coolant in the overflow remained at the same level. however, over the past few days ive had to fill it i think twice, with it being about 2 inches full and me bringing it back up to the full level.

would lifting the head leave me with a full or an empty coolant overflow, especially if its empty but i have no signs of it splattered about the bay?

 

my 2cents...

detonation wrecked your HG and now you're boosting your coolant ports.

 

2 words.... go to autozone and rent a coolant leakdown tester. Use it to pressurize you cooling system up to 15lbs and check for leaks.

maybe that was more 2 words

 

oh yeah, if you were experiencing head-lift, your overflow would be full not empty because the combustion gases will fill the cooing system displacing water. You have a leak biotch

 

I'm betting you blew your head gasket...your symptoms alone provide a pretty clear explaination. What is it that you're not understanding?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by EASY101 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I'm betting you blew your head gasket...your symptoms alone provide a pretty clear explaination. What is it that you're not understanding?</TD></TR></TABLE>


this, this contradicts the fact that i pressurized my coolant system. i would be overflowing coolant, not loosing it.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by mustafa &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">oh yeah, if you were experiencing head-lift, your overflow would be full not empty because the combustion gases will fill the cooing system displacing water. You have a leak biotch </TD></TR></TABLE>


as of now, im not detonating and my coolant level remains fine. im just gonna leave it like this for a while and deal with it later over the winter, with a new hg and brand new studs.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by blackeg &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i remember you going through that...


right now im on 13 psi and i just did a 3rd gear pull and killed it at redline. no signs of detonation on any of my plugs, and my coolant in the overflow remained at the same level. however, over the past few days ive had to fill it i think twice, with it being about 2 inches full and me bringing it back up to the full level.

would lifting the head leave me with a full or an empty coolant overflow, especially if its empty but i have no signs of it splattered about the bay?</TD></TR></TABLE>
i seem to remember that if it got really bad it would all go out, but i'm not positive. There were definitly times where it would overflow out of the top.

 

Order a new set of arp studs because they are stretched. I had the same problem with boost. 10 to 12 lbs was ok but more boost had coolant problems. Went through 4 head gaskets and then finally one night I decided to ck the head studs. Then I realized that the studs were the problem the whole time.
Good luck hope this works for you

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Hndbst &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Order a new set of arp studs because they are stretched. I had the same problem with boost. 10 to 12 lbs was ok but more boost had coolant problems. Went through 4 head gaskets and then finally one night I decided to ck the head studs. Then I realized that the studs were the problem the whole time.
Good luck hope this works for you </TD></TR></TABLE>

yeah this is where i am with everything currently. i think im gonna order some studs and a new hg today, maybe put it in next month. again im not blowing coolant or breaking up at all currently, so im gonna leavve it

 

In for technical info.
It sounds like it did overflow at some point, leaving air in the lines now. If it's the head gasket, it will not be long before it starts spitting coolant out of the tailpipe or overheating.
A cylinder leakdown test will be the best thing to try. If it leaks through the radiator, your HG is toast.
While the HG is not a big deal, the detonation that probably caused it could be potentially destructive in the long run.

 

leakdown was done, pulled 20% on all but the #4 cyl which was 30 (it was leaking out of an/both intake valves).compression is 190 on a 9:1 motor. leakdown was donee with the rad cap off, and it didnt bubble once. i am also getting very very little blowby, maybe a shotglass worth in the past 1000 miles, included the pass at the track that the incident happened on.

it is fully built, 84mm, sleeves, pistons and rods, valvetrain etc...

ive been driving it daily ever since, no over heating yet.

i know the detonation can be destructive, and ive fixed it by lowering the boost and bringing back the timing 2*.

i did just buy new arps and a ge headgasket

 

20-30% sounds a little high on the leak down. You say it was coming out of the valves? I wonder why they are leaking.

 

yeah, if i pop open the throttle plate i can hear it change pitch and whatnot. ill take the 20%. i have the worst luck with things ever, and this is still a healthy block at least with no blowby, so i honestly dont care. it still made 415 hp rather easily. im very tired of spending 1000s of dollars a month on this thing.

 

damn matt, more problems
let me know if you need any help w/ that thang