jetspeedz

It's been several years since I posted here, my built boosted GSR is at it again. Leakdown test passed across all 4 cylinders, no bubbles, good pressure, ARP bolts were tightened to spec just last year to ensure nothing vibrated loose. I'm seeing small blotches of oil on the radiator cap again and in the coolant when bleeding the system. I can also tell it is slowly starting to drink the coolant in the overflow, but no overheating what so ever. Last time this happened, tore the head off, decked the head, new gasket and this problem went away. The gasket (bored Golden eagle which is OEM) showed no signs of deterioration and indication it had failed. The car is meticulously maintained, I spoke to GE and ARP last time and they both said they were unsure what could be causing this weeping but it happens. Fast forward now, same issue again. Will likely have to do this all over again with new parts. Such a pain to take everything apart.

For those of you running 20+psi of boost, how often do you refresh the head gasket, I'm aware you can reuse the bolts once depending on stretch, any tips or tricks to extend the life of the head gasket to prevent oil weeping? This is getting old real fast at my age.

Chance EG

Get the block O-Ringed and consider L19 studs. Sounds like this block has already had it's share of decking though.

Boost isn't so much an issue as overall cylinder pressure is. What WHP are you putting down?

ls joker

Completely remove the radiator turn it upside down. And check to see if slugde comes out.

jetspeedz

Agree, i should have been more technical cylinder pressure is the issue. 500whp daily, it has only been decked one time since I got the block back from Benson and Head back from Mike @ Laskey. I've however tightened the ARP bolts by itself on a separate occasion to see if this would mitigate the problem.

The old O-ring debate - not sure how long you have been in the honda scene but you know there are two camps on this. I don't think there is much harm personally, but I'm again only running 500hp max and guys with Benson sleeves like mine run 800-1000hp without o-ring all day no issues. Of course apples to oranges here, those are track cars and mine is daily.

I found this quote interesting, food for thought...

"Benson does not step deck his blocks. The reason he does not is because leaving the sleeves proud of the outside warps the head. We did some testing on a K series block where we lost seal on the valve seats because of the sleeves being up. They all come back flat. He used to o-ring blocks a long time ago but he doesnt really offer that either. Sorta the same theory. But when you o-ring you also limit the rebuild lifes because you cut the groove into the deck and that limits how large you can go."

I'm not opposed to L19 but I'm not pushing over 500hp, not sure how much these will help with longevity? If it extends the life a little more than what I'm getting I'm going to fork out for the L19 but the o-ring is really something I need to give more thought to.

I was hoping to get some feedback from you guys on how often you refresh, especially for your daily.


Brand new Koyo Radiator, even with the old PWR which I recently replaced no sludge or issues.

ls joker

Ive been over 4++whp for years. In the 500whp for bout a year now. When i replaced my headgasket few year ago, i found sludge in the radaiator after the head was removed. Seeing bits sludge at the top of the radiator had me assuming it was oil. At that time i also had koyo triple core. Maybe a few years old. When i did do the headgasket though, i didnt use any gasket spray crap. Just cleaned the mating surfaces. Hot cycled the engine, then retorqued.

jetspeedz

I wish that was the case. I know its oil for sure b/c it is slippery and there is no other substance it could be after a new radiator and complete flush. No milky oil at all at every change 2-3k full synthetic, this isn't my first rodeo unfortunately. The cooper spray on the gasket on both sides helps but over time it still weeps. I'm going to try the L19 b/c it does no harm in using higher tensile strength bolts but I'm not optimistic over the long haul it will fix this issue. Can i blame the OEM GE bored out gasket? I don't think i can b/c lots of people use them. Maybe this is just the nature of owning a boosted B series setup?

ls joker

Post results.

Maybe the studs are stretched. Couldnt remember how many times you said they were reused.

extremeracer

I ran 9000 rpm and 27psi and campaigned two full race seasons without ever opening the engine. If the gasket and headstuds are sealing and the cylinder pressures are held in the 'safe zone' ie no excessive timing or boost spikes then it should stay together for a long time.

The stretched stud suggestion may be worth looking into, alternatively have you considered that the factory "oil cooler" (if you still running that) may have a crack causing coolant and oil to mix on the oil supply side and not in the combustion chamber.

sleepencivic

jetspeedz

no oil cooler, when you say long time that is left for interpretation, this is a daily driver so it doesn't get nearly as many miles as a race car like yours but great feedback non the less. If I had a blown gasket and the car was overheating at least I would know what the smoking gun is but in this case it is more or less the same issue as last time with an intact gasket removed and replaced.

gsr vtec, nothing unusual with the radiator hoses, there is no clog of any kind if that is what you are thinking, hoses are new and new radiator too but this is the same behavior as last time.

They were reused once after the last time it was refreshed. Beyond that I had just tightened them down to spec again to make sure nothing got lose about 30k miles ago. Could be stretched only way is to take everything out again and measure. Will post results when I do it, wont be for a while back issues and getting old sucks.

I've added a pic below of what I was seeing last time when this happened. This time around it is not nearly as bad but it will get there over time. The first place you see the oil build up is on the radiator cap. It starts out with light blotches than gets to this as it progresses.

TheShodan

iTrader: (14)

Hmm. Not sure. At over 26psi on a regular basis, I've never had to change the HG.

What about other areas? Radiator?

jetspeedz

good to see you are still active on this site.

The radiator is brand new as are the hoses, wish i knew what the smoking gun is this time but I suspect a slight warp of the head is causing this again. Last time the head was decked the problem went away and now its back again over time. I would expect problems with a leak down test but it all came back good, so it must be just at that threshold its not a blown HG but there is just enough lift maybe under boost that is causing this, if it overheated it would be much easier to explain this. If it wasn't such a pain to rip it apart I would have already done it. Its a project to tear this car apart with the limited space.

sleepencivic

jetspeedz

Sure did because if there is slight warp you can never know if it shows when its cold and the metal contracts vs hot when it expands. obviously these deltas are in the hundred of thousandths but enough make a difference so good point bringing that up in case someone else does a leak down only when warm and not once the car has cooled.

1HGEJ2

iTrader: (1)

Whats ur timing at full boost? CR ? 9:1 10:1?

jetspeedz

In the 9 range, don't know exact off my head, will have to pull s300 data to get timing info, it was slightly retarded for safety on the dyno after last run because it's a daily driver, this is the same tune since day with no changes, at least 5 years old if my memory serves me right. Not concerned with detonation either, always run 91 and M&W CDI is as good as it comes plus I change the plugs frequently along with cap/rotor and wires too and e-coil. Are you thinking detonation and high cylinder pressure as a culprit?

ls joker

Honestly, not a hundred percent sure, but it looks like residual particals of something.

Try to spell remnants, but that didnt work out lol

jetspeedz

lol,

Its slippery for sure like oil, can't get the smell down b/c its mixed in the coolant, I did a complete flush and clean and it came back this is the first time around. It's likely a combination of the oil seeping across the gasket and maybe even the viton from the oem gasket breaking down. It really builds and clings to the radiator cap. First sign of bad news or when you see it in the overflow and it start getting dark you know you are in trouble lol

ls joker

Can you post a pic of the radiator with it on there after normal operating temps. Edit, Nvm, your likely not in freezin temp areas.



Whats your oil cap look like. Does that look milky at all.

1HGEJ2

iTrader: (1)

yeah some more infos from s300 is very good. Im searching this yellow hopper on ebay and cant find it. Does it fit very good into ur radiator/cooler?

jetspeedz

Ya its hot out here even with this weeks temps not a good idea but the overflow gives a good indication of what is going on, it slowly drinks the coolant over time. Still not over heating though.The cap isn't milky at all neither is the rad fluid, at one time I was running distilled + water wetter but now a days just regular premixed antifreeze. The radiator cap just has these oil blotches you see in the lisle funnel all over it, it wipes off easy but its there and as the blotches get to the point where you see them in the funnel it gets worse.

jetspeedz

If you don't have one buy one, it is one of the best investments you can make for a tool for your car, complete seal, never leaks and I've used it on PWR (Factory style radiator Cap) and the new Koyo (Jap other format) never leaks perfect for doing leak down testing, changing/burping the system and so on.

I just checked my Amazon account and this is the exact model i purchased many years ago: Lisle 24610