i just finished a new build, ls-vtec turbo (fully built). upon initial start up i found a small leak (coolant) coming out near the little rubber seal by the intake cam gear. i decided to take it for a little drive around the neighborhood and when i came back it was spilling out pretty badly. so i took off the valve cover and i seen coolant all puddled up in the head, around the valve springs. the head had brand new valves installed, a valve job, and was ported and polished before being installed also. any ideas on this. oh yea, and that was the only place coolant was leaking from also. thanks in advance.

 

Drain the oil,it's in the pan also.You could pressure test the system and see where it's leaking.

 

HG on the right way??

 

Blown head gasket

 

lets just say that the head gasket was intstalled incorrectly or is blown. could this make coolant puddle up in the head like this, the way i explained. there is always the possibilty that the head gasket was installed incorrectly or blown, i would just have to pull the head to find out for sure. and there is no evidence of coolant in the oil, or in the cylinders. thanks.

 

Having the gasket upside down will usually cause an external leak also.

 

Is there oil in your radiator? Oil in coolant lines?

How is there no coolant in the oil yet you found coolant mixed with oil in the head? Doesn't make sense to me.

Coolant in the head...yeah blown headgasket.

 

first thoughts are upside down HG

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by snowboardgeek1 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Is there oil in your radiator? Oil in coolant lines?

How is there no coolant in the oil yet you found coolant mixed with oil in the head? Doesn't make sense to me.

Coolant in the head...yeah blown headgasket.</TD></TR></TABLE>

yes that is correct and i do realize that, but i was stating that there was no evidence of coolant in the oil system. i drained the oil and watched as it came out and did'nt see any coolant come out and also i looked inside the bucket that i drained the oil in and also did'nt see any in there either. maybe there is coolant in the oil lines or in the radiator, i just have'nt gone that far yet. thanks for all the help.

so im thinking that i could have installed the headgasket upside down, is there anything else i should check before i pull the head though? thanks.

 

Whats the color of the oil? Light brown?

I still think its a blown head gasket. Either that or you need to retorque the head down.

If its upside down, I'd seriously consider going somewhere else for engine work.

 

What they're saying about coolant in the oil is that oil sitting in the head has to drain somewhere, and if coolant is up there, it most likely has drained into the crankcase/oilpan.

Is it possible it was leakign through the HG, into a headstud hole, then up into the head?

 

the oil is light brown (brand new), it only had about 2 and a half to three miles on it. i probably installed the head gasket upside down. its not that i need to find a new shop to do my work, i built and put everything together myself. there is a possibilty that i installed it upside down, i have been working 60 hour weeks and coming home from my job everyday and then working on my car. it would not have been hard for me to make a mistake on it, and thanks for all the input, i just never would have thought a headgasket could cause this sort of problem.

 

Ahhh ok. I thought you had a shop do the work.