Completely stock hatchback; it's my girlfriends. I cant figure out why it is doing this but it seems to have a small leak that drains the coolant every 300-400 miles. I have not notices anything dripping under the car at idle or when parked. The exhaust doesn't seem tainted with anything but I'm wondering if the HG could have a tiny leak into a cylinder. Is there a way to figure this out or anything I can do to fix this problem?

Thanks,

-Justin

 

Assuming your HG IS leaking and it isn't something else, then the only thing you can do is replace it. You might want to go with a multi layer steel (MLS) headgasket. A steel gasket requires ARP bolts. The bolts are expensive and the steel gasket is more expensive than stock, but I'm thinking it's worth it since I don't want to replace it again. I'm leaking radiator fluid through HG too btw.

It's not hard pulling the cylinder head, but it depends how mechanical you are.

 

Is there a way to know if there is definitely a HG leak without taking the head off? I'v changed HG's on these before and cant stand scraping off the old composite HG. I will most likely use another composite being that the car is stock and driven very lightly. thanks

-Justin