I got a question regarding headgaskets. Got a buddy with a d15b7 that will need a headgasket in the future. The car uses about half a cup of coolant over the course of 2 weeks and thats about 4-500 miles of driving. (Filling through the reservoir)

The car definitely *will* need a headgasket, however its been using about a cup of coolant ever month now since September.

He wants me to walk him through changing it, which is fine by me however I was curious how soon should I plan on changing it? I haven't had the car infront of me, so I mean technically it could be a drip leak and not a headgasket at all, however hes taken it in for service and shops have told him its the hg, if I trust them completely, remains to be seen.

So do hg get worse, or is it like a belt, one day she just lets go and I better change it for him asap? I honestly don't know the answer to this question, so thanks in advance. If the weather is nice next weekend Ill probably just do it with him, however to not Have to do it would be nice as well. Theroetically could I push him off to say June? I mean whats 2 months when its been running this way for the last 6, lol?

 

225 views and nothing?

Please, lol?

 

Is his oil milky? Excess white smoke out of the exhaust? Signs of a headgasket in dear need of changing.

 

Has his temp gauge going past 1/2 constantly? This is not 100% but typically it will run hot.

You seem to know about cars, do a pressure check to make there is no leaks and a block test.

 

The car is 200 miles away...and my friend is a idiot. He doesn't change his oil himself etc...

Thats the issue Im having. He's had it at 3 different shops, all said yep needs a hg, however, who knows. He could also be walking in sayin, "I think I need a HG" who knows.

As for what I do now (haven't had the car to look over) temp gauge doesn't go over 1/2 ever. No white smoke out of the exhaust, just condensation at start up. There is none of the dire need signs of the hg change, just the loss of coolant.

My gut says it could be a pinhole in a hose, since its been this way for 6 months. The shops around him are pretty crooked. They also love selling hg work since its a good easy 2k for them. I just don't want to put it off and then it becomes an emergency, since Id rather change a hg next weekend then pull a motor in a month.

^ after I wrote that, I thought...hmm thats my answer. Ill just suck it up and do it next weekend.

 

Don't trust what he or the mechanic says. When I purchased my EJ8 off a girl I know, her mechanics told her it was buring a lot of oil. She also told me this and thats why she let me buy it VERY cheap.

Turned out the car burns NO oil, but needed a valve cover gasket set, distributor gasket, vtec solenoid gakset, and a new oil pan. 0 leaks, and doesn't burn an ounce of oil.

So I'd go there and do a compression test, and do a visual inspection.

 

Yeah for sure check the car out for yourself. Do a block test to check for hydrocarbons in the cooling system, check oil for coolant contamination, check for burning coolant red/brownish deposits on the plugs and white smoke out the exhaust.
If it does need a head gasket it should be done right away, it will only get worse and could warp the head or worse kill the motor.

 

Personal opinion? D15B7s were well known for blowing heagaskets. I've personally seen a couple that had no symptoms other than a loss of coolant pushing coolant back into the overflow. You never know when/if it's going to get worse.

I'd put an OEM D16Y8 3 layer steel gasket and a set of ARP headstuds in it personally. The composite gaskets the D15B7/D15B8 used are junk.

 

94EGB- when you say oem y8 3 layer steel gasket....do you mean "OEM"? I ve been looking and can't seem to find a 3 layer hg, however I can get just a regular oem gasket--
None state 3 layer steel though

 

Yes, the D16Y8 OEM gasket is 3 layer steel. I don't think it's mentioned anywhere but that's what it is.

 

Ok, Ill grab that--- its like 40 bucks. I tried to find out, I was just going to purchase a felpro but it makes no mention if its composite, metal, etc. I found one that's titanium from felpro, but it wouldn't fit a b7.

Curious, changing up to a y8 hg keeps compression the same etc? Not that it makes a huge difference, its a daily driver, never going to see any work/turbo/etc. Im just curious.

 

It will bump it up slightly. 9.28:1 to 9.51:1

 

Arp's on a stock engine is overkill.

 

I just have mine on my stock B1 for peace of mind. I know they won't be stretching anytime soon.

And tell your buddy to go to an auto parts store and rent a block tester, have a guy there help him if he doesn't know anything about cars.

 

They don't cost that much more than stock head bolts, they torque more accurately and you can reuse them.