blown headgasket?

[ianGST]

It seems my '97 GST is leaking a pretty substantial amount of oil from the headgasket area at the thermostat. It is visibly pouring out from the line between the block and head, right on the corner nearest the front of the car. Compression on cylinder four is 150psi, though, so I'm hesitant to jump to conclusions. Also, it was perfect last time I drove it. It sat for about a week and a half before I got back to it, and it randomly started leaking. Any ideas?

Thanks, Ian.

 

[DSMcamaro]

I don't really see how it could be a blown head gasket if you have 150 in all 4 cylinders. Does it give any other signs of a blown headgasket? I would clean up the engine bay really good and then take it for a drive and see where the oil is coming from. maybe just a valve cover leak.

 

[allgripnoslip]

check the valve cover gasket, especially where the half moon is located which is above the thermostat housing. Mines leaking from there right now. Or do a leak down test, or when you do a compression test make sure the coolant is full and when u do your compression test check for bubbling, this will indicate that the head gasket is blown.

 

[ianGST]

Thanks for the advice, I'll try that when I get home. I don't think a leakdown test will help, though, seeing that I'm not losing any cylinder compression yet.

Ian

 

[trebornash]

Yes it is the head gasket.Just happened to me in the same place.I replaced mine and problem solved.

 

[Ryan95tsiAWD]

There is also a bolt below the half moon that is for getting oil to your turbo...unless of course you have changed your stock turbo oil feed location, then there would be a banjo fitting on there, if so check the crush washer.
Hope its not the HG.

 

[ianGST]

I was really hoping it was that banjo bolt but that was the first thing I checked yesterday. Anyone else have anything to say before I tear it apart? Thanks for the help.

 

[91gvr4]

Half moon gasket is what I would check first, and a leakdown test will tell you more then a compression test will

 

[gSx_r1der]

Hope its not the HG.

Why not, its only a headgasket. Not a big deal. Grab a manual and some beer cause you'll be working for a long time. I just had mine changed in Dec and it isnt as bad as everyone says. Its just expensive as hell but well worth it.

 

[project_tsi]

Everyone has been spot on with places to check prior to blown HG conclusions.

The valve cover gasket, the banjo bolt in the head for turbo feed, but let me suggest another spot.

Is it possible the ex. manifold stud in the far lower left corner is leaking? I know some of the manifold studs protrude into an oil galley, but I don't know for sure if this stud protrudes in an oil galley, so it may not even be possible to leak from this stud. It doesn't hurt to check though.

Cirled in green, is the half circle moon everyone is reffering to on the valve cover gasket, circled in blue, is where the stock banjo bolt threads in. And cirled in red, the manifold stud I am reffering to.

Lets say it IS the HG, it's not that bad too change. If you have your own garage/shop with enough tools to do it, then it will be even easier. I can accomplish a simple HG swap in only a few hours with another set of hands to help lifting/etc.

Update us on the progress.

 

[ianGST]

The car is at my house and I am on campus, so I can't look into it for another day or two. I checked the valve cover gasket and oil supply bolt hole when I was last home. No luck. I hadn't thought about the stud idea and I reaaally hope to find something, but we'll see. Worst comes to worst you guys are right, its just a head gasket. My friend and I have done at least four of five of them combined. Thanks for all the help guys!

Ian

 

[hereitcomes]

Hey Ian,
Have you just been leaking coolant, or burning coolant? Is there that famous "white cloud" from your exhaust when you take off. Check for oil in the coolant from your reservoir bottle, and coolant in your oil when you can get to an oil change. Look for signs of overheating under normal driving conditions as well. This will give you some more info as whether or not it IS a head gasket that you need to replace.

 

[ianGST]

I had a coolant leak from the water pump area a while ago but it seemed to stop. Almost as if it just dumped out whatever "extra" water it didn't need. The temp gauge has been absolutely perfect. The water looks sort of nasty, but I always figured it was because I haven't had the coolant system flushed since I blew my turbo. The oil looks perfect.

 

[DSMGSX95]

The first thing you should do is clean the area where you see oil. Do this when the engine is cold spray any wet surfaces with either brake cleaner or starting fulid, start at the top of the wet area and work your way down. This will take several applications (2 or 3 cans of cleaner) Blow off the area between application with compressed air. Once the area is clean check it daily for leaks. You should be able to see the first signs of a leak and identify where it's comming from. If it is from the head (not the valve cover) you can try retorquing the head bolts. I have done this on one of my GST's I drove it another 50,000 miles after that, sold it and as far as I know it's still running.

 

[Ryan95tsiAWD]

Why not, its only a headgasket. Not a big deal. Grab a manual and some beer cause you'll be working for a long time. I just had mine changed in Dec and it isnt as bad as everyone says. Its just expensive as hell but well worth it.

...personally i would rather tighten a bolt or fix a leaking seal than have to change a HG!

If it is from the head (not the valve cover) you can try retorquing the head bolts. I have done this on one of my GST's I drove it another 50,000 miles after that, sold it and as far as I know it's still running.

Were your head bolt/studs loose when you pulled the cover or did you just loosen and retorque them? Interested to see if that would work in his case as well. Wisemen...any comments?

 

[DSMGSX95]

On one of my GSTs the leak stopped when I re-torqued the head bolts. On the other car by cleaning all oil coated surfaces I found the leak elsewhere. I recommend cleaning the area as I mentioned in my first post before doing anything else. As a precaustion I actually replaced 2 head bolts that I had found to be 'loose' on the first car. I hope this helps

 

[ianGST]

"Were your head bolt/studs loose when you pulled the cover or did you just loosen and retorque them? Interested to see if that would work in his case as well. Wisemen...any comments?"

Yeah, like he said. Were they actually below proper torque or did you just loosen them and redo them? It sounds like a very questionable fix, but I would love to hold off on doing headgasket, timing belt, waterpump, etc for another month or two. Plus, it wouldnt take very long to test just for the hell of it. I'm going home tomorrow and I'll give it a go.

Thanks!
Ian

 

[DSMGSX95]

To re-cap, I had a similar problem, oil leaking from what appeared to be the corner of the head/block. I removed the valve cover and checked the torque of the head bolts. 2 head bolts were actually 'loose'. I replaced those 2 bolts. I did not loosen any of the bolts. Hope this helps.

 

[97gstnick]

my motor would leak at that exact same spot when it overheated