Blown Head Gasket? Wideband says I am running rich!

dffusion20 · 02-19-2011, 10:13 PM

Ok, so I have done some searching but I want to run this by you guys. I have a 96 gsx with a g60, bolt ons and a bone stock fuel system. I know this isnt an ideal set up with a turbo of that caliber but I was working on link. My car is overheating and sparatically at that. There will be no problems at idle originally and as I drive it will rise and fall and just keep doing that untill it slowly creeps up and doesnt come down. There are no leaks that I can tell and steam just flys out my overflow. I dont have an overflow tank... Well I was talking to a couple people and they swore that I had blown the head gasket. I think there was something about stretching head bolts and I read that combustion gases could be introduced into the coolant. Especially with that turbo and no management. They swore I was running lean but my wideband said i was running pig rich! Just curious to your input. I am hopefully going to be able to nurse the car over there and have compression results for you all tm.

Imback · 02-19-2011, 10:20 PM

How much boost were you running?

dffusion20 · 02-19-2011, 10:22 PM

I am running it straight off of the tial at 14 pounds...

Tanro · 02-19-2011, 10:23 PM

Smell your coolant at the overflow and the water neck. Does it smell like gas? Thats leaking compression pressurizing the system and overheating. Similar issue happened on my SC2. Sporadic overheating followed by never returning to correct temp

banishedmunk · 02-19-2011, 10:23 PM

remove your thermostat and start the car while it is full of water.DO NOT DRIVE THE CAR WITHOUT A THERMOSTAT. With a blown headgasket of your sort it will constantly push air into the system causing constant air bubbles to appear in the filler neck. with stock 7 bolt head bolts it is very likely that you stretched the head bolts depending on the amount of boost and/or knock the engine has seen. knock kills headgaskets not boost.

Imback · 02-19-2011, 10:30 PM

What were you thinking running 15lb's on a stock fuel system. Do a leak down test.

dffusion20 · 02-19-2011, 10:38 PM

I forgot to mention it was a 6 bolt swap... I will smell it later today, I had to leave it in a hospital parking lot.. I did take the thermostat out actually figuring it might have not been opening but in the mile i drove it without it I overheated.. And the only reason I ran it right off the wastegate was because I didnt see fuel cut. I didnt think it would be a huge deal especially with my wide band reading a 10 at wot

Demon33 · 02-19-2011, 11:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dffusion20

Ok, so I have done some searching but I want to run this by you guys. I have a 96 gsx with a g60, bolt ons and a bone stock fuel system. I know this isnt an ideal set up with a turbo of that caliber but I was working on link. My car is overheating and sparatically at that. There will be no problems at idle originally and as I drive it will rise and fall and just keep doing that untill it slowly creeps up and doesnt come down. There are no leaks that I can tell and steam just flys out my overflow. I dont have an overflow tank... Well I was talking to a couple people and they swore that I had blown the head gasket. I think there was something about stretching head bolts and I read that combustion gases could be introduced into the coolant. Especially with that turbo and no management. They swore I was running lean but my wideband said i was running pig rich! Just curious to your input. I am hopefully going to be able to nurse the car over there and have compression results for you all tm.

Without an overflow tank to catch and hold the expanding coolant that normally goes into it as the engine warms up and back into the engine as the engine cools off, you will be loosing coolant and sucking air back into the engine with each heat cycle of the engine. At some point your engine will lose enough coolant and suck in enough air to cause overheating problems. Have you noticed a low coolant level when the radiator cap is removed after the engine has cooled down?

dffusion20 · 02-19-2011, 11:24 PM

Well lately with the overheating issue I have been very low. But I never noticed it before, I had been running like this for months with no issues. I am going to do a compression check later as well as bleed the system and see if that does it. I will post back with some definitve results. I would love for it to be an air bubble but we shall see.

BrokenTsi · 02-19-2011, 11:36 PM

You need an overflow that returns. What kind of fans are you using? If you have some cheap autozone fan, you're gonna overheat. You can do some damage on a g60 on a stock fuel system. If you're headgasket is blown, you're going to overheat providing that you're coolant system is working like it should. Any leaks in your coolant system can also cause overheating. Hell, even a bad radiator cap can cause overheating.

Pressure test or replace your radiator cap, add an overflow that returns, make sure your fans come on, and do a compression test.

dffusion20 · 02-20-2011, 04:16 PM

So the compression check was good. I was strong all the way across the board. I also put an overflow bottle in the car and after a 20 min drive without ever touching boost the water in the overflow was boiling. The guys said (and I apologize if i say it wrong or miss quote them) when i actually build some boost or make any actual power, the bolts or threads will seperate or maybe expand? again not sure but it was something along that line. My water pump is working, when I take out the thermostat you can see the water moving through... I think it is the head gasket and maybe a warped head. Lucky they said they would help me fix it and time it for a case of beer.

Demon33 · 02-20-2011, 07:03 PM

While a compression test may show that you have adequate compression in each cylinder, I think a leak down test should also be performed when diagnosing a blown head gasket. If it's only going to cost you a case of beer to get it fixed, I'd say that's a no-brainer.

gtbread77 · 02-20-2011, 07:12 PM

Just curious when was the last time the radiator was flushed?

dffusion20 · 02-20-2011, 08:02 PM

Ok, I can do a leak down tm and the radiator is a brand new mishi. I'll keep you all posted. Also, my plugs were white which you all know is a sign of running lean so why then did my relativly new Gloshift wideband read a 10 at wot?