I'm a bit late to respond but if anyone is still watching this thread or comes across it in the future. The smoke ended up being my turbo. While I had it off before i swapped a different one I had. Sure enough doing that was all it took. No more smoking. Never took the back 1/2 of my exhaust...

So this is something I've been chasing since I did my build. A little context: I bought a car with locked up motor. I pulled the motor and rebuilt, bought another chassis to put the motor in, its currently got 700 miles on it. Just fixing up a few small issues. One issue I can't seem to get...

I'm building a 99 eclipse with a 97 4g63 drivetrain (FWD) I am pretty much done with everything and its good to be driven on the road once I get this one issues settled. When in 1st gear if you start to let the clutch out the transmission will pop out of gear and sometimes grind. It used to be...

Just figured I'd update this thread because I believe I have settled my issue. It looks like I torqued my head just fine the first go around and the second time too. I ended up bleeding my cooling system using an AirLift tool and then just running it with the cap on. Sure enough it maintains...

Just in case anyone is still reading this, I did a leakdown test, all 4 cylinders measured good at about 20% leakdown. This is a big relief and a note to anyone in a similar situation always do tests like this before replacing the head gasket. It more than likely was fine to begin with. Next...

Well I replaced the head gasket last night to find no change. This result is very discouraging. I will probably do a leakdown test but I find it hard to believe that I'd put two gaskets on and find exactly the same results. I'd like to believe the culprit is something other than the head gasket...

You're right. Well guess the head is coming off. At this point does anyone object to me reusing the studs? I'll measure them before reinstallation, If its iffy I'll get new ones but given the torque they were at when I checked them the other day I have a hard time believing they're trashed...

Looking back I honestly don't even know if the method I described is accurate to what I did:banghead:I checked the torque on the studs as is and they all sit at about 80 ft/lbs from what I'm reading that doesn't seem far off from where it should be no? Does anyone know ARPs specs off the top...

Hello everyone,I built my first DSM over the winter, was a pretty good experience overall. Currently runs and drives (don't have tags yet so it hasn't gone far) But I'm facing an issue with my cooling system that is leading me to believe I'm having head gasket troubles. When I built the motor...

Hello everyone, I've been lurking on these boards for the past few months since I began this adventure building my first DSM (99 Eclipse GST with a 97 motor). This car has honestly been a joy to work on and most things have been very easy/intuitive to do, I can't wait to be driving this thing...