Resolved 1G Coolant Loss

[mikevog]

Hey, I have a 1990 Talon TSi with a big 16g, and town driving it seems to only lose minimal amount (days of driving and only adding maybe 250-500ml) but on the highway, driving about 100-130 it needs about a gallon or gallon and half anywhere from 10-30 minutes, depending on how much I employ the turbo.

Just replaced the water pump and gasket. I have been told by friends that they don't notice any white smoke coming from the exhaust. Dunno what it could be before I start tearing things apart. Thinking about disconnecting the water line to the turbo to see if that may be the problem, any thoughts?

 

[miguelmcv]

1.... Could be just a Leak on any of the water lines. (Inspect all of them).

2.... Could be your Radiator cap. If it is bad, It will allowed water to go out but will not allowed to get the water back in. (Replace the cap).

3.... Could be the Head Gasket. Do a compression test (Do a radiator compression test to see if there is a leak).

 

[NHerron]

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/art...440201-10-coolant-system-pressure-tester.html

1.... Could be just a Leak on any of the water lines. (Inspect all of them).

2.... Could be your Radiator cap. If it is bad, It will allowed water to go out but will not allowed to get the water back in. (Replace the cap).

You will also want to check the rubber overflow hoses for blockage, don't just replace the cap.

 

[jasonbaz85]

check your seals first, your cap second, and your lines, third. These will be the cheapest fixes. Pray that its a leak or a bad cap, and not the head gasket. My 97 gst was overheating and not holding coolant. I was told it was the HG but i got lucky and instead of listenting to the shop i did a test myself, it ended up being JUST THE CAP. so check that cap and lines

 

[mikevog]

Yeah like i said before, what confuses me is how it is just mainly after highway driving, in town its hardly a thing. If it was a HG, wouldnt it lose a bunch all the time?

 

[Cody Nelson]

well i just did a full rebuild on my ford ranger with a 4.0l. stoked bored and camed. after removing the head i found out where all my coolant h ad been going for the past 2 years. right into the cylinder obviously thats worst case but just keep that in mind

 

[Zach92GSX]

My 92 gsx is doing something similar,it can sit an idle for 20 mins an not get hot but it seems when i hit boost it pushes it out of the overflow tank. If it was a blown HG wouldn't it get hot at idle an smoke?

 

[miguelmcv]

My 92 gsx is doing something similar,it can sit an idle for 20 mins an not get hot but it seems when i hit boost it pushes it out of the overflow tank. If it was a blown HG wouldn't it get hot at idle an smoke?

Not really, it all depends on the gasket condition, if it is to bad, it will throw the water out, but not much because of the radiator cap resistance,.

When having a bad head gasket, it does exactely what your car does, it will seat nice and will throw out the water when boost, if the gaskets is not to bad, it will retain the pressure when there is no boost, but because of the gasket not being to good, it will not hold the pressure when boost and that's way, way more pressure.

 

[Zach92GSX]

Just did a compression test an it's reading 100psi across all 4. Also did a pressure test an that went well. Possibly thinkin it's lifting the head what else can I do to check it?

 

[rEclipserGST]

Just did a compression test an it's reading 100psi across all 4. Also did a pressure test an that went well. Possibly thinkin it's lifting the head what else can I do to check it?

Those compression test #'s seem a little on the low side. Might need to go ahead and service the head gasket.

One thing a lot of people do not plan for, is the downtime. Order all known needed stuff ie: gaskets, balancers, pulleys, bolts, and setting up where to drop the head off to be checked. Milled, cleaned, pressure tested & anything else needed.

From what I recall, I spent around 4 to 6 hundred. Just depends on how hard you want to go.

 

[chadillac2820]

It's almost certainly a hg. I high stress and high boost situation I.e. 100-130 on the highway, will cause it to push coolant out. FWIW, you can pull the valve cover and retorque the head bolts to see if that helps. 100 psi is really low for compression.

 

[mikevog]

100-130 is KM/H, and to hold speed it would read 0psi on the gauge, or even 5 vacumm.

 

[BLAKSUNSHINE]

I remember losing antifreeze through my heater core leaking
and out the ac drain,but I would get the smell of antifreeze in the cab when using the ac unit.Just an idea.

 

[chadillac2820]

100-130 is KM/H, and to hold speed it would read 0psi on the gauge, or even 5 vacumm.

I assumed he meant accelerating to that speed

 

[mikevog]

$11 rad cap fixes it all, thanks everyone! All of your feedback has been well appreciated