A few problems! Help please!

[icecream_man]

I have a 98 gsx eclipse with several mods. I just put a metal headgasket in it with arp headstuds, changed the oil and coolent, and put a head gasket set in it as well. My temperature is running about 210 degrees after warming up, and sometimes even 220 degrees if it is driven even somewhat hard( it was doing this before the seals and gaskets were put in also). It has a mishimoto radiator and a greddy intercooler. today I noticed a puddle (cup or so) of antifreeze on the ground in the middle of the car on the passenger side, there is antifreeze in the car still afterwards, just some leaked out and im not for sure where, the overflow was empty, and my upper radiater hose was holding alot of pressure. I drove it around for a minute then parked it to see if I could see if it were still leaking, I saw no sign. Thermostat maybe? but that wouldnt explain the leak. Overflow? How serious is this? What precautions should i take?

Another thing, My car is running rich as of now until i can get it tuned. I have the apexi SAFCII and it has the knk level which is reading any where from zero to 42 (and this is after i have driven for a few miles, knk reads zero until i have driven for awhile). When my wide band reads richer the knk level is higher, the lower my wideband reads the lower the knk level is. Could this be caused by my car running rich? like a rich knock?, or is this serious?
*Sorry if i posted in the wrong forum
*I am rather new to the dsm world, so all help is appreciated.

 

[LiquidX]

First off, did you have the head and block machined properly for the MLS? They need to be a mirror surface to seal properly

Check your oil for discoloration and same with the coolant. Turn the car on with the radiator fill cap off and look for bubbles which is an indication of combustion chamber gasses making it into the coolant. Have someone drive behind you and look for white smoke as well (burning coolant). My guess overall is that your HG is NOT sealing.

You have an SAFC and wideband, go adjust your fuel trims as well and turn down the boost.

 

[Derrack]

Get under the car and wipe everything down. let it idle and see if you can find the leak. If it hits it right coolant can travel down the crossmember and back to that area. check the hoses on your throttle body, water block, turbo and oil cooler. theres only so many places it can be coming from. fix the leak and move on. the high pressure/heat could be the thermistat. It's fairly cheap to replace. compression check for your headgasket seal.

 

[icecream_man]

First off, did you have the head and block machined properly for the MLS? They need to be a mirror surface to seal properly

Check your oil for discoloration and same with the coolant. Turn the car on with the radiator fill cap off and look for bubbles which is an indication of combustion chamber gasses making it into the coolant. Have someone drive behind you and look for white smoke as well (burning coolant). My guess overall is that your HG is NOT sealing.

You have an SAFC and wideband, go adjust your fuel trims as well and turn down the boost.

A guy who specializes in imports and has buit a few eclipses is who did all my work, so im hoping/ assuming he machined everything correctly. this work was just done 2 days ago, and this problem was happening before i sent it to him. my oil is of normal color and while my car runs with the radiator cap off i see only tiny bubbles every other second or so, is that a sign of the gasses getting in? What Temperature range is safe for these cars? THANKS alot man i appreciate this!

 

[jrohner]

The knock on an SAFC isn't actual knock count. For it to actually mean anything, you have to know what it usually shows on your car. 42 seems really low to me if you did the calibration correctly, but don't compare it to anyone elses either, cause it won't mean much. Mine usually got up to 190 or so when I ran pump gas if I remember correctly.

If the mating surfaces (head and block) are not extremely smooth and flat, a metal head gasket will have a hard time sealing. If the head gasket is not sealing good, you will have weird cooling issues.

 

[LiquidX]

You mentioned this was just done 2 days ago, did he assembly and drop the motor in? If so, take it to him and tell him to fix the problem that he didn't notice if he did do all the work and dropped it in.

 

[icecream_man]

I think what could have happened is he didnt torque the arp studs to 75 pounds he torqued them to stock specs at 60 pounds. wouldnt that cause this? Im calling him first thing in the morning to find out.

 

[LiquidX]

If he didn't know enough to torque them down to the proper specs, I'd be more concerned with otherthings as well... There is a paper that states the torque specs in the ARP box that states the torque specs using either motor oil or the supplied Moly lube. Have him go over EVERYTHING again and properly torque down the nuts. I would ask him if the block and head were even properly done.

Did you ever stop in the shop to see how everything looked during assembly?

 

[icecream_man]

well i didnt have the box with the studs however the lube i did have and it was used. But i think he went by his factory book on the specs to torque them.

 

[LiquidX]

He should know better being a tuner shop. Call him out on it and explain the issues especially because it's his work that is ####ing up. It better be at no cost as well since any leaks should have been fixed by him during test runs to look for those things and any other problems.

 

[icecream_man]

ok im calling him first thing tommorrow but as long as i keep the temp at least down below 210 degrees should i be ok to drive it or would it be dangerous?

 

[LiquidX]

I would try not to drive it if you have a leaking HG. You don't want the coolant to mix with the oil.

 

[icecream_man]

ok Thanks alot man you have been a huge help!

 

[LiquidX]

No problem, that's why we are here

 

[icecream_man]

the thermostat gasket was squirting antifreeze out... getting it fixed soom hopefully that will fix everything up!

 

[Benshooter]

the thermostat gasket was squirting antifreeze out... getting it fixed soom hopefully that will fix everything up!

Easy fix. I hope you're doing it yourself!

 

[LiquidX]

the thermostat gasket was squirting antifreeze out... getting it fixed soom hopefully that will fix everything up!

Your mechanic is taking care of everything free of charge I presume? Torqued down the headstuds properly as well?

 

[icecream_man]

he says the heaad studs were torqued properly.
Tell me this though, where the themostat is located, there is another piece in between my thermostat housing and the motor, the antifreeze is leaking out where that piece meets the peice on the motor, (its coming out of a fine space inbetween that) i had advance order me a o-ring to put back in it they thought it would be a coolent ring so hopefully that works and prevents it from coming out?

 

[LiquidX]

You must be thinking of the waterpipe o-ring on the T-stat housing. If he said they were torqued properly, how did you get the numbers that he "torqued" them to?

 

[icecream_man]

i didnt get any numbers he just told me that they were done a particular. he said the last thing i should worry about is the HG

 

[LiquidX]

Do you have a torque wrench? If so, just take off the valve cover and verify they are all torqued down to the proper numbers. He should be more helpful and say what numbers he torqued them down and if he used moly lube or oil. If they are under torqued, the is a chance it'll be fine if you don't boost too high but just double check for your own sake.

I would worry less if it was a composite gasket, not a MLS that can have major problems if not installed properly.

By the way, from now on, start using proper spelling, grammar and punctuation

 

[icecream_man]

Ok, I have a friend that's going to see if he can find me a torque wrench because aren't you supposed to retorque them after a few days anyways? When I do remove the valve cover, how will i tell if the numbers are proper or improper?