Blown head gasket?

[98EVOECLIPSE]

Okay I bought my first DSM a couple months ago, it's not only my first DSM but it's also my first boosted car, so I have lots to learn. It has a lot of modifications that I'm still learning about, so bare with me.

About a month after I bought it, I was changing my oil and noticed what looked like oil in my coolant and vice versa. So I stopped driving it until I figure out what the issue is. I also noticed about a week before that that my boost was low, only hitting about 11 psi instead of the 15 that it's tuned to.

I did some research and it did seem like the hg, but the car runs great, and blows no smoke, which seemed strange to me. But the oil and coolant looked the same, both a complete mixture of both coolant as oil.

I'm in the prossess of taking my head out, and once I do I guess it'll be obvious if it was the gasket by looking at it, but I really want to know why it blew? It has stock head bolts, and maybe from it being 15 psi and me running the piss out of it when I first bought it it stretched them and blew the gasket?

What do you guys think the cause could be?

 

[92AWDHX40]

Overheating improper installation.

 

[03RedSRT4]

Speculation may bring up items to watch for, but your attention to detail in the disassembly will be worth more. You can check the deck and the head for warpage with a machinist's straight edge and a feeler gauge. This might give you an indication of the cause, or even reveal neglect in the last owners assemble care.

Be sure to use the proper coolant and distilled water mixture. I only bring this up because I recently had to rebuild my engine after melting a piston. My head, and other aluminum parts, corroded, clogging 2 water jackets, and depriving a piston of being cooled.

 

[BogusSVO]

From what you are saying, it is not sounding like a HG fail at this time.

With water in the oil, and oil in the water.

Check the oil cooler, the part where the oil filter spins on.

If someone tighten a filter too much, or replaced the seal between the block and cooler, that may have gotten crused and cracked a passage inside.

I have read a few cases of this being an issue on the board before.

 

[98EVOECLIPSE]

Okay yeah, what temp should it normally run? My stock water temp gauge shows right below middle which is good, but my aftermarket gauge shows it creeping up to around 220 regularly. Not sure why there is such a difference in the two gauges. Should I look into getting a mishimoto radiator? Or what could I replace to make it run cooler?

And as I'm taking it apart I am finding that there are other issues, such as a cracked valve cover. I'm going to pay close attention to everything to try and find the cause, I really don't want it to blow again after I replace it.

I also plan on sending the head in to be checked and flattened if necessary.

BogusSVO, I never thought of that. I'll have to check, if that's the case it would be great! How accessible is the oil cooler? Haven't looked it up yet which I need to, but once I locate it what should I do to determine if it's the problem?

 

[BogusSVO]

Ok cooling 101

Water boils at 212*
For every pound of presser that is on the cooling system allows you 3* over boling point.

Most DSM use a 13psi rad cap so 13psi x 3* = 39*
212* + 39* = 251* is your boil point at seal level.

So 220* is not over heating.

Now a rad cap needs to be checked or replaced every other year.

The spring in the cap goes week over time and will not hold its rated pressure, and when that happens it lowers the boil over point.

Also a warm block wears less than a cool block, and you gain better thermal efficenticy from your fuel.


Now for having your head checked for flat and maybe a surface.

Read this....

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/articles-engine-fuel/341627-how-check-head-warp.html

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/cyl...0613-why-not-let-your-head-belt-surfaced.html

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/new...face-4g63t-cylinder-head-mls-head-gasket.html

 

[98EVOECLIPSE]

Thanks very much for your help. I will be checking the oil cooler and replace my rad cap. I'll post when I find out more about what the issue was.