@#$^%&# Cooling Problems!

[BoostedOreo]

Ok everytime I run my car now I lose like all of my coolant. Whats happening is that its building up TONS of pressure, sending to my overflow and then shooting out of that. My Temps were changing a lot before so I bought a new thermostat, but that didnt help at all. I thought maybe I got a bum one, so today I pulled it to see if it would still be making crazy pressure. I had it warmed up and my upper radiator hose felt like my uicp it was so hard. But it wasnt leaking so I was like ok maybe its working. Then as soon as I shut off my car it shot out of the overflow again. Now could this be my waterpump doing this? If not, what the Hell is it??? DSM's make me wanna sometimes.

 

[GTM]

Originally posted by BoostedOreo
Ok everytime I run my car now I lose like all of my coolant. Whats happening is that its building up TONS of pressure, sending to my overflow and then shooting out of that. My Temps were changing a lot before so I bought a new thermostat, but that didnt help at all. ... Then as soon as I shut off my car it shot out of the overflow again. Now could this be my waterpump doing this? If not, what the Hell is it??? DSM's make me wanna sometimes.

Off the top I'd be inclined to think either your cooling fan isn't working or you have a blown head gasket.


Have you checked to see if the fan is coming on? You can trun the AC on, the heater to max and the heater blower fan to high, this should activate both cooling fans and provide more than enough air to keep the engine cool. If these do not come on then you have electrical problems and probably not a blown head gasket.

Cheers,
GTM

 

[BoostedOreo]

i hooked my fan up to a switch, so i definently know it works. another thing i noticed it doing today was starting to shoot out of my overflow when i shut my car off. i had it running and nothing came out, like 2 seconds after i shut it off it was like a burst of fluid came out of the overflow. its not really eating coolant though, but im sure there are other signs of the head gasket being gone.

 

[GTM]

Originally posted by BoostedOreo
i hooked my fan up to a switch, so i definently know it works. another thing i noticed it doing today was starting to shoot out of my overflow when i shut my car off. i had it running and nothing came out, like 2 seconds after i shut it off it was like a burst of fluid came out of the overflow. its not really eating coolant though, but im sure there are other signs of the head gasket being gone.

It's not uncommon to have the latent heat force water out but 2 seconds is suggesting the blown head gasket idea. I can't exactly explain why at faster rpm it doesn't show fluid being pumped out but as the engine shuts down the compression pressure forces more air into the cooling system which then causes a big belch of water to come out. My ideas are that as long as the water is circulating it carries the bubbles to the top most areas and only gas is escaping but the 1/2 Liter of air is expelled on compression through the leak into the cooling system.


You really need to do a "block check" which reveals if there is combustion gas in the cooling system if you want to rule out the head gasket.

Cheers,
GTM

 

[BoostedOreo]

ok i think i pinpointed the problem. stock head bolts @21 psi is a big huge no no. yeah it sounds retarded but the ass that had my car told me they were arp studs and for some reason i actually believed him. well today i checked and they are stock for sure. ok so anyways im gonna get some studs and a new gasket and then see what happens. any other suggestions?

 

[crazyjoe]

Well, depending on how hot your engine has been getting, you may have also warped the head, so if your problem doesn't go away, you might want to look into haveing it machined or replaced.

 

[GTM]

Originally posted by BoostedOreo
ok i think i pinpointed the problem. stock head bolts @21 psi is a big huge no no. yeah it sounds retarded but the ass that had my car told me they were arp studs and for some reason i actually believed him. well today i checked and they are stock for sure. ok so anyways im gonna get some studs and a new gasket and then see what happens. any other suggestions?

You could give him the benefit of the doubt and ask if he actually has some sort of proof they were installed. It's entirely possible he was charged for them but didn't get what he paid for if the work was done by a shop looking to make an extra profit and knew he probably wouldn't look or check their work.

That aside, you could try a re-torque of what is there. I've had some success with other cars if you catch it in time and not had to replace the gasket. If nothing more it may slow the process down and buy you more time before performing the change.

Cheers,
GTM

 

[echo]

i am having the same problem. not as bad though. if i go easy around town, not boosting that much, then everything is good. if i get on the highway and get on it ( i have a bad habit of running 4th gear out ) then when i get home and turn the car off, i loose all the coolant out of my bottle. i will never overheat though.

how long does it take to change a headgasket? i am just going to do the timing belt and other belts at the same time. is this something that can be done in a weekend? i am pretty good with cars, just have never done a timing belt before.

also, where is the best place to get all this stuff needed?

p.s. sorry to hi-jack your thread

 

[BoostedOreo]

Originally posted by GTM


You could give him the benefit of the doubt and ask if he actually has some sort of proof they were installed. It's entirely possible he was charged for them but didn't get what he paid for if the work was done by a shop looking to make an extra profit and knew he probably wouldn't look or check their work.

That aside, you could try a re-torque of what is there. I've had some success with other cars if you catch it in time and not had to replace the gasket. If nothing more it may slow the process down and buy you more time before performing the change.

Cheers,
GTM

Nah he just flat out lied to me. He told me all the work was done himself. I believe the stock bolts are "torque to yield" or something like that and cant be torqued down again. I really need new studs and a gasket anyways so im just going to get it new. I know a few guys who have done head gaskets on dsms quite a few times so they will help me. No biggie. It's better I catch this now then sometime down the road when its unexpected.

 

[BoostedOreo]

Originally posted by echo
i am having the same problem. not as bad though. if i go easy around town, not boosting that much, then everything is good. if i get on the highway and get on it ( i have a bad habit of running 4th gear out ) then when i get home and turn the car off, i loose all the coolant out of my bottle. i will never overheat though.

how long does it take to change a headgasket? i am just going to do the timing belt and other belts at the same time. is this something that can be done in a weekend? i am pretty good with cars, just have never done a timing belt before.

also, where is the best place to get all this stuff needed?

p.s. sorry to hi-jack your thread

Definently dont drive that hard on your car right now. Whats happening is that when your wotting, the head is being lifted off the block (not much, but still anything like that is bad) and your head bolts are being "stretched out". Well they dont just go back to their set torque spec. Once they "stretch" they are gone. So for right now just drive easy on it and fix it quickly. And damnit don;t be hijacking my thread!

edit- oh and sorry for the double post

 

[GTM]

Originally posted by BoostedOreo
I believe the stock bolts are "torque to yield" or something like that and cant be torqued down again.

Of course they can be torqued again, most head gasket makers will recommend this be done in 1000-2000 miles after install.

The usual proceedure is to back the bolt / nut off 1/4 revolution and then torque to spec. Since these are known weak points I'd strongly suggest following this practice. The down side with push rod engines is you have to re-adjust the valves if they are not automatic adjusters. And you must be careful with the VC gasket so as to not cause leaks, otherwise you have spent 1/2 hour giving yourself peace of mind. I don't have manual in front of me but look at scheduled maintenance for head gasket re-torqe intervals.

Cheers,
GTM