help me determine if my head gasket is blown

[ekoms]

Oh, I also forgot...when I bought my Talon the radiator was almost completely plugged with dirt in the fins. They are so delicate though I couldn't use hardly any water pressure at all with out flattening them out. So, with the radiator already out I let the dirt soak a while in soapy water then got busy with a tooth pick...it was really dirty and took over an hour.

I'll have to check that too as I drive down a lot of dirt roads everyday. I didn't even think of that, thanks

 

[chiuchimu]

I think the part that's hanging a lot of use is the 'Suddenly' part. A sudden overnight overheating problem means a malfunction of a key component of cooling system. But you said,

fan worsk fine
system is full of coolant
water pump is working
thermostat is working

The only thing left is a clogged radiator. Have ran your car with only water for a while? have you veer used a radiator stop leak product? To test radiator, let car fully warm up, shutdown and place hand carefully across all parts of radiator, everywhere should be evenly hot. any cool spots means a clogged radiator.

think about it everyone, if his
radiator is fine
thermostat working
coolant is full
fans work properly
pump works properly

then regardless of what is malfunctioning, his car shouldn't suddenly overheat and run smoothly at the same time. A severe timing problem would not run smooth and over heat to this extent. It has to be one of the above or we're missing something in the description.

 

[ekoms]

well today she ran fine, stayed in the middle the whole time. not sure what helped, running it without the rad cap until fans kicked on (to bleed the system) or wiring up the second fan. but the gauge didn't move from the middle & I didn't hear that water trickle sound from the dash either. but like chiuchimu said above I do have some cool spots I think. so I'm pulling the rad out today & pressure back flushing it & cleaning the exterior of any dirt. It must be my rad. we'll see what happens after today.

 

[Jpierre655]

i HAD A SIMILAR PROBLEM WITH MY CAR. I DID A COMPRESSION TEST. RADIATOR LEAK DOWN TEST. CHANGED THERMASTAT. EVERYTHING TESTED GOOD. CAR WOULD STAY COOL AS LONG AS I STAYED OUT OF BOOST. BUT EVERYTIME I WOULD GET UNDER BOUT 20PSI IT WOULD RUN WARMER AND STAY. THEN I WOULD GET ON IT AGAIN IT WOULD RUN EVEN WARMER. THEN HIT IT ONE MORE TIME THEN IT WOULD RUN HOT AND START BOILING OVER AND HAVE TO SHUT IT DOWN. MY HEAD GASKET WASNT BLOWN COMPLETELY, BAD ENOUGH WHEN I GOT THE COMPRESSION UP HIGH WITH BOOST IT WOULD PUSH AIR INTO THE RADIATOR CAUSING IT TO RUN HOTTER AND HOTER WITH MORE AIR.

 

[Jpierre655]

Opps Sorry Didnt Notice U Was N/t

 

[ekoms]

Opps Sorry Didnt Notice U Was N/t

no problem bro, I'm getting a valve job soon so my HG will be changed then. but thanks anyways. I can confirm my rad is clogged as the first fan (next to air box) is blowing a lot of cool air & hardly any hot air from rad. I have already pulled it out, put a garden hose in the top outlet & let it run through for about 10 mins. put it back in & let the car warm up to trigger the first fan. it moves a little more hot air than before but still blows a lot of cool air. how can I get it unclogged ?

 

[ekoms]

OK I couldn't get the rad unclogged anymore after pulling it out again & running the garden hose through it even longer, so I just picked up a new one. it should fix my problem. just curious if any1 knows how I can utilize the built-in oil cooler for my engine oil. the rad I got is a manual/auto tranny universal setup & I know the built-in oil cooler is for an auto tranny, but it would be nice to keep my engine oil a little cooler. thanks.

 

[ekoms]

well its been a few days with the new rad installed & shes running like normal. hasn't gone higher than the middle of the gauge except for a few times going uphill then drops back to the middle like instantaneous. i guess it drops so quick cause the thermostat opens. not sure but i can let it idle all day long & the gauge wont budge