newb needing answers

[calob_95tsi]

I bought this car (95 tsi) about 3 weeks ago and ever since i got it home its been losing antifreeze. I can tell that its been pushing it out of the overflow but it seems like it only does when I build some boost up or drive for a long period of time. Which has me convinced its the HG. When I drive it easy aroound town it takes about a week to drain the expansion tank dry and a little out of the radiator. I did a coolant pressure test on it and it lost about two pounds in 45 minutes. Is that enough to be a blown HG or just a hose leaking somewhere? The guy i bought it from did a 1g head swap about 1300 miles ago and he is certain it isnt the HG ...Ive been researching and researching for answers. I do believe its the HG but i just want to make sure there isnt anyhting else that could cause these symptoms. And it only gets hot when it gets low enough on coolant. There isnt any oil in the coolant or coolant in the oil..no white smoke from the exhaust that I can tell. Any input would help, thanks!

 

[1TireFireTSi]

I might narrow it down with a compression test. If you've got a pinhole leak in the HG on the combustion chamber side, it could potentially show up as a lack of compression. I'm not super familiar with 4G63 heads yet but it could be maintaining compression and leaking out of the outside of the gasket as well. It's not a given but if the HG was improperly installed it could be causing coolant loss. I'd suspect the HG more than anything because it was recently installed. What kind of HG was used?

Either way, I'll bet it's leaking as a result of the head swap.

 

[calob_95tsi]

Thats what I figured. From what i can tell its a composite head gasket..with the little bit that sticks out past the head. It almost looks like they slide the head on the gasket, which i guess could probably cause a bad seal

 

[1TireFireTSi]

Thats what I figured. From what i can tell its a composite head gasket..with the little bit that sticks out past the head. It almost looks like they slide the head on the gasket, which i guess could probably cause a bad seal

Could even be the headbolts weren't tightened to spec. Or when he tightened the headbolts he didn't do so evenly, in the right order and the HG didn't seal properly because of it. If that head swap was done by an amateur I'd probably be pulling it apart.

 

[turbo tim1]

Re torque the head if that doesn't solve the problem you will likely be replacing the gasket.

 

[Tanro]

Is it pukeing coolant out the overflow? White smoke from the exhaust? How is it loosing coolant? Is it leaking from around the head?

Nead to figure out how it is loosing coolant, if you can see any leaks with the car running and parked, try having someone rev it.

If white smoke is coming out the exhaust then its probably the hg.

If you can smell a gas smell in the over flow bottle or through the filler neck its for sure HG.

 

[calob_95tsi]

I was thinking about trying to retorque the head bolts but didnt know if that was a good ideal because he might of used oem head bolts. I didnt what to stretch them if they were.

As stated from above, yes its is pushing coolant out of the expansion tank and no I havent noticed any smoke from the exhaust. I havent smelt the expansion tank but havent noticed a gas smell from it. And it is not leaking antifreeze from around the head.

 

[turbo tim1]

I was thinking about trying to retorque the head bolts but didnt know if that was a good ideal because he might of used oem head bolts. I didnt what to stretch them if they were.

As stated from above, yes its is pushing coolant out of the expansion tank and no I havent noticed any smoke from the exhaust. I havent smelt the expansion tank but havent noticed a gas smell from it. And it is not leaking antifreeze from around the head.

No you can retorque them, 6 bolt engines head bolts are not torque to yield, they are just torqued. Or if you really want you can upgrade to ARP head bolts and crank the torque up to 90 ft lbs. ARP bolts don't stretch.

 

[calob_95tsi]

If it is a blown HG then ill will get ARP head studs. What is the max I should torque the stock head bolts to? Its a 7 bolt block with a 6 bolt head, I think they should of used 7 bolt head studs??..but Im not for sure.

 

[turbo tim1]

If it is a blown HG then ill will get ARP head studs. What is the max I should torque the stock head bolts to? Its a 7 bolt block with a 6 bolt head, I think they should of used 7 bolt head studs??..but Im not for sure.

If they are the smaller 7 bolt bolts, you can not retorque, they are torque to yield which means they are already stretched. If they are the larger 1g bolts you can retorque. You can tell the difference by the top of the head, if they are the smaller 2g bolts they will require a 12 point socket, If they are 1g bolts they will require a 10mm alan key socket.

 

[calob_95tsi]

Sounds like it is time for the valve cover to come off!

 

[Tanro]

smell the coolant over flow and the filler neck for the gas smell first. If its puking out the coolant tank its 1 of 2 things. Bad pressure cap, or you system is being pressurized by the engine.

If the cap is good (like 15$ 20 second change) then you can continue with the HG.

If the stock block is in the car they used arps ( not tty ) or 7 bolt head bolts (these are tty)

 

[richard33]

sounds like the headgasket. Man, talk about a swap gone bad! HE picked the wrong head and the wrong block.

 

[calob_95tsi]

I already put a new pcap on it....yeah it bums me out since I just bought the car and im already having problems.

I boosted it a couple times this morning driving home from work. When I got home I smelt the overflow tank and sure enough it has a strong gas smell to it..so it looks like ill be replacing the HG