Overheat? possibly head gasket?

[dugjr24]

Well was making my way on my 13 hr road trip and 150 mi into it the car started to overheat(260 deg). The coolant was boiling over into the overflow bottleI let it cool and at the next exit I drained the coolant from the radiator and filled it with some new because the coolant did not look so well even thought I had changed it in february of this year. There was quite a bit of sludge in the overflow bottle. I also to the thermostat out as a possible temp fix. The last thing I did was hot wire the cooling fan so that it stayed on constantly. The car made the trip but barely. Im wondering if I have a possible leaking head gasket? Any other signs I should look for?

 

[importer]

Im sure you have seen oil and water mix before? If it looks milky like oil mixed then you have a blown head gasket. If it was boiling over, more than likely it blew between the cylinder and both oil and water gallies. Sounds like you'll be pulling the head

good luck

 

[dugjr24]

yea I know what you mean I how you can usually see the oil bead up in the coolant, but this is more like sludge.

 

[SoonToBeDSM06]

Did you check your waterpump? Maybe it gave out on you

 

[EclipseGsxDsm]

When i bought my dsm i bought it from someone who had a very similar situation. the car threw a water pump belt and it overheated and i bought the car and it had a blown headgasket also. i could tell instantly because when i pulled off the oil cap it reeeked of burnt antifreeze.

 

[TurboDSM86]

Did you check your waterpump? Maybe it gave out on you

The chances are pretty small on that one i believe after hearing his signs. I'd suggest a compression test and a cylinder leak down test to prove the head gasket as the culprit. Also look for the tell tale signs as suggest before: oil in the coolant/coolant bubbling, the smells, etc

 

[ColdAudio]

i had what looked like sludge in my radiator as well, flushed radiator and a muddy looking brown substance came out but eventually cleared up, so ive had the same thing and yes my coolant has boiled over as well, i have so-so vacuum but besides that my car runs fine.

 

[dugjr24]

the water pump is at least working. I had the car running with the radiator cap off and couls see flow. Now whether or not it is working well is another question. Ill try doing the compression check and see how that goes. thanks

 

[ddavisaf]

T-stat is good, try replacing the rad cap.

 

[armandovivoni]

bro I have the same situation right now!! my water pump broke the car overheated. I installed a new water pump. but now. the car consumes a lot of coolant. it becomes like brown. it boils. if I accelerate the car with the rad cap off. water will spill like a volcano. I wasnt sure if it was the gasket cause there is no water in the oil and no oil in the water. and car runs fine. aside that it overheats. so im pretty sure it a blown gasket. cause I have cheked everything else.

now my only concern is the head. Im praying it didn't bend or warp. ohh and this happened to me with arp studs and cometics head gasket. so on stock parts I wouldn't be surprised thats your problem too.

anyway I could be wrong. and if you find it is something else. let me know. I really dont want to pull the head right now.

 

[dugjr24]

UPDATE- I just completed a compression check and had 110 psi in all cylinders. Im not sure what it is supposed to be but at least they were all the same. Even though all of the cylinders were the same, I am leaning toward evryone's opinion of a blown head gasket. Any last words of advice before I rip the head off?

 

[ddavisaf]

110 on all... either you didn't do something right, or you've got bad compression on every cylinder.

armandovivoni- Have you tested all other possibilities. Such as....
Replace thermostat
Replace radiator cap
Flush out the radiator
Make sure your fan is turning on
Check ALL radiator hoses for small holes, cracks, and tears.

Once you've tried those, you need to check your coolant temp sensor.
If you're losing coolant, then you either have a blown headgasket, or a hole in one of the radiator hoses.

Do a compression test to see about a blown hg, and post your results.

 

[playitlouddsm]

If i remember right the service limit on compression is right around 130, so 110 is rather low.

 

[v2ner]

truth is...2Gs have a habit of overheating with a big FMIC. i'm guessing you were going about 80 MPH, right? happened to so many people i know including me. small turbos create lots of heat. the only way to get rid of it is to vent it any possible way you can such as hood vents, wheel wells, or the rubber hood sealer found by the windshield. this got rid of mine....besides going 70 MPH. just my theory though. good luck.

 

[dugjr24]

Im going to do the compression test over. I think one of the reasons for low compression was the car was cold when we did it and we didnt have the gas to the floor. Ill do the little fix it things first to see if anything changes. Ill post the update

 

[dugjr24]

well i replaced the thermostat, radiator cap, and flush the coolant and no luck. The head is now off of the car and I found coolant on two of the headbolts and on the head gasket. I couldnt see any physical damage to the gasket or the head itself. Regardless coolant is getting in there somehow. I guess Im going to have to take the head to the machine shop to have it measured to see if t is warped. Is there any other signs that I could look for with the naked eye?

 

[ddavisaf]

One of the piston heads being much cleaner than the others.

 

[Import_Chic98]

when the head gasket went on mine oil began leaking out right under where its says DOHC... but you didnt say anything about oil leaking just antifreeze- like everyone else has been saying check the hoses for leaks and since the little fixes didnt work, definitely take the head to a machine shop to make sure its flat

 

[dugjr24]

All of the pistons looked the same and there was no sign of oil leakage. I tried to post some pics of it but they are too large. Anyone know how to make them smaller so I can post them?

 

[jdl350z]

im orlando,fl im having the same freking problem it is so annoying, my car for no reason heats up abd my fans are working fine no holes in hoses and, the car has gone through 2 big gallons of antifreeze in 2 weeks, it smells like burnt anti-freeze sometimes also, is it head gasket??

 

[ddavisaf]

im orlando,fl im having the same freking problem it is so annoying, my car for no reason heats up abd my fans are working fine no holes in hoses and, the car has gone through 2 big gallons of antifreeze in 2 weeks, it smells like burnt anti-freeze sometimes also, is it head gasket??

Replace thermostat
Replace radiator cap
Flush out the radiator
Make sure your fan is turning on
Check ALL radiator hoses for small holes, cracks, and tears.

You listed two. Try the other three. Then do a compression test. If there is coolant on the ground then you're leaking from somewhere. You just need to find the leak in this case and fix it.

 

[ddavisaf]

All of the pistons looked the same and there was no sign of oil leakage. I tried to post some pics of it but they are too large. Anyone know how to make them smaller so I can post them?

Photoshop