Stupid question, but...

[Kiiii]

could leaving a small cloth of rag in a water jacket cause any problems in the future? i'm not to sure if i took them all out as i was installing my new head gasket, so just wondering... i know really stupid...

 

[Tunerkid19]

yes, it could get stuck in the thermostat or the water pump turbine and cause a serious problem...if its really tiny though, you should be fine

 

[scott90gsx420]

How big is small??? If its more the like a square centimeter it very well might cause problems.. It wont kill more then the water pump but odds are it will get caught in the thermostat or radiator long before ruining the pump.. If you can take her apart and find it if not not much you can do besides say screw it.. Maby try running it at an idle for a few so the water gets cycled a bit and then look in the thermostat housing and see if its in there. Don't run it long though otherwise the thermostat will open up enough for it to get threw then its in the rad. and youll never get it out...

Oh and if i was you and you havent ran the car yet rip her back down i personally wouldn't want to risk it..

 

[Kiiii]

How big is small??? If its more the like a square centimeter it very well might cause problems.. It wont kill more then the water pump but odds are it will get caught in the thermostat or radiator long before ruining the pump.. If you can take her apart and find it if not not much you can do besides say screw it.. Maby try running it at an idle for a few so the water gets cycled a bit and then look in the thermostat housing and see if its in there. Don't run it long though otherwise the thermostat will open up enough for it to get threw then its in the rad. and youll never get it out...

Oh and if i was you and you havent ran the car yet rip her back down i personally wouldn't want to risk it..

well a guy that was helping me out said he did take all of them out.. just gotta go by his word

 

[scott90gsx420]

HHHMMMmmm SKETCHY.. thats what id be doing a lot of praying to the dsm gods ..

 

[Kiiii]

HHHMMMmmm SKETCHY.. thats what id be doing a lot of praying to the dsm gods ..

they were about an inch long.. if it turns out there was one there, how would it #### up my water pump?

 

[scott90gsx420]

It will get caught in it and cause it to have excessive resistance.. Could also cause seals to go bad quicker.. I really don't think it will get caught in the water pump it more then likely get stuck in the rad..

Ruining the water pump was a worst case scenario.. Actually id be more worried about it not moving and blocking flow threw part of the block and causing overheating in a single part of the block and blowing the headgasket that's actually the most likely worst case scenario.. And if they were an inch long, nice and think and pushed into it then it more then likely wont move and will cause this..

 

[Kiiii]

they really werent thick, just a piece of soft cloth or so.. i guess i wont know for a while if anything bad starts happening... i'm such a rookie at this mechanic shit still, ####.

 

[scott90gsx420]

Have you been driving the car?? If so has it had any issues yet? And have you pulled the thermostat housing to see if its stuck in there somewhere or tried pulling the rad. out and running water threw one way then out the other too see if it will come out of there??

 

[Kiiii]

no i havent, i really doubt it would get past the thermostat.. its wider than the hole, i havent been noticing any issues with my car yet.. what i think is if anything it would get stuck in the thermostat

well nvm... i really doubt it would go out of the block cause of the small passages the head gasket allows...

 

[Kiiii]

Have you been driving the car?? If so has it had any issues yet? And have you pulled the thermostat housing to see if its stuck in there somewhere or tried pulling the rad. out and running water threw one way then out the other too see if it will come out of there??

Well after a few days, i now notice that the radiator is leaking from the very top..

 

[scott90gsx420]

Did it ever leak before?? Try pulling it out and flushing water threw it to see if that piece is stuck in there.

 

[Kiiii]

Did it ever leak before?? Try pulling it out and flushing water threw it to see if that piece is stuck in there.

nope it did not leak before, it was actually okay for the first few days, i even pressure tested it and it maintained a steady pressure.

 

[robertseber]

If it has metal endcaps you can have it repaired at a radiator shop, (if its not in the core or something) maybe buy you some time til you can buy an aftermarket one.

 

[hoby0316]

It will most likely cause a problem. I've seen it done in the past.

 

[avengerscoot]

if its not meant to be there it shouldnt be...nuff said

 

[tron2119]

drain the coolant and you may get lucky...

 

[afoster98GSX]

I would pull the main lines and flush with a low presure hose (garden or presure washer) both directions and hope it comes out or you could be stuck on the side of the road.

 

[TexasTurbo]

Why not remove the head and check. It'd be a lot better than hoping that nothing goes wrong or wondering if you made a mistake or not. Just think of all the $$$$ it will cost when a water pump fails and you don't notice it fast enough.