My Car Has Been Owned By $5 Part

[WikdTSi]

We're pretty sure the at least the head gasket is dead and gone, but I'd thought i'd post everthing for opinions and the like.

Scenario:

Today, driving along @ 70mph as usual in the passing lane of 270.
I notice a funny smell (aka coolant). As I peer in the rearview to make my lane change ( to the breakdown lane) I notice a nice white trail of smoke following my car when I hit the gas. Also now notice that my temp guage is about buried. :cuss

I peer under the hood now and find my coolant or "radiator" cap is not screwed on all the way but about halfway undone and steaming like a mofo (mm thats not good).

After waiting FOREVER for the car to cool and refilling it with fresh coolant/water mix, I start the car. Mmm starts fine, idles fine no smoke, no weirdness.

HOWEVER, the minute you so much as approach 1psi of boost, the coolant resoivor SPEWS every ounce of coolant in the engine ASAP.

After checking all the hoses in the car for leaks ect, we finally determined it had to be a headgasket.

The car will IDLE fine and never overheat, shows no smoke ect. However, if you so much a brake-torque it to built even close to boost the coolant comes flying out of the resoivoir faster than hell, and well then it overheats of course.


For some screwy reason the cap decided to fail/loosen, god only knows why, and caused god knows how much damage.

I am very upset and want to hurl my car into a pit of fire at this moment. (I'm sure some of you can relate).

In closing :( :( DSM LIFE SUCKS A BIG ONE AGAIN

[suicidalsquirrel]

actually, the radiator cap from greddy is 24.99 online, so you got owned by a 25 dollar part :) Jokes aside, sorry to hear that man, I lost almost a gallon of coolant last night, I had to limp the car home at just under H on the temp gauge. I know how you feel :confused

[Mike C]

Almost for sure a heaadgasket. Do a compression test. I've got one if you don't have one. Let me know.

[biglipps66]

ouchy. It only takes a very small overheating to take out a HG :down

[MitsubishiGirl]

I'm not sure of the details here, but almost sounds like what Kennys GSX and Talon was doing with the water thing and over heating....it was never the head gasket....we weren't that lucky. He's been threw 4 heads and none of them worked.....so time to redo them. Hopefully it will be something as simple as a head gasket for you

[BlackEclipse]

new radiator cap? Those things are suppose to "hold" a certain amount of pressure. When they get old they don't hold as much. You REALLY need to drain your radiator into a white bucket and look at what comes out. If it comes out "Black" then you've got a leak somewhere. It might be your HG. It might be the turbo. It might be the oil cooler. All of those have an interaction with oil/coolant.

Maybe your water pump went bad and lost some fins???

Maybe the temperature sensor (near the "radiator" cap) went bad and it no longer signals the radiator fan to come on at the proper time.

I am just trying to brainstorming here at what could have gone wrong.

[Mike C]

I would eliminate the easiest thing first. Do the compression test. It takes 10 minutes. All of the things Mike B said could be it also but the HG test is painless and free :D

[Brian Azad]

It is definatley the HG. Actually mike, the sensor in the bottom of the radiator is the one that tells the ecu to turn the radiator fans on. The two in the thermostat housing for the ECU monitoring base coolant temps, and the other is for the coolant temp gauge. At least that is the way it is on a 1G.

[BlackEclipse]

On a 2G, there are only 2 electrical connections at the radiator. One for the left fan, the other for the right fan.