[s-cars] No love? Uh oh - Headgasket failure?

[Bob Rossato]

How about the turbo?  I don't know enough about the construction to know
whether it is possible for the water cooling circuit on the turbo to leak
into the exhaust or inlet.  For it to occur right as you start up I would
expect it to be leaking to the hot side of the turbo.  The reason it would
go away after the first 20 seconds is you have burned off what has collected
over night and any continuing leakage is too small to notice.  You'll have
to pull the turbo to check it out.

To check the head gasket you would need to pressurize the coolant system and
check for leaks by watching for pressure decay.  Maybe leave it pressurized
for a while then pull all the plugs and manually turn the engine and check
each piston as it gets to top dead center and see if you notice any water.
Also, if you do have a head gasket leak, typically the piston where the leak
is will tend to be noticeably cleaner.

Anyway, that's all I can think of at the moment.

Bob

> -----Original Message-----
> From: s-car-list-admin at audifans.com
> [mailto:s-car-list-admin at audifans.com]On Behalf Of Ed Walsh
> Sent: Wednesday, July 24, 2002 8:13 PM
> To: s-car-list at audifans.com
> Subject: [s-cars] No love? Uh oh - Headgasket failure?
>
>
> Guys, can I get a little love?  I just noticed the
> line in the coolant res. if down.
>
> Any suggestions?  Just take it to a mech?  Any
> suggestions for a mech in the south of Boston area?
> Local dealer is backed up for weeks
>
> Thanks, Ed
>
>
> --- Ed Walsh <rundeep_32 at yahoo.com> wrote:
> > Date: Tue, 23 Jul 2002 15:09:49 -0700 (PDT)
> > From: Ed Walsh <rundeep_32 at yahoo.com>
> > Subject: Uh oh - Headgasket failure?
> > To: s-car-list at audifans.com
> >
> > Well, everything was smooth until 2 days after the
> > MTM1+ installation.... but I thing the extra
> > pressure
> > might have created a leak in the headgasket.
> >
> > When I start the car to go to work, I get a big puff
> > of white smoke from the tailpipe.  The puff wasn't
> > oily, so I figure it must be antifreeze.
> >
> > Here is what I know:
> >
> > -The puff stops coming out of the tailpipe after
> > about
> > 20 seconds of the engine running and doesnt come
> > back
> > on that trip.  The total size of the puff if,
> > unaffected by wind, is about the size of the car
> > itself
> >
> > -The white smoke is back (though much smaller puffs)
> > when I start the car to go home from work
> >
> > -A small amount of water pools at the end of the
> > tailpipe, if the car idles for a while
> >
> > -The car boosts right to 22 and feels very strong
> > (maybe assisted by the atomized coolant)
> >
> > -There is no water in the crankcase oil
> >
> > -There is no visible sign of water consumption in
> > the
> > coolant reservoir (60 miles driven)
> >
> > Questions:
> >
> > -Could there be a small leak somewhere other that
> > the
> > headgasket which is allowing coolant to enter the
> > intake?
> >
> > -Can the head bolts be loose?
> >
> > -How can I confirm the headgasket is shot?
> >
> >  Any other tips or BTDT of what it could be / where
> > I
> > can look?
> >
> > Thank you for all comments!
> >
> > Ed
> > Boosting and bummin
> >
> >
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>
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