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Merry christmas to me....Fvck! Blew something last night....

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Old Dec 12, 2004
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Unhappy Merry christmas to me....Fvck! Blew something last night....

I think my wastegate stuck last night...I was messing around with it earlier in the week. I had a massive boost spike - around 15-20 PSI in second gear. It only lasted a second, because I quickly let off the gas.

The car seemed to run fine as I took it easy getting home. Fvck.

This morning I went out to assess the damage. Car starts, and sounds fine.

Except - there is now coolant burning, as witnessed by the nice white clouds coming from the tailpipe.

That's right, I think (no, I *HOPE*) that I blew my head gasket - and nothing else.

I am really unsure about what to do at this point - as I don't have a place to fix my car anymore. I don't want the stealership to fix it, as I can't afford to get @ss raped by their prices.....

So..........I need advice from those who have had similar situations.......

Please chime in!
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Old Dec 12, 2004
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damn that sux.........hopefully it is just the HG and nothing too serious. From what you described, that is what it sounds like.

Sorry, i have not changed my HG yet, so i can't help you there.
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Old Dec 12, 2004
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If it runs and drives fine except for the coolant, than yes it is probably the headgasket.
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Old Dec 12, 2004
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I guess I'll try and do a compression test today and see what happens.....damn.
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Old Dec 12, 2004
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id say just the headgasket. When i blew my pistons and rings, there was oil bubbling out of the breather filter.
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Old Dec 12, 2004
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This sucks - its the first time I've ever had a boost spike with the setup. I've never had problems before....I'm taking this POS stone mountain racing wastegate off and installing the Tial which I have sitting next to me....DAMN!

The crappiest part about this is not the fact that I don't want to do the work - its that I need to find a place TO do the work....

Don't get me wrong though - replacing the HG IS a lot of work! I don't want to take the damn motor mount off, etc, etc, etc.....ugh.
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Old Dec 12, 2004
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stupid skylines
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Old Dec 12, 2004
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I installed my hg my self. Im sure you have a garage to install it in though. I had to install my head gasket in a garage with bearly no light, spiders crawling next to me while im removing bolts, along with freezing tempatures, and with no air compressor, ect ect .... Anyway, it was a bitch to do by my self, im not gonna lie. But i saved my self 350 to 600 bones!

Good luck man!
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Old Dec 12, 2004
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Originally Posted by SODJAZERO
I installed my hg my self. Im sure you have a garage to install it in though. I had to install my head gasket in a garage with bearly no light, spiders crawling next to me while im removing bolts, along with freezing tempatures, and with no air compressor, ect ect .... Anyway, it was a bitch to do by my self, im not gonna lie. But i saved my self 350 to 600 bones!

Good luck man!
Spiders...mmm fun!

Yeah - Its not that I am not capable of doing it, its just one thing I don't WANT to do (remove engine mount, remove timing belt, remove intake manifold, remove exhaust manifold, etc, etc, etc = PITA).

I just did a compression test - results were good:

145-135-135-145

Right on spec (according to Helm - 135 @ op temp is normal). So I don't think I did any other damage. Until I can get the gasket replaced tho I don't plan on driving it - last thing I need is to damage the head due to heat issues.

Is there even a DIY that was written up for replacing / removing the head? I haven't searched yet....and its no big deal as I have the Helm manual, but eh, sometimes a picture's worth a 1000 words.

BTW - I was extremely impressed with the NGK BKR7E spark plugs! Since I changed over to them a few months ago I haven't checked them. They look flawless (ie they don't look like they are fouled or burnt from lean conditions)...Much better than the iridiums I was running!
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Old Dec 12, 2004
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The helms manual really is the best, I was going to do a DIY when I replaced my headgasket, but it wouldn't have been any more useful.

Do ARP headstuds while you're in there if you haven't already, it's worth it.
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Old Dec 12, 2004
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good luck man...hopefully its nothing else serious. Seems your headgasket is fine, but ive been there. As soon as i got all my internal work done, dyno tuned, dyno tuned, and more dyno tuned so my car ran flawless...i go and blow the transmission 2 weeks after i get my car back (drove it hard as ****, with an already weak clutch/2nd gear synchros). talk about being broke..but i hope things go well,and stop messing with your wastegate!! haha jp
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Old Dec 12, 2004
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Ok - I'm not sure what the deal is...But, I took a car for a test drive tonight. I am still getting boost spikes (thanks to the WG) - but I turned it down to 5 PSI. Anyhow, the car isn't over heating, nor do I see smoke. I'm not sure what the heck is going on - the over fill bottle isn't even filling up.....

Wonder if I really did blow it or what?? I saw smoke at idle this morning, but nothing tonight......
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Old Dec 12, 2004
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Originally Posted by civicskater
good luck man...hopefully its nothing else serious. Seems your headgasket is fine, but ive been there. As soon as i got all my internal work done, dyno tuned, dyno tuned, and more dyno tuned so my car ran flawless...i go and blow the transmission 2 weeks after i get my car back (drove it hard as ****, with an already weak clutch/2nd gear synchros). talk about being broke..but i hope things go well,and stop messing with your wastegate!! haha jp
Opto:
I also blew my head gasket using nitrous.
My car was overheating when iteling.
Although Dynamic did the work and are familiar with our cars I'll recomend a shop in Orlando that specializes in Hondas and is very reasonable.
Orlando Honda /Acura Specialists Inc
1228 W. 29th st.
Orlando Fl 32805
(321) 689- 1808
The shop is about I-4 and OBT ask for Dwayne.
May be you can install the ARP bolts while you at it, it is suggested to replace the bolts any way.
Titan had the best price on them.

Thre is another shop in Kissimmee PIMAR that is run by a guy that races and knows high performance they build my engine and are also very familiar with our cars.
Give me a call if you have any questions.

(321) 689- 6039
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Old Dec 12, 2004
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Originally Posted by Gotti
id say just the headgasket. When i blew my pistons and rings, there was oil bubbling out of the breather filter.
dude your car still does that ;]
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Old Dec 12, 2004
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Originally Posted by AceAltima
dude your car still does that ;]

liar.
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Old Dec 12, 2004
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Time for a leak down test to check the HG....
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Old Dec 13, 2004
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Play it safe. do you have the stock HG on it or did you use the nippon leakless? If you didn't change I say play it safe and do the work. def. change the wastegate to the tial.
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Old Dec 13, 2004
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damn Opto..........sorry to hear man.
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Old Dec 13, 2004
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With a 20 lb. spike in 2nd gear you are lucky if you only blew the HG. You could have been like me.
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Old Dec 13, 2004
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Originally Posted by fuchs
With a 20 lb. spike in 2nd gear you are lucky if you only blew the HG. You could have been like me.
Holy Shat!! That REALLY would suck! I think what saved me was the fact that my A/F was around 10 or lower, and that it only lasted less than a second....

I'm going to run to HD tonight and get the parts to make a leak down tester. Hopefully all will test out OK.

To answer the previous question - I have the original HG installed, nothing has happened to it yet. As you can see from my compression #'s, the motor has been holding up nicely with my custom set up.

The only thing is that there are a few things I need to fix - but can't due to the fact that I don't have a garage at the moment. That is going to change (when my house is complete - hopefully before the end of the month yeah!!!).
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Old Dec 15, 2004
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Holy crap thats nuts.
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Old Dec 15, 2004
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any word on the leakdown test?
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Old Dec 15, 2004
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Originally Posted by HyaBoosta
any word on the leakdown test?
Not yet - haven't had time as I don't have an air compressor. I have a friend who does, hopefully tonight....

Car seems to drive fine though, no more smoke. I'm wondering if it was just condensation.....
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Old Dec 15, 2004
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Looks like you may have gotten away clean. Is the idle still the same?
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Old Dec 15, 2004
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that is it! i am officially scared away from turbos.
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Old Dec 15, 2004
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^^ If you want power then you have to pay to play. Theese things will come up when you add larger amounts of HP. Nothing to be scared of. Just have to keep an eye on things like opto did and make sure you buy quality parts.
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Old Dec 15, 2004
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when i pulled the plugs on my car you could smell the anit-freez coming from cylinder 3, you might wanna pull the plugs after the car is at operating tempature and see if you smell anything. . .
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Old Dec 15, 2004
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Originally Posted by SODJAZERO
when i pulled the plugs on my car you could smell the anit-freez coming from cylinder 3, you might wanna pull the plugs after the car is at operating tempature and see if you smell anything. . .
I'm not 100% sure about anything - I'm GUESSING that there is no damage done....But without the proper leakdown test a guess is just that - a guess.

I've been in boost since than, and there seems to be no symptoms of damage.....

The only reason I had problems is because I was doing something I shouldn't have been doing - fvcking with my wastegate....its my fault if there is damage.
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Old Dec 16, 2004
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I dunno I'm still convinced you blew your head gasket.

I did the EXACT same thing, but not from a spike. It was from beating the **** out of the car at 7psi for almost an hour. I get off the highway and sure enough it's overheating. I leave it at home for a few days, replace the thermostat (which could still be a SLIGHT possibility) and drove the car. It drove great for over a week, boost and all. Then it started over heating again, and sure enough blown HG. I put in the nippon leakless myself, and after 8-10psi (10psi once with a fuel cut!) no problems at all. The original was blown in a couple random spots, towards the intake side of the block. The nippon leakless is def the way to go, and at 22 bucks your can't go wrong. It's much cheaper than a new motor.

This may sound dumb, but when you're ready to pay to fix it, beat on it for a while and avoid the highway to kind of push your cooling system. If it starts overheating again, it's your time. Good luck man, if you need anything PM me.
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Old Dec 16, 2004
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so when u blow a HG, means your car will blow out white smoke and you will find coolant in the oil right?
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