waimaks Posted March 23, 2006 Share Posted March 23, 2006 So my Vortex-XT is steaming out exhaust, and it doesn't really go away once its warmed up. I did a compression test and got between 140-130 all round. There is some bubbling in the radiator, but it doesn't loose water at an alarming rate or anything. Barely no oil in water that I can see, and no water at all in the oil. And rarely gets over 4 bars on the digi dash, Though I'm yet to give it a proper run as its not legal yet. What other than a head gasket could be my problem, and how do should I go about finding the problem? Any help appreciated Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kayakertom Posted March 23, 2006 Share Posted March 23, 2006 If you have coolant steaming out your exhaust, then it's either a head gasket or a cracked head. When you pulled the plugs to do the compression test, did you notice one plug looking different than the others? A head gasket problem only gets worse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GLCraig Posted March 23, 2006 Share Posted March 23, 2006 If your XT is a turbo model, you probably have a crack in the head where the exhaust runners converge in the exhaust port. Pull off the up pipe and look for a crack along the ridge in the middle of the port. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waimaks Posted March 23, 2006 Author Share Posted March 23, 2006 Turbo - yes, I shoulda mentioned that. The steam so far isn't really noticeable. The plugs have all been about the right colour as far as I can tell, But I'll check them again next time I'm doing something on it. If it is a cracked head... Is it likely to get any worse if I keep it in normal operating temps and full of water? And theres no chance its some other thing? Something easy? Thanks all:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted March 23, 2006 Share Posted March 23, 2006 And theres no chance its some other thing? Something easy? there's a chance, but it's a small one. you can also leak coolant through the intake manifold gaskets. they have water jackets running very close to the intake runners. these can leak. this would be your best hope for a cheap and easy fix. does the car continue to bubble through the radiator after the engine is turned off? can you see any coolant in the cylinders if you pull a spark plug? on an EA82T it's hard to not think it's head gasket. how many miles before it needs coolant added. does it get hotter than a normal EA82T (even if it doesn't overheat). i would guess it's going to get worse. from what i've seen external leaks tend to stay about the same and dont' get worse after even 50,000 miles or more of driving. internal leaks not so lucky. speaking of very small leaks, if it is head gasket related and you drive the car for awhile with a small leak it can damage the heads. it will gradually wear into the head wherever the leak is, but this takes substantial mileage and driving like this on an internal leak. i don't know why, i suppose it's some kind of localized heating at the very point of the leak. no matter the reason, it does happen as i've seen it. external leaks that i've seen wont' do anything, but internal leaks will damage the head as i mentioned earlier. it can be repaired though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waimaks Posted March 24, 2006 Author Share Posted March 24, 2006 No bubbling after you shut it off, not for long anyway. Only any real bubbles when you rev the engine. And I can't say I've seen any coolant when you remove spark plug, But I will check better tomorrow. It runs at about 3 to 4 bars(max) on the digi dash, I've shorted the thermo switch to make the rad fan come on fulltime though. And I can't really say how many k's it takes to need topping up as its slightly illegal to drive it at the moment, But driving it round the lawn and farm for probably over an hour over the last week it hasn't used any water from what I can see. The boil over bottle thing is still quite close to where I filled it to awell. An intake gasket would be a lot nicer for me at the moment, I don't think I'm ready to have to pull the engine and work on the heads etc at the moment Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted March 24, 2006 Share Posted March 24, 2006 ready to have to pull the engine and work on the heads etc at the moment there is no need to pull the motor to do EA82 (or ER27) heads. besides the turbo (which you'll have to deal with no matter if you pull the engine or not), the EA82 head gaskets are cake. pulling the motor is a waste of time in my oppinion. all those hoses, cables, transmission lining up and wiring. much quicker with the motor in the car and cam/heads bolts are still accessible with air tools. i just pulled a motor and installed my JDM monday. lots of time pulling and installing that isn't necessary for just head gasket replacement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john in KY Posted March 24, 2006 Share Posted March 24, 2006 Another source for the steam could be the turbo itself. It is water-cooled and there is a chance the housing may have a crack somewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loyale 2.7 Turbo Posted March 24, 2006 Share Posted March 24, 2006 Another source for the steam could be the turbo itself. It is water-cooled and there is a chance the housing may have a crack somewhere. Yes!, it souds to me Like it`s the Turbo, but also you must check the Small hoses that comes and go to the Intake, maybe a wrong connected one... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waimaks Posted March 26, 2006 Author Share Posted March 26, 2006 Just a small update, Barely no steam today, and a little bit of gurgling noise coming from what I can only assume is the heater core(under the dash somewhere). Will work on getting it legal and then running it more often to try and get a better diagnostic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joostvdw Posted March 26, 2006 Share Posted March 26, 2006 when the heater core is burbling, is it properly de-aired? or what you might call it... turn the heater full on hot, blower full on, leave the car running for about 15min, then let it cool, and refill radiator and kvs bottle, then you'll be sure there's no more air in the system Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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