jermzz

iTrader: (18)

I have a darton block that was just built about 1400 miles ago. I'm using way way too much coolant and it's definitly not going on the ground. Problem is, evans coolant is clear and I DONT know what it will do mixed with oil. My dipstick is fine, but i can smell coolant once the car warms up and after i turn it off coming from under the hood. I don't smell any coolant coming from the exhaust at all either. Oil level isnt going up, i'm actually burning oil (just switched from a broken ls1 PCV to a ls6 PCV with a catch can so i'm hoping that problem is fixed)

How can I tell where the coolant is going? I've tried to go to local stores and pick up a pressure tester for the cooling system but none of them have one. Even if they did, what would that tell me? I'd think reguardless if I was leaking coolant from the radiator, water pump, head gasket or if it was going in the crank case it wouldn't hold pressure right? and evans cooling systems run unpressureized anyway so I dont know if that would get me anywhere anyway... urgh.

any ideas?

mvvette97

iTrader: (18)

if the coolant isn't going in the oil then it's going out the exhaust. I would say you have a head gasket leaking.

11 Bravo

iTrader: (3)

Yeah, only two places it can go. Onto the ground or into the engine.

brad8266

iTrader: (23)

could be leaking through the heater core and into the car too. Probably not though.

jermzz

iTrader: (18)

I could have a leak somewhere on the block and it could be burning off before it hits the ground no?

30th droptop

iTrader: (-1)

That's possible, but it would have to be a small leak and/or you'd be steaming under the hood.

As unfortunate a situation as it is, I'm voting for a head gasket. Do you have any bubbling in your coolant reservoir with the engine running? That's a sign of a coolant-to-combustion leakage. You can get a testing kit that will detect combustion gasses in the coolant, which will usually be present:

http://paceperformance.com/index.asp...&ProdID=109424

These are often available through parts stores, also. And professional mechanics often have this tester and will do the test for a minimal charge.

jermzz

iTrader: (18)

Evans coolant doesnt boil. Before I realized a was going through coolant I looked down and my guage was almost pegged. I tuned the car off and popped the hood. no smoke, no boiling. nothing. But it was definitly overheated from lack of coolant. Theres no bubbles anywhere.

I just installed a catch can on my pcv. Im getting all kinds of nasty crap in it. Looks like chocolate milk. I read thats normal, just water vapors mixing with the oil from the crank case, but im concirned with the amount. I had almost two tablespoons already from a 15 min drive. Again it doesnt smell like the evans coolant though, just like gas.

jermzz

iTrader: (18)

What i am noticing from a closer look is black dirt, (looks like grease...maybe oil / coolant mixed with dirt) accumulating where the head meats the block on the passenger side, and my head studs have the same thing on them which doesnt appear on the driver side. Maybe the gasket is leaking to the outside of the block and the dirt is gathering there. Im not sure.

jermzz

iTrader: (18)

I took some pictures to share what i'm seeing.



Thats the build up I see, but it could be just cause the deck is flat I guess and can collect nastyness.

Thats the pcv setup.



All these are wht was in my catch can after a 15 min drive.

Beast96Z

iTrader: (21)

While there could be water vapor mixing in the PCV, it shouldn't look that bad after 15 minutes. In a Darton application, there are a few extra possabilities. I'd say your looking at a leaky head gasket, or a problem with the sleeving. Who installed the sleeves?

TheBlurLS1

iTrader: (8)

That looks like watery oil to me, hope your sleeves aren't leaking. You also don't have a PCV valve in the line between the valley cover and the catch can, which you do still need. That dirt by the head/block connection is fairly normal.

I would have the block pressure tested or something, not sure how they check to see if the sleeves are leaking, but it definatly needs to be tested.

Rebelord

iTrader: (2)

Thats not healthy oil at all. I dont know much about Dart blocks. But, I would put my money on head gasket or block issues.

Ski

jermzz

iTrader: (18)

The block was pressure and sonic tested before assembly. Both passes. I installed the pcv valve back inbetween the vally cover and the catch can and went on another drive for about 15 miles or so. This time there was only about a teaspoon or less and it was mostly water, with just a touch of oil here and there. I don't know why there is oil in there at all though when everyone else is just getting oil in their castchcan. It definitly doesn't smell anything like the evans coolant, it smells like gas.

Beast, I talked to steve this morning. He didn't do this block, it was done on the east coast. Although I forget the guys name, it was all handled through Cartek. (I bought this motor origionally from a board member as a 420ci who is actually a sponsor for this site) They aren't MID sleeves, they're actually dry liners. a 4.250 diameter sleeve. We found the sleeves to be thin which is why we had it tested before assembly. I would suspect a head gasket leak before the block itself. It hasnt been driven very much for it to start leaking, and i've been losing coolant since day one as far as i can tell. But I guess anything is possible. Steve recommended oil dye to see exatly where the oil is going... I just don't know. This really ******* sucks.

Beast96Z

iTrader: (21)

A LS1 block with a 4.125" dry liner is pushing it. Since the LS1 motors had coolant surrounding the bores, it's alot more possible that you have a sleeve leak or something similar. If the block was pressure tested, then it may just be a head gasket. Assuming that they are cometics. I'd do my best to find a radiator pressure tester and start there. Whatever you do, take it step by step. Don't just pull the motor on a whim. Who knows, you may just need a few heat cycles to seat the gaskets.

brad8266

iTrader: (23)

Have you retorqued the head bolts yet? Thats the first thing to do.

speed_demon24

iTrader: (6)

My catch can caught the same stuff and it even smelled like gas too, it turned out to be a blown head gasket on my car. I tried starting the car today and the motor wouldn't turn over. The #8 cylinder was full of coolant when I took out the spark plug. I wouldn't drive it anymore if I were you unless you feel like doing a full rebuild. And my oil level never rose and the oil looked fine too, so it looks like you caught it early enough too.

Steve - Race Eng

iTrader: (1)

I asked Jeremy if the head studs had been retorqued. Apparently they had not. He is going to try that next. I hope that does the trick but I have my doubts.

We came out with the MID sleeves to eliminate this sort of problem with dry liners in LS1 LS6 blocks. They are not well suited to dry liners unlike the siamese LS2 LS7 blocks which are.

Steve

jermzz

iTrader: (18)

I'm going to go today and find a radiator tester and see if i'm losing pressure. Then I'll retorque the heads. I'm also going to pull the plugs and see if I can't get any informaton that way. I'll report back tonight or tomorrow. Thanks for all your help guys thus far.

jermzz

iTrader: (18)

Ok, so we tried to do the compression test today, but I guess I didnt have the right fitting. We couldn't get the guage totally tight and on 3 cylenders (1, 2 and 3) we were only getting 100 psi. Everything is already closed so I cant get the right fitting today...

We did pull all the plugs and they looked perfect. Drained the oil too and saw nothing irregular. Although I don't know what the evans coolant would do mixed with the oil considering there's no water in it.

Wouldnt there be discoloration, coolant or something on the plugs if I had a head gasket leaking?

30th droptop

iTrader: (-1)

Not necessarily, particularly if it's not a really big leak that's causing "cropdusting" (steam out the exhaust). If anything, the plug/combustion chamber will look cleaner on the "bad" cylinder (kind of a steam-cleaning effect). But I've definintely seen engines where there is significant leakage, but nothing on the plug.

I'm still betting on head gasket or block/head issue. The compression check may not show up anything. A BLoc Check is a more appropriate test (see my earlier post)! The cooling system pressure tester might show some pressure drop for the leak, but we're often dealing with small leaks, and the pressure tester will not isolate the source of the leak.