kill_machine85

iTrader: (4)

Ok what i need to know is what are all the possible ways to tell if you have a head gasket leak. My car is overheating and im trying to narrow it down to what it is and from what i have read it sounds like it may be one or both of the head gaskets.
Im going to pull the plugs later today to check them out, what exactly am i looking for. Will the be cleaner, white, or what not?
Two will i be able to bubbles form in the radiator with the cap off at running temp if i rev it at the TB?
Im trying to find out as much before doing any pressure test ro spending any money.
Now i dont see any coolant coming out of the exhaust i also dont smell it. There are no leaks anywhere in the cooling system. The fan comes on. The water pump is on, i can feel it, i can also see it pushing coolant in the radiator, also it is an electric pump. I have no thermostat as my setup does not have one.
I have tried different percentages of water to antifreeze all boil over.
The car heats up normal and stays around 210 for a little while, but not real long, also the overheating does not seem to be effected by getting on it or cruising. At idle it doesnt seem to overheat. Or if it does it takes an extremely long time. I dont believe the radiator is clogged. The radator is also not clogged the air dam is still in place.

And yes it is FULL of ANTIFREEZE and the pump is switched on! For any of those who would think otherwise.
Thank you for your help.
Tyler

kill_machine85

iTrader: (4)

And also i just replaced the oil and filter two days ago and there was no antifreeze in it and it didnt smell like there was either. An if anyone wants to knwo i changed to tranny fluid and filter to, encase you were to think that had anything to do with it.

Also the car does not have AC or a heater so in no way is are they the culprit. And to get rid of other comments there is no power steering either. And i dont use a surge(overflow) tank.
Once again any help is appreciated.

Weezzer

Must be magic - its the only answer left!

kill_machine85

iTrader: (4)

lol well thats not exactly what i wanted to hear, but it doesnt surprise me.

wssix99

iTrader: (5)

Could the coolant temperature sensor be lying to you? Maybe see if you can score an infrared thermometer gun (a perfect excuse to "invest" in a new tool) and compare the temperature of the coolant lines to what the gauge is telling you.

DevilDougWS6

iTrader: (8)

probably the thermostat, its not opening either enough or not at the right temperature. no smoke from the exhaust, does it run shittier at all? i would start simple, drain the colling system and remove your thermostat, then take a torch to it and see if it opens. to see if it opens at the right temperature have some one hold a laser thermometer to it. or go buy one and just replace it and see if it fixes it haha.

kill_machine85

iTrader: (4)

at first i was thinking it may be the temp sensor but it does boil out at some point, either after you are done driving it, or sometimes while you are driving it.

As for the thermostat it it does not have one. I run a high flow mezier water pump that does use a thermostat.

needadvice

kill_machine85,

Put a T-Stat in it and have fun driving your car.

You cannot run without a t-stat. The reason we all have t-stats is because the coolant heats up inside the heads and engine block, the t-stat opens and trades the cooler coolant in the radiator with the hot coolant in the heads and in the engine block, then the t-stat closes and the ram air and electric fans cool the hot coolant in the radiator. The new cooler coolant that just went into the engine is now heating up and the t-stat will then open and the process will keep going like that. If you have no t-stat the coolant continues to circulate and it just keeps getting hotter and hotter and its a losing battle. An 8 cylinder engine is a great water heater.

At idle, the fans can keep you from overheating for a long time.

Highway driving, at cruise speeds, the ram air from the air dam is sufficent to keep the coolant cool.

City driving....you will slowly overheat.

Also, if you're coolant is reaching a point where it boils, you MOST LIKELY have blown head gasket(s), because your coolant will only boil when air is in the system. Your coolant, if you have the right ratio of anti-freeze, can get to about 290* and it will not boil over IF your coolant system is tight and has no leaks anywhere.

needadvice

Also, you won't smell/see any coolant coming out of the tailpipes until the gasket leak is real bad. BUT...even a pinhole leak is enough for the power of the pistons moving up the cylinder to push air into your coolant system, and slowly letting air into the coolant, which slowly lowers the boiling point of the coolant as you drive. Then it will ghet hotter and hotter and then boil.

The leak has to get pretty big before the downward moving piston can suck coolant out of the cooling system and spit it out the exhaust.

kill_machine85

iTrader: (4)

Well im going to check one last thing before i order some head gaskets, im going to take the pump off and check to see if the propeller shaft is good if it is i guess i need to order soem new gaskets.
After driving it again, it doesnt overheat until around the ten mile mark. Im thinking that it stays at operating temp for so long because it is a very small hole in the head gasket and it takes along time to put enough air into the cooling system before it forces enough out to actually start overheating.
Also the water pump i am using does not allow a thermostat as stated above, and i also know this is not the problem because i drove it in california traffic all of last year and into this year through the summer in the city and on the free way with no issues at all. And then all of a sudden it jsut started overheating one day.

kill_machine85

iTrader: (4)

My next question now that its tiem to by a new set of head gaskets,
What or how do i find out my bore size on a 370 ci engine with out taking my heads off and what is the thickness of the stock head gasket on a factory ls1?

needadvice

A leakdown check will tell you if you have bad gasket(s). The bore info I do not know.

Post in the "internal engines" section and you'll get some hits.