lmt0705

iTrader: (7)

i talked to a local repair shop today and they told my they have a machine that they hook to the coolant system and it injects some kind of dye. he said it was pretty much fool proof, does anyone know anything about this test?

playtoy

iTrader: (5)

If you are smelling coolant sometimes while you are driving you might want to check your heater core. This happened to me in my old truck. I am not sure if it would be the same in a camaro or TA because I haven't torn mine down yet but you might want to check that if you cant find anything else.

TS6

iTrader: (41)

If you are not adding coolant then I'd say you are fine. If a head gasket was blown or you had a leak you'd be adding coolant.

lmt0705

iTrader: (7)

I had it tested today at a local repair shop, its a pressure test with a dye thats injected into the system, he told me its pretty much fool proof for diagnosing head gaskets. the test came back negative, there was no presence of carbon monoxide in my coolant. is it possible that the plentum/intake gaskets sprung a leak under my new supercharged boost, or am i chasing a pinhole leak in a hose somewhere??? this is driving me f ing nuts!!!

MIGHTYMOUSE

iTrader: (59)

wow i am surprised... but thats why they have those tests.

only other time i lost coolant was either when my heater core leaked, radiator leaked, or car was just running really hot and had a bad radiator cap, radiator lost vaccum on the overflow and didn't refill.

cablebandit

iTrader: (37)

run it with the radiator cap off and see if you get ANY bubbles (besides for the first few seconds. Mine ran fine with a cracked cylinder sleeve but would overheat if you raced it. It would have bubbles in the coolant. Mine would pass the pressure test but never did the dye test. You couldnt see it on the plugs and it didnt show low compression. I drove it on a 1000 mile trip like that and it ran fine as long as i didnt dog it.

TS6

iTrader: (41)

No possible leaks in intake, they are dry. Are you or are you not losing coolant? I'm not catching the problem here. Is the car doing anything wrong, overheating, dripping, smoking? I'm thinking theres nothing wrong with the car and you need to stop checking it. You say you think you might have a pinhole but then you say its not leaking or using antifreeze?

lmt0705

iTrader: (7)

i pressure tested the coolant system myself and i got it to leak, the basterd is leaking from the back corner of the driver side head!!! right down onto the oil filter. I pulled the motor apart yesterday and had the heads checked for cracks. the heads checked out fine and they were warped about .003. not real bad, the gasket looked fine though??? what the hell is going on here? I have been told that the stock head gaskets on the 98 to 01s are not very good for anything with boost, is this true? ive also been told to use the 02 gaskets that are multi layer steel. Im also going to use studs instead of bolts. did my heads lift under my new found boost? OR DO i HEVE SOME OTHER PROBLEM

cablebandit

iTrader: (37)

check around those cylinders for a crack while you are there. You prolly lifted the head and blew out a composite gasket. The heads prolly lifted from some detonation. Arp studs are a great idea

lmt0705

iTrader: (7)

THE GASKET DID NOT SHOW ANY SIGNS OF BLOWING OUT THOUGH, DID IT STRETCH THE BOLTS AND PUSH COOLANT BETWEEN THE GASKET AND THE HEAD?

TS6

iTrader: (41)

Make sure its not one of your crossover pipes, although it would be hard to tell at this point with it apart.

lmt0705

iTrader: (7)

i checked out the crossover pipes very closely before i pulled the heads. its definatly coming out below those pipes, hope my blocks not fd up. cant explain why the head gaskets still looked good

95zpro

I had a weird situation when I replaced a radiator awhile back, I'd accidentally overfilled my overflow tank with too much coolant and it was actually burning it off !! I'd never really encountered that before. I would try draining and refilling your system per factory recommendations; sometimes it is the little details that are overlooked. And if your oil isn't milky(milkshake color) or there aren't any bubbles in the coolant I wouldn't think it's a gasket issue. Check out motorsportdigest.com for some other help.