My car keeps overheating and spilling coolant all over the engine compartment. The mechanics changed the thermostat, all radiator hoses, the radiator cap and still it overheats. They say it still has air inside, but I think they just dont want to replace the HG because of labor costs. I spent more than 15k in labor in their shop and they still want to charge me for replacing the HG.

The coolant in the overflow boils, have in mind I have a C&R radiator with spal blades. It keeps cool when I step on it a little bit, but it heats at idle. Air in the coolant passages? What do you guys think?

I didnt know C&R makes a radiator for our model type...I know fluidyne just started....are you sure bro




Quarter mile drag racing is over rated

User #102283


"It takes a big man to cry but it takes a bigger man to laugh at him"

sounds like head gasket is done for. or water pumps gone bad

I am sure C&R makes a radiator for us cause I have one :P

Well, the water pump is new with no more than 600 miles on the car and it manages to flow coolant when I step on the gas peldal. Besides, does a bad water pump make coolant boil?

dude, changing the thermostat, hoses and cap would take you about 20-30 minutes. Why take it to a mechanic?

Cause they had the car already. What does that have to do with anything boy? If you are not here to help, dont bother replying. Thanks

I am have the same problem that you are have and i have done everything that you have done to try and fix it.I just going to have my other head work on and put it on and a new head gaskit I hope this will fix the problem. If it done not fix then the only thing left is the water pump but i dont think it is.But i will not be able to put my new head on for atlest a mouth no money right now. So if you change your head gaskit soon post what happens if the prolem go away or know.

A dead waterpump will make the coolant boil because it won't flow. Coolant that just sits boils becuase it can't transfer the heat.

Regardless, i think its your headgasket.

Thanks. I just talked to thema minute ago and the water pump is working fine. So, HG it is. Where can I get the whole HG kit? I remember I saw a web site where they sold the HG but I cannot remember where. Thanks for the help.

Howell sells an upper gasket kit. I think the HG comes seperate though.

You can order a Felpro set locally, it's cheap and the gaskets are similar quality to factory (read: they look identical.)

First off stop being mean, he was just making a coment. It seems what you have had changed shouldnt be coasting you alot of money in labor. Our cooling systems are very simple , its either your water pump or head gasket and since you would have to remove the timing cover just to get the head off then i would try the water pump first. If you get it off and find its not the water pump well your already 1/3 away at getting the head off. Wheres the leak coming from, the side or the back, how much is it exactly leaking , just a little pool on the floor or is it gushing out. Give us some indept details!

Oh and try and be a bit nicer

Yes I vote yet again for the HG, no wayt that the C&R cannot keep up.

Yes they do make them for our cars , I have the first model eva!
Also with Spal fan

I just got my car back from satan because of an overheating problem. I had my water pump replaced a few months ago, but the gauge would still creep a little past the 9 o'clock position. They just replaced my thermostat, HG, and crankshaft gasket. Now my car is running a little below the 9 o'clock position. Hope this helps.

1998 Eclipse GS

I just didn't see the point of him asking me for a reason not to do it myself, that is all. The truth is I am a very busy person and I do not pocess the materials to embarque (sp?) in such an endevour. I am not a DYI person, to put it in simple words.

I always like to get the best available no matter the cost. So which is the best HG that can hold 20 psi of boost? Will this HG set from Howell work?

http://www.howellautomotive.com/Howell/Store/catalog/catalog/default.php?cPath=142

How about an MLS three layer HG? Thanks for the help people :)

If you talking about the mopar DOHC headgasket set from howell then yea you could use(i recomend) that. The Mopar is the one howell is just selling. I would recomend that the MLS headgasket is the best you can get. Stick with that

Originally posted by TXTurboGS
Cause they had the car already. What does that have to do with anything boy?

boy, huh? wow, you have some nerve.

i overheat at idle too, because one of my fan relays is fucked and my fan doesnt come on...

could ur waterpump too

Headgasket.

When you do the Mopar MLS HG, use ARP headstuds and have them torqued to 100 ft/lbs. Also use the copper gasket spray(we discussed that in an earlier e-mail). You are using stock head bolts and that is a big no-no when it comes to high torque.

When the head is pulled, have a machine shop check to see if it is warped.

Inspect the ports on the head to make sure they did not get too close to the water jackets. There may even be a small leak/crack if the wall is too thin. This can happen when they go a bit crazy on the porting.

When the head is pulled, hopefully they will be able to tell where the leak is coming from. As we discussed through e-mails, under boost it might be leaking(causing it to overheat) and then normal driving is fine. Since you stated that even at idle it is overheating, the leak should definately be noticeable.



The bashing stops here(both sides).I could give a shit who gets in the last word. If someone does not have a comment that is on topic, then do not post.

Very well. I shall tell the mechanic to do all that, actually I am going to tell them to visit the web site. hehe. Thanks

It is not leaking from the head and into the outside of the engine. The leak comes from all the coolant that sprays out of the overflow tank and not from any other part. If it were to leak coolant from the head then it would have been very simple to diagnose the problem. Again, thanks for the help.

Well thats what mine did. Keep in mind it does not have to leak into the atmosphere. My coolant never mixed with my oil or the other way around. There could be a leak into your combustion chamber.

Yup, that is exactly what I was trying to say. No coolant leak in the outside. Its a preassure leak from the combustion chamber and into the coolant passages. The coolant leak comes from the overflow tank.

My problem was exactly like yours , although the thermostat was bad and there was some gunk and residue clogged in some of the coolant lines underneath the head . The Fan wouldnt kick on when it was supposed to, so I switched the fan motor which went bad. If its the headgasket, you'd see alot of smoke from the rear, besides the tank overflowing, and if it was the water pump, you'd hear noises while driving, not to mention a a puddle would form underneath while its parked. you could get some cardboard and leave it overnight to check, but again I recommend checking all the lines again and sometimes the shop gets pos thermostats cause the first one i installed was didnt work.

I see what you mean. I am not burning any coolant. What happens is that the preassure from the combustion chamber goes into the coolant passages, not the other way around. That is the reason why there is no white smoke comming out from the exhaust.

When you do the Mopar MLS HG, use ARP headstuds and have them torqued to 100 ft/lbs. Also use the copper gasket spray(we discussed that in an earlier e-mail). You are using stock head bolts and that is a big no-no when it comes to high torque.

I am getting ready to do a head swap.I qustion is do i torqu all the head blots to 100ft/lbs and do the 1/4 turn or just 100ft/lbs.Whin i did my frist rebuild i follew the info that came with the head gaskit I bought from mopar.