Help... my car is overheating

[suprra_girl]

If it's that ALL OVER the place then yes head gasket has fubar'd.

It's not overly common to blow between cylinders, usually you get the water mixing with oil variety.

What work has been done on it? Is it stock or got mhg or what?

[suprra_girl]

unforuntately i agree with the above... bhg

get a block check or leak down test done, this will tell you if you have a bhg

viscous = clutch fan

[eandris]

Thanks for the feedback. I guess I was hoping for something different. Getting a little too hot for me to be pulling the engine apart so I think I'm going to give one of these block seals a try again. I've heard several people say that these work pretty well. I know it's not the best approach but if it doesn't work I'll be forced to change the gasket anyway.

Has anyone used any of the block seals? If so, any recommendations. I realize it can do damage to the engine but at the price and time it will cost me to fix it. In my case, it may be worth it.

[KingDiamond]

I've used prestone sealer plenty of times, works nicely, and may i suggest for a bhg , you use the prestone sealer for big leaks.

[eandris]

Originally posted by KingDiamond@Jun 2 2005, 08:45 PM
I've used prestone sealer plenty of times, works nicely, and may i suggest for a bhg , you use the prestone sealer for big leaks.

Should I remove the thermostat when adding the block seal? Just put it back in last night thinking my problems was solved. :angry: Also, the directions says not to run the car at high speeds (freeway) with sealant in it while I've heard others say to run it in order to seal all the leaks. It seems to make much more sense to run it for a while to have the sealant run through the whole system.

Thanks again for your response

[eandris]

Well, I've given up on the quick fixes and decided to go ahead and change the head gasket. Figured I'd just buy the gasket set (head, manifolds, etc) and change all of them and the timing belt while it's apart.

While I have everything taken apart, any recommendations on things I could do to either prevent additional problems later or add a little extra performance . Not looking to street race but do enjoy openinging it up once in a while. This is a non turbo 86.5. Also, I've heard several people mention steel gaskets. Any particular brand and where to purchase them would be great.

[ddmcse]

you need to have the head checked to see if it's warped .also check the block for smoothness
you shouldn't just replace the gasket .
going with a metal hg is not cheap and is really for someone who wants to go mental with boost
a stock gasket doesn't need the surface as smooth as a metal gasket . the stock gasket material is more forgiving of the block and head surface
condition
http://www.ddmcse.com/turbo/bhg_2003.htm

here is a shot of a metal headgasket
http://www.ddmcse.com/turbo/images/mhg.JPG

tearing apart the head is really not as hard as you may think
just takes time, not really any special tools need a torque wrench

i used this guide when i did my 1st one ,, but i didn't go through the effort of preparing the block which is why I got to do it again.
http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Speedwa...y/1636/bhg.html

[mrnickleye]

Why, you ask, won't radiator sealer work on the 7M BHG problem.??

Because the "usual" BHG starts out as a tiny hole from a combustion chamber (usually #6 cyl) to a water passage.

The enormous pressure during combustion pushes the gasses 'into' the cooling system. This then builds up too much pressure and causes coolant to eventually over flow into the recovery bottle.

The sealant only works when the coolant is trying to leak 'out of' the cooling system to atmosphere. It plugs the hole.

[mrnickleye]

Gasses get into the heater core due to a BHG.

Air gets into the heater core when the coolant level is allowed to drop in it. I suppose you could pinch the 2 heater hoses before you open the system, to prevent the coolant from coming out.

But I don't recommend this with old hoses, as it may cause them to leak later.

Also, the dangly thing on the thermostat can be snipped off before you put it into place. This will allow air to 'more easily' escape from the engine, and into the radiator, where it eventually will be pushed out into the coolant recovery bottle.

And....even opening up that hole by drilling it to 1/4" will NOT effect the operation of the thermostat, as it will still open and close normally, to allow the flow of coolant.

When your system is up to temp, the thermostat is wide open anyway.

Remember, the 7m motor (with a standard pump) does not flow much coolant at idle. AND...the fan does not draw much air at idle. I read many threads where the fellow says it gets hot at the stop light. Thats why I use an electric fan here in the desert.

I am mostly driving in town, with the A/C on, so I want lots of air thru the radiator at all those stops.