Coolant leak at head?
Thread Starter
Intermediate
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 26
Likes: 0
Coolant leak at head?
94 Coupe with 175000 miles. Seems to be leaking coolant out behind the passenger side head. (hard to see) Is there a freeze plug there or could it be a head gasket. Doesn't use any oil and still runs like a striped *** ape.
Have to add coolant about every 3 weeks. I assume if it is more than a gasket and I have to do anything to the heads it will be time to do the whole engine. Can anyone recommend any good shops in the So Cal Inland Empire area?
Have to add coolant about every 3 weeks. I assume if it is more than a gasket and I have to do anything to the heads it will be time to do the whole engine. Can anyone recommend any good shops in the So Cal Inland Empire area?
Pro
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 654
Likes: 18
From: Linthicum MD
It sounds like the coolant crossover tube. There are two washers per end with rubber inserts that seal it. I would check there first. But they are not cheap. $12.00 per washer.
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/NAL-10108689
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/NAL-10108689
Thread Starter
Intermediate
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 26
Likes: 0
coolant leak
Pulled the heads and found a tear on the one gasket. Everything else looks great. My question now is should I have the heads milled before i put her back together? I just don't want to do a half *** job and create further problems that would require taking everything else apart again or lead to having to do the entire engine. No carbon build up at all on the valves bore looks clean and smooth as can be. If I am not going to have to mill the heads what would you recommend to use to clean them up some to get a good seat on the gasket?
Race Director
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 10,036
Likes: 346
From: Anaheim CA
The heads only need to be milled if they are warped. A machine shop can check for flatness.
I scraped the gasket surfaces down to bare metal with a putty knife. Funny thing is that I accidentally broke it off to a stub about 1" long and now the sharp edges work better than before. There's some stuff called Permatex Gasket Remover #80646 that somebody recommended for removing the carbon from the tops of the pistons. Works pretty good on gaskets too.
I scraped the gasket surfaces down to bare metal with a putty knife. Funny thing is that I accidentally broke it off to a stub about 1" long and now the sharp edges work better than before. There's some stuff called Permatex Gasket Remover #80646 that somebody recommended for removing the carbon from the tops of the pistons. Works pretty good on gaskets too.
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