yums88

Ok ill try to make it short and to the point, with detail. I have a 1990 miata with a 1.8L and 6spd speed tranny. Its got a turbo on it with a cracking exhaust manifold. Ive only had it on the road for 5 days since I was swapping the interior. I had a rad hose burst while driving, I pulled up at the next plaza(0.5km) and opened the hood to let the smoke out and let the engine cool so I could figure out what happened. I found the hose that was just plugged on one end because it was a 2nd port that wasnt needed. I took off the excess hose and plugged the port with a tight temporary seal, knowing that first thing in the morning I'll bring it into my garage. A bolt with electical tape and grooves. About 2km from my shop on the highway the bolt must have come out from the heat and pressure. my water temp was at about 195F. I hurried to get to my shop before the coolants out, around the corner from my shop the car died. I got it to the shop, permantly replaced the burst hose, filled up the rad. Now when I start it the rad fluid begins to come out through the bleeder nipple just under the rad cap on the reservoir. I let the car run for about 10 min and it warms up to about 190F and the flood keeps coming out. I opened the cap and coolant is being squirted out. I am going to get a compression test done asap, but Im thinking the engine may have overheated and I have a blown head gasket.

Pen2_the_penguin

iTrader: (4)

blown head gasket? My bet is on a cracked head.
Ask me how I know.


In other terms, that sucks bro.
Hopefully it is the rare chance is a blown head gasket, because those OEM 1.8l headgaskets are solid metal, and very cheap.

gearhead_318

iTrader: (1)

Did you put too much radiator fluid in? On my truck the radiator fluid got gunky from not being changed and caused it to begin to overheat, if I had added fluid I'll bet some would have leaked.

yums88

Well I am hoping for the best. When I start the car and take off the rad cap, the fluid bubbles out a little then stops until the thermostat opens, once the car has heated up it starts to bubble more and squirt out more fluid. The oil, oil cap, and coolant all look clean so it seems they arent mixing anywhere.

I dont know why but in my area the cheapest I found the head gasket was $100!!

Pen2_the_penguin

iTrader: (4)

http://www.flyinmiata.com/index.php?...6%20%201994-00

and they throw in stickers n' shiz, besides thats cheaper than aftermarket metal head gaskets, and cheaper than a new head. Maybe your engine's last tune-up used a paper gasket which are le uber cheap, but very bad for boost.


Could also be a cracked water pump, from what you described happened to my lexus es300, but I didnt want to bother tearing the car apart, so I threw in some rad sealant.

nickblackbelt

iTrader: (5)

LOL @ headgasket job......i been there

Pen2_the_penguin

iTrader: (4)

ftfy

nickblackbelt

iTrader: (5)

whats ftfy?

9671111

iTrader: (10)

what is a google?

nickblackbelt

iTrader: (5)

yeah, that did not help

yums88

Just an update: got the head out, it had a 3 layer metal gasket oem i'm guessing. Unfortunately the head is a little warped in the middle, but I found a engine shop that will machine it for me for $100. I am waiting on the full gasket kit I ordered off ebay to come in. Now the next step is to find a replacement exhaust manifold for my 1.8, turbo with an external waste gate. Any help? BEGI wants $900 :O

shuiend

iTrader: (24)

$100 to make a head flat sounds very expensive. I think it is like $40 at the machine shop down where I am at.

What exhaust manifold and downpipe did you have before?

rider384

iTrader: (3)

What manifold is it?

yums88

http://www.bellengineering.net/produ...roducts_id=734 thats the one begi has. I guess I will shop around then for a better price. The one I have is similar this link shows you my set up and my manifold once I got the darn thing off. The PO had re-welded and patched up the manifold a few times, after he custom made it. I'm guessing the SS piping he used wasn't very thick.http://yums88.imgur.com