Poll: replace lower manifold gasket or head gasket?

[DarkProphet]

Basicly my car is pushing the coolant out of the rad, into the overflow tank. Also, there is a pretty bad milkshake where my oil used to be... I put on my intake manifold last week, so its possible that thats the problem, but so are my headgaskets. So what do you guys suggest i do, just the manifold gasket, or the headgaskets too.

My car doesnt smoke, and there is no oil in the coolant, but like i said there is alot of coolant in the oil, and it bubbles out of the radiator, so air is getting in it.

 

[5spd GT]

If you do the headgaskets you will have to do the intake manifold gasket anyways. Sounds like it could be the headgaskets. Coolant will travel south due to gravity so that is why coolant goes into oil rather than vice versa.

Good Luck with it...that is a bit of a time consuming project.

 

[my$100project]

Change the head gaskets to if they possess a problem are if you feel they are due. Personally, I would do a cylinder compression test to check the condition of the gaskets. This is a very easy test and only takes the time it would take to change out your spark plugs plus the additional time for turning over the engine a few doxen times, comparing cylinders and noting results. Did you use all 4 peices of the gasket on the lower intake or only the two large and silicone the ends? Those small cork peices are known to leak. Also if are are leaking even the slightest amount of antifreeze do a pressure test on the coolant system. This will cause the system to leak where ever the problem lies.

 

[bimmertech]

If you do the headgaskets you will have to do the intake manifold gasket anyways. Sounds like it could be the headgaskets. Coolant will travel south due to gravity so that is why coolant goes into oil rather than vice versa.

Good Luck with it...that is a bit of a time consuming project.

actually the coolant goes into the oil cuz when you shut the car off the coolant is still under pressure.

 

[my$100project]

actually the coolant goes into the oil cuz when you shut the car off the coolant is still under pressure.

Correct, and when the car is running and the oil is under pressure and the coolant is not under so much pressure, the opposite will occur.

 

[DarkProphet]

well in my case air is under more pressure while driving, cuz that is whats getting into the coolant! haha. I planned on doing a compression check, but i no longer have my lower intake manifold on, and im pretty sure i cant do it with it off...

 

[NUTCASE]

head gasket all teh way

intake gaskets don't push coolant OUT of your car, they suck it into the motor. those bubbles you see is compression leaking out of the cylanders

that and a blowh head gasket matches all of your symtoms to a tee

 

[Sicarius428]

Do a compression test. If everything seems good then start with the intake manifold first. No use messing up a good seal on the head if it actually is the intake. The intake will only take a couple hours where the heads will take a while. Start with the simple stuff first. One trick to seating the intake is buy some threaded studs and thread them into the head. That way you can drop the intake straight down onto the gasket without shifting very much if any. Start bolting the other 6 holes then replace the studs with the intake bolts. Put a very generous bead of ultra black at the front and back and toss the cork gaskets. Do the final torque settings 2-3 times just to make sure all the bolts are seated evenly and after a hundred miles or so retorque the lower again.
Kevin

 

[DarkProphet]

Can i do a compression test without my lower intake on though? its already off.

 

[NUTCASE]

yes


however I have a strong feeling that you are going to do all the work of tearing the intake off, all the work of putting it back on, and thenhave to tear it all apart again to do the heads

word of advice if you do have to pull the same intake off twice, heli coil the upper to lower bolts. those aluminumn threads tend to strip out after you have torqed them more than like 3 or 4 times. besides, you will cream yourself when you feel how much better a bolt goes into a well threaded heli coil as compared to the aluminum junk

 

[Sicarius428]

Just make sure you got some oil in the engine if you drained it already.
Kevin