WaterNeck Swap...What Went Wrong?

94GTLaserRC · Aug 24, 2009

Put the new Aluminum Water neck from Summit on Sat. Not the first time I have done this. Used Black RTV. Everything was cleaned well. put very light coat RTV on housing, worked gasket into place, put a thin film over the gasket, waited 10 minutes, then installed.

Dont know if any of these things were wrong:

spread rtv around with finger to make it even
used a light film only

Should it have been a larger amt?
Just squeeze it out and leave it where it is instead of spreading it around

Waited over 24 hours before filling it and starting it up. After putting coolant and a $10 bottle of water wetter in, the car had been running for about 10-15 minutes, while still waiting for all the air to come up, and it started with a Steady continuous stream coming from under the neck...Almost looked as though I didnt even use a gasket it was coming out so much.

WTF I ruined my weekend now because I work the next few days and had planned to drive to a shop to get the tint and pipes put on. That's ruined.

What next?

RC

desertcox05 · Aug 24, 2009

gotta say it, did you put the thermo in upsidedown?

Dino Dino Bambino · Aug 24, 2009

Good call. Another possibility is that the thermostat is stuck closed.

nmcgrawj · Aug 24, 2009

What would putting the termo in upside down (or do u mean backwards) do?

And if he's waiting for "air to come up" then he has the radiator open. So there should be no pressure to "force" the coolant out of a crevice thats not sealed. Even if the thermostat is stuck closed, the coolant system cant generate any pressure on it. It'll just sit there and if anything the car will overheat, but leaks wont be "forced".

I have heard horror stories in the past about the chrome waternecks....which is why i stayed away from them. Obviously it didnt leak before so the block/intake must be good. I would take it apart and compare the new waterneck to the old. Maybe the mating surface isnt square. Can you feel a gap where the coolant comes out?

If it was a small leak, i'd say maybe applying more RTV or using 2 gaskets could cure it. But with it coming out so fast, im guessing that mounting surface isnt square and the waterneck itself is junk. Put a straight edge on the mounting surface and see if u can see flaws.

Good luck!

revhead347 · Aug 24, 2009

Your thermostat fell out of the detent and the rim of it is jammed between the thermostat housing and the intake. It happens all the time. That's the only explanation I could think of for it to be leaking a stead stream. If it was just a minor problem with the install, it would only be dripping. The big problem is that when you torque it down with the thermostat in there like that, it can bend an aluminum water outlet. When you take it back off, check the thermostat housing with a straight edge to make sure it's still straight. You don't need to wait all that time. Just put the RTV in there and crank it down. By the time you get done, it's ready to fill and start.

Kurt

94GTLaserRC · Aug 24, 2009

Nate and Kurt...GOOD write ups..thanks for taking the time!

I agree, putting the tstat "backwards" shouldnt affect it. I watched the gauges as I revved so I would know when it opens. I saw it get to 180 then the temp go down. The funny thing is it didnt start leaking right away...it took a few minutes after it was hot.

Kurt...if what you say is true could it be this:

(hypothetical)

slight wedge of tstat..doesnt cause leak initially. Then temp gets up, stat opens and causes it to move/shift, which leads to the leaking seen AFTER it runs and gets hot just a thought.

I had the chrome one on it...I thought that's what caused the little drip to begin with..Turns out that the bypass hose was slightly cracked. Therefore the chrome neck is still good. I can put that one back on if the Al one is bent.

As far as waiting, are you sure about the "put on and run" suggestion? I have been told by several people to let it cure for a whole day.

Thanks again for the comments.

RC

revhead347 · Aug 24, 2009

Well damn, I guess a leaky by pass hose could do it. those are only like $4 at the autoparts store. Easy fix.

As far as putting it on and starting it up. Think of it this way, if you took your car to a shop and asked them to put a thermostat on it, and they told you it had to cure for a whole day, what would you think? I used to wait for the RTV to cure for 20 minutes, but later in life got impatient and decided to try and do it without waiting. Been doing it this way for a long time, and never had one leak. I guess if you have to split opinions just read the directions on the tube of RTV.

Kurt

94GTLaserRC · Aug 24, 2009

revhead347 said:
Well damn, I guess a leaky by pass hose could do it. those are only like $4 at the autoparts store. Easy fix.

As far as putting it on and starting it up. Think of it this way, if you took your car to a shop and asked them to put a thermostat on it, and they told you it had to cure for a whole day, what would you think? I used to wait for the RTV to cure for 20 minutes, but later in life got impatient and decided to try and do it without waiting. Been doing it this way for a long time, and never had one leak. I guess if you have to split opinions just read the directions on the tube of RTV.

Kurt

Well im going to try to get out Early wed and get it on before 9:30-10. If the housing is ok..I will wait till after lunch, then try it out. Of course, if the Tstat is shifted inside, I know that was the cause.

Thanks again
RC

94GTLaserRC · Aug 25, 2009

Any other insight before I rip 'er apart again tomorrow?

Thanks
RC

BlackVert · Aug 25, 2009

i give it 10-20 minutes and then not worry about it. it's never been a problem.

94GTLaserRC · Aug 25, 2009

BlackVert said:
i give it 10-20 minutes and then not worry about it. it's never been a problem.

Ill give it an hour.

FOR THE RTV:

After putting a bead around, do you recommend spreading it evenly around, or just pressing it and letting the pressure move it around?RC

revhead347 · Aug 25, 2009

I usually spread it around with my finger nice and even.

Kurt

94GTLaserRC · Aug 26, 2009

Ok...took it apart again today
Hardest part was dry fitting everything and cleaning the old junk off.

TStat was in perfect place. Edges seem squared.

Maybe just not enough RTV?

Anyway, I had a stock one that has been powder coated. I used that one, but I had a hard time getting the bypass hose to fit. The curve on the neck came within 1-2 mm of the end of the water pump nipple, so I had to finely grind the neck curve a couple more mm's to make the hose fit. SO it took a lot of dry fitting to ENSURE I can put everything back on.

Got it to fit. Waited one hour, started car, the saw the gauge JUMP to 210*. I was like Now the Stat is broke. THen i remember I didnt add the extra coolant...LOL..

Put it in burped system, let it run for 15 mins, took it around the block a few times.. Still looks good.

Dont know what happened originally, but it's fixed now ( I THINK)

Thanks for the input!
RC

nmcgrawj · Aug 27, 2009

Glad to hear! RTV....or a lack of that...should cause that much leaking especially when using a paper gasket. Something aint square or wasnt square. Did u try feeling around to see if u can feel a large gap?

Anyhow, glad its running well!

94GTLaserRC · Aug 27, 2009

nmcgrawj said:
Glad to hear! RTV....or a lack of that...should cause that much leaking especially when using a paper gasket. Something aint square or wasnt square. Did u try feeling around to see if u can feel a large gap?

Anyhow, glad its running well!

Couldnt feel anything...tight space there, but a gap could be large enough to cause a little stream and small enough to not be felt.

ALSO, when I put the neck on, assuming that TDC is 12 noon, i rotated the neck 2-3 "minutes" each way to work it down.

So far so good.
RC

WaterNeck Swap...What Went Wrong?

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