Project Lex

[Halon]

Had our spring opener meet this Sunday. *Was a little cold out, very slight occasional mist but not bad overall. *Got a couple nice shots of the car:
http://mitsustyle.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=16441&stc=1&d=1490624691

http://mitsustyle.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=16442&stc=1&d=1490624691

Then leaving the meet, in 2nd I gave it a little too much and got a little sideways and hit the damn curb. *Feel like an idiot. *Drag radials, cold weather, slight mist, and me still getting used to the power it has = dumb mistake. *So my wheel is hurt and i popped a tire. *Also the fans had shut off for whatever reason so while we let it sit and idle coolant started coming out of the overflow. *That's when we realised the fans didn't turn on. *Shut off the car, the BTI gauge showed 219* when I finally looked at it. *So... *Now gotta figure out what to do about wheels, and going to investigate the coolant issue, hoping I didn't pop the head gasket. *I've post-poned my dyno appt so I can take my time and make sure everything is OK before I stap her on. *Sucks, but could be worse. *Doing my best to get back on the horse here and fix it and keep moving forward. *I figure it could be worse, it's not like it caught fire the day before trying for 6's at TX2K right? :D *I'll be fine, and I'll get it fixed, not so bad really.

http://mitsustyle.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=16443&stc=1&d=1490624691

http://mitsustyle.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=16444&stc=1&d=1490624691

[Speedfreak]

Ouch, that sucks, but could always be worse.

Doubt head gasket issues at 219f, but worth investigating.

[Halon]

Yeah I wanna be sure the car is 100% before the dyno, so just playing it cautious right now. Gunna spend the next few days slowly going over it to make sure everything is ok.

So if anyone knows a local place that can repair curb damaged wheels, please let me know!

[Kracka]

219F is nothing for coolant temps so I don't see anything to worry about there. Are you running straight water or a mix of water/coolant/Water Wetter?

The wheel definitely appears repairable, wish I had a suggestion for you on where to take it that isn't in Texas!

[Halon]

Well I left a voicemail with Alloy Wheel Repair in Shoreview. I also called and spoke to a guy at Twin City Wheel in White Bear. So we will see what these folks have to say once they see the photos. Hoping they can be repaired. If not, then I guess I gotta start thinking about what to do with wheels.

Yes I agree that temp seems like it shouldn't be a big deal. But at the same time, coolant was coming out of the overflow. So why would coolant be coming out of the overflow. Not just like a few drops, like a decent amount came bubbling out. So that's why I'm a little concerned there. Why would it do that? Is 220-ish hot enough for coolant to come out? Or maybe I cracked the radiator, system lost pressure, and caused coolant to start coming out places. Not sure yet, have to look into that.

[Kracka]

220 is definitely not hot enough to cause a problem with the engine. A stock C7 will run 230+ just cruising down the highway. My first guess is you boiled the water which is why it overflowed. Do you have anti-freeze mixed with the water to raise the boiling point? How old is your radiator cap, and does it hold sufficient pressure in the system?

[Halon]

It's a water, anti-freeze mix. I can't say the exact mix, but probably around 60% water if I were to guess. Yeah it probably boiled, so that's what I'm trying to figure out. I'm assuming that somehow the system lost pressure, and the pressurized system is what makes it not boil. So if it was hot enough to boil at normal atmospheric pressure, then maybe i say cracked the bottom of the radiator, and so then the coolant did start to boil because it wasn't pressurized, not because it was "too hot" per-se.

[Kracka]

60/40 mix is perfectly fine, C7 and GTR both come with that ratio from the factory. Do you think you banged the radiator on the curb too? Unless you see a leak from the radiator area as well, my first assumption would be a worn out radiator cap.

[Halon]

It's an old rad cap, but it happened as a result of banging the curb. There were zero issues with the cooling system until about 2-3 minutes after hitting curb.

[Goat Blower]

Did you take out some bystanders?