Pushing Coolant
 

Well, when I first got my car, it was having overheating issues due to running lean. After I switched to over e85, I brought the car to DB to be tuned. The car was pushing coolant badly, so Alex(Iceminion) and I put a new headgasket in and brought it back. Car still pushed coolant, but not as much, and they were able to tune it up to 22psi.
Figuring it had a warped or cracked head, we took the head off last weekend and i brought it to John Gosh on Tuesday. He called me later that day and told me the head pressure tested fine and that it was not warped nearly enough to be casing a problem.
Needless to say, I am stumped. Cracked block? Is the head lifting under boost even though I have ARP's? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Re: Pushing Coolant
 

Check the block for flatness. It's not common, but I had one that warped .006". After that...

Re: Pushing Coolant
 

I have had this issue. Did you check the block with the machinast strait edge when the head was off and how well did you clean the surfaces? What gasket did you use and did you make sure ALL of the oil/coolant was cleaned off the surfaces that touch the gasket? How old are the head studs and how many times have you retorqued the ARP's?

Re: Pushing Coolant
 

Have not checked the block yet, but the head is still off so i will do that. Everything was very clean when HG was installed. The studs have 4000 miles on the and i retorqued them once after we reinstalled the HG.

Re: Pushing Coolant
 

Ditch the headstuds, there's a thread on re-torquing head studs with a LOT of info on why arps suck balls. I ended up buying some L19's.

Re: Pushing Coolant
 

Get a new set of ARP's; reusing them is a bad idea so forget what you've heard in the past about them being reusable.

Re: Pushing Coolant
 

Really? I thought the ARP's were good up to 30 psi, how could the head be lifting at only 22 psi?

Re: Pushing Coolant
 

For as cheap as they are, I wouldn't risk it. For as expensive and highly acclaimed as the L19's are, I needed to be talked into them, but I have them and they do the job.

http://mitsustyle.com/forums/showthread.php?t=23186

Check the posts around and in regard to #17 and follow the link posted in that thread. It'll change your mind on re-using ARPs.

Re: Pushing Coolant
 

They aren't reusable, thats the thing. ARP's are torque-to-yield bolts basically meaning they stretch under the torque to create a snug fit. Once the stretch, they don't go back so you shouldn't reuse them because of issues like this. It was commonly accepted for many years that ARP's are reusable but that is not the case. People are currently stating that these L19's are reusable, but that seems risky to me and generally history repeats itself so whats considered reusable now probably won't be in a few years after people learn the truth the hard way ;)

Re: Pushing Coolant
 

Good to know that a new set of headstuds will be needed when I re-do my valves.

Re: Pushing Coolant
 

Also, the headgasket did not show any obvious signs of a leak, but i have been told that is doesnt always.

Re: Pushing Coolant
 

So should i just go with another set of ARPs? I only plan on pushing it to 28 psi, and i shouldnt be making over 450whp.

Re: Pushing Coolant
 

go L19s or A1's

Re: Pushing Coolant
 

If there was no sign of anything wrong with the head gasket, than your issue could be elsewhere. Cracked block maybe. Also have you done a pressure test of your cooling system? Maybe you have a small leak somewhere.

Re: Pushing Coolant
 

I hope to god that it isnt a cracked block. Have not tested coolant system yet, will do though.

Re: Pushing Coolant
 

Also, might want to try a new cap. I got the 1.3bar mishimoto one personally.

Re: Pushing Coolant
 

What kind of headgasket have you been running? I have used the Cometic MLS with ARP's and have had the same issue. I am pretty sure what has/is happened to mine is that the head lifts under a decent amount of boost ( I run 23psi ) and combustion pressure seeps into coolant passages causing the car to push coolant. Even though the head gasket didn't get damaged, it unsealed during boost causing the pushing/overheating problem.

So, if You are using a Cometic MLS or similar headgasket, this may be your problem. I plan on going with a Fel-Pro Permatorque and a set of L19's to cure my problem.

If the problem isn't horrible, try a higher pressure cap like Halon said, that way the coolant won't boil until a higher temperature. I also run a 1.3 bar Koyo radiator cap and it made a surprising difference in my car.

Re: Pushing Coolant
 

I was pushing coolant and it was a blown headgasket, I got it machined and then slapped it back on reusing my arp headstuds and it stopped. I was using a cometic headgasket and ditched that for an oem mls one.

Re: Pushing Coolant
 

What headgasket should i go with? OEM Mitsu? I can't really afford the permatorque.

Re: Pushing Coolant
 

Do it once and get it over with. Permatorque and L19's.