I'm hoping you guys could point me in the right direction. 3 months ago I had the Turbonetics ST installed. I just noticed a darker color w/ my coolant reservoir & don't know if this means oil is mixing w/ my coolant & I'm having headlift. I have not had any overheating issues though & have not noticed any steam coming out of the engine after it has ran. The coolant is yellow greenish brown. The oil is green brown???? My car only has 14K miles. What I wanted to find out is should I bring the car to the Nissan Dealer to have it checked? If so, would they be able to still use my original Nissan warranty to service the car? Or should I bring it back to the Performance shop that installed my TN? Would they be able to use my Nissan warranty or am I in for a lot of $$$$? Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks,
Jeff

 

Sure sounds like you have blown the head gasket . I think you would have to take off the Turbo and related mods to get the Dealer to cover it .

 

Any rough $$$ estimate on how much to get this fixed (parts & labor)? What can I do to prevent it from happening again in the future?

 

My motor is out right now doing the exact same thing . You can expect 18 to 20 hours labor . Plus the cost of new ARP L19 or 1/2 inch head studs , new head gaskets - either Cometic or HKS .

 

This really sucks as I have not even driven it that much (2500 miles on the TN) with very limited WOT runs too. Have not even done my first oil change since installing the kit. Well, I guess it's part of the risk we took when we went FI. Where can I buy the head studs? Thanks!!!

 

Check a few threads out on the subject , so you can decide which way to go . If you decide you want a Cometic head gaskets...I have a set for sale .

 

Before you buy head studs and gaskets... do you have a built motor? If not, do not buy the studs and gaskets. If you have headlift on a stock block, you have much more to worry about.

 

Didnt even think about that . He needs to have the motor broke down to see whats going on first .

 

just curious, say you did have a little bit of oil mixed in your coolant - would it absolutely hurt to drive around like that anyway? Or is the proper thing to do to disassemble the entire engine ASAP at the first sign of some dark patches in the coolant?

 

Yes, it is a stock block....

 

personally i wait till problems get worse so they become more evident and you don't waste time or money chasing something. now if you were consumming alot of water or going through alot of oil, i would be concerned, but a slight discolor in your coolant tank is nothing to get super alarmed about yet. now if you see little puddles of oil on the top of the water in the overflow, that would make for concern. not saying there might not be a problem, but i would wait to see if it gets worse, or just change your coolant and see how long it takes to return and under what conditions it does.

 

I'm with Scott on this one. Better to be sure then to guess/chase something that is not there. Flush the Coolent, Cheap easy and just monitor it.

Ryan

 

jlimquest, just curious are you just running the kit on the reflash at about 8psi? Are you overboosting any?

 

It's with the ECU reflash & never had an overboost issue. I have the 5AT kit w/ CAT. Steady at 8 lbs boost w/ 10.5 AFR.

 

jlimquest the same happend to me too about a week ago..

5AT w/cat and TN Kit installed ... waiting for the HKS headgasket right now to arrive

 

How did your coolant & oil look? Where did you buy the HKS headgasket?

 

How much power are you making? Perhaps you could lower your boost, and detune the engine, to keep cylinder pressures to a minimum.

If you decide to go the L19 route: http://www.forgedperformance.com/sto...7&cat=0&page=1

 

356 whp & 335 tq on a Mustang dyno at 8 lbs boost w/ 10.5 AFR. What do you mean lower boost & detune? I still have the TN ECU reflash. I just rechecked my coolant reservoir & it's does not have black spots on the tank but the coolant looks like brownish yellow green. The oil cap did not have any milky residue just oil. Does it look like it is just starting? Would installing the L19 & HKS gasket be advisable at this point to possibly save the engine? Or should I wait? Also, where do I buy the HKS gasket if need be? Thanks ALL!!!

 

Brownish yellow green is the normal color of the coolant. I don't think you have a problem. I can't imagine head lift @ 8psi.

Respect
JET

 

Then it is highly unlikely you have headlift or a blown headgasket.

You would have oil in the coolant (brown puddles floating at the top of the coolant) or a milky colored oil cap (water in the oil) if you did. Could just be rust or corrosion in the coolant. Not uncommon.