I'd like some experts to list some of the sings where you definitely know you have a headlift. I know overheating is one of them. what else?

 

coolant tank overflowing and coolant spewing all over your windshield under high boost.

 

ok, total newb question, but what is headlift? i know its bad, but what is it exactly.
what causes it and how do you avoid it?

 

PLus the coolant in the over flow tank will look dirty and have small chunks of brown chit floating in it

 

Booger-the coolant in cars with sleeves gets dirtier faster because the liners corrode (steel liners in an aluminum block) and get the coolant dirtier much faster than a non sleeved car. My cars coolant after 2000 miles went from fresh and greeen to dingy brown, no overflowing, overheating. No signs of headlift, and no signs of coolant in the oil from the oil analysis.

 

How much anti freeze are you using? Have you thought about a bottle or 2 of Water Wetter? Is this from galvanic corrosion from the iron sleeve and aluminum alloy block? I wonder if one could zinc plate the coolant side of the sleeves to avoid this. Got any pics of the brown coolant? I hope you plan to get UOA on your next oil change.

 

I was just relating what happened to my coolant when I had headlift . It got a little dirty looking and had very small chunks of brown stuff [ headgasket ] floating around in it . It also clung to the sides of the overflow bottle .

It was last year and has been fixed with L19's and HKS gaskets

 

Does the car overheat all the time or just when you run it hard? I've noticed that my car overheats when racing or driving it hard but goes to normal temp as soon as I let off the gas pedal. the over flow tank has pure green coolant color not mixed with any other color. how can I make sure if I have headlift? notice that the temp. and humidity are pretty high where I live. I have all cooling stuff possible from radiator to oil cooler and thermostat!

 

One of the first things you want to do, when you think that you blew a gasket, is check your oil dip stick; if it is whitish, greenish and frothy, or signs of coolent/water contamination than you know; Black smoke or steam being emitted from your engine.

In you case it could be a number of issues, coolent termostate malfunctioning, air in the system, coolant circulation impaired, fan termostate malfunctioning. Did you try purging your cooling system and have your compression checked?

When driving in hot humid countries, the cars had the termostate removed.

G
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whats the easiest way to purge the system?

 

The easiest way to determine if you have headlift (or air in your cooling system), is that lack of heat through the vents, when you crank the heat all the way up.

 

I noticed that when I had flushed my coolant system and I was refilling the system......I thought it was full, but I had no hot air coming out of the A/C ducts. I let the car cool, and the coolant level settle. then I checked the system, and added more distiled water, and voila! perfect!

 

I thought it was the new hip way to say blown head gasket. Like calling an intake manifold a plenum.

 

That's a good one. I still get thrown off when someone says they put an "intake" on their car. I immediately wanna see the manifold! When did a hard pipe and a cone filter become an "intake?"

 

Bleeding the system is something the garage must perform, after completion of reinstalling the rebuilt engine and turbos; before releasing the car.

The procedure below is for performing a complete flush of your cooling system, just pick the steps that is relevant to your needs of bleeding the cooling system.

1. Move heater "Temp" control lever all the way to "Hot" position.
2. Remove undercover.
3. Open drain plug at the bottom of the radiator, and remove radiator cap.
4. Remove drain plug on cylinder block.
5. Close drain plug and tighten drain plug securely.
6. Open air relief plug (right above the upper radiator hose in the rear of the engine).
7. Fill radiator with water and close air relief plug and radiator cap.
8. Run engine and warm it up sufficiently.
9. Rev engine 2 or 3 times under no-load.
10. Stop engine and wait until it cools down.
11. Repeat step 2 through step 9 until clear water begins to drain from radiator.
12. Drain water.
13. Open radiator cap and air relief plug (usually found in the upper coolant hose in the rear of the engine).
14. Fill radiator with coolant up to specified level.
15. Close air relief plug.
16. Remove reservoir tank, drain coolant, then clean reservoir tank.
17. Install reservoir tank and fill it with coolant up to "Max" level and then install radiator cap.
18. Run engine and warm it up sufficiently.
19. Rev engine 2 or 3 times under no-load.
20. Stop engine and cool it down, then add coolant as necessary.

Quick Tip: After flushing your cooling system, make sure you fill up your cooling system completely. An easy way to bleed the system is to run the engine, and keep adding water/coolant into the radiator while shaking various parts of the car. I liked to just push down on the front bumper. Shaking the front end side to side also helped. It took about 30 minutes of this to get all of the air out.

Also: Coolant / antifreeze is used to lubricate the water pump, prevent corrosion, prevent cavitation and prevent freezing. I HIGHLY recommend using distilled water in your cooling system to prevent buildup and deposits. I also recommend using less coolant / antifreeze than typically is called for. For warm climates, I prefer 70% distilled water, 30% coolant, and a bottle of Redline Water Wetter. For colder climates, you can increase the coolant-to-water ratio, but there's no need to exceed a 50/50 mixture. Also, changing your coolant annually will ensure you never have an overheating issue.
The problem may also be the radiator cap, as it is suppose to maintain the necessary pressure specified.

Lastly: I recommend changing your radiator cap annually, and replacing both radiator hoses, and your thermostat, every other year. Cheap insurance against a cooling system malfunction!

Other checks you can also perform is to feel the lower part of the radiator, if the cooling fluid is flowing normally the bottom part of the radiator should be hot, as well. The rear upper hose where the air relief plug is, you want to feel that the cooling fluid is flowing through.

One more important tip, when working around cooling system be very careful, and never open the radiator cap with your face/body right above it, especially when the engine is warmed up

G
________________

• $500 PRIZE & MORE
  No Fees; No traveling; simply sit back in the comforts of your home
  and have fun with your creativity. Finance you MODS
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• June 15 & 16 ZGCA annual Pocono International Raceway Run;
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Very nice explanation.

Excellent work.

M