Head Gasket woes

[ChrisCade]

Anybody out there ever seen water/coolant flow from their Turbo? I did, and found a bad head gasket on my new engine with no runtime on it. I spent all day friday and yesterday swapping it out with a cometic gasket and guess what?? Same thing just happened. Water keeps flowing out the outlet elbow like a steady stream. I am at a complete loss, anyone out there had a similar experience or can offer any clues as to what may be causing this serious crisis? I'd appreciate it, as my sanity is waning, along with my hopes of making the reunion.

Chris

[ccst stang]

if water is coming out of the turbo..sounds like the seals in the center section are bad...its allowing water to leak thur.....this is if yours is still water cooled
doesnt sound like a head gasket problem
id check the turbo first

[fordracing89]

Ouch that is never good, you checked the head right ? talking to Steve yesterday and he mentioned you were having HG issues, were is the HG marked by radiator coolant? Hard to believe a cometic leaked w/ no run time not good eh?

[65ShelbyClone]

if water is coming out of the turbo..sounds like the seals in the center section are bad...its allowing water to leak thur.

It is impossible for coolant to get into the turbine unless the water jacket in the CHRA is actually rotted through somewhere. There are no seals in a turbo that contact coolant.

Is water getting into the cylinder(s) also? If not, maybe the head is cracked in the exhaust port. I know you said the engine is new, but the head would have to look like a potato chip for a gasket to leak even before being run. Hell, maybe the CHRA is cracked into the jacket on the hot side. It's a strange problem indeed.

[ChrisCade]

After filling with water and with all spark plugs pulled, the #1 cylinder spews water out of the head. I would assume this is due to the engine being at tdc. No water has made its way into the oil pan, so I don't see anything there. Is it possible to have a leak on the lower intake gasket that may contribute to this?

Block has been redone, new aluminum head and all new gaskets. What gives???? Please keep the suggestion coming, I need all of the motivation that I can get.

Chris

[65ShelbyClone]

Alright, new aluminum = not likely cracked nor warped.

As far as the lower intake gasket, the water only goes between 2 & 3. Did the orignal HG have a spot that looked leaky? What kind of head bolts are you using?

[svoman2300]

Are you using a ported or gutted intake? Is it a new(to you) intake or have you used it before? What i'm getting at is maybe it was ported to much and someone hit a water jacket on the intake.

[SVOeric]

Are you using a ported or gutted intake? Is it a new(to you) intake or have you used it before? What i'm getting at is maybe it was ported to much and someone hit a water jacket on the intake.

That's the first thing I thought of when I read this....

[ChrisCade]

Actually, after installing the spark plug in #1, observed the exhaust port for #1 and commenced to filling. I only have leakage out of the combustion chamber of #1 cylinder.

I think the ported inline intake maybe the next thing to remove and test. Is it possible to repair the intake via welding if it does turn out to be the culprit? Or would it just be easier to get another lower intake and port/polish?

Thanks,

Chris

[onthegosvo]

It would be easier to get a replacement lower intake.
I think I have an extra one laying around here somewhere.
Let me know if you need it?

[GAboySVO]

Chris,

Are you using studs or head bolts? There is a head bolt hole near number one that enters the water jacket. If you used studs and didn't use any sealer, then that may be the culprit.

[SVO-SMITTY]

Chris, if coolant is flowing in a steady stream from the turbo, then I think the problem is with the turbo. If you have a spare turbo, I think you should to a swap. If that's not the problem then check the lower intake or vice versa. I'm more pron to think that its your lower intake.

[ChrisCade]

Upon further review, afte removing the Exhaust manifold and Turbo, It still seeps from only #1 combustion chamber. This tells me that it cannot be the intake (As it would see leakage in #2 & #3 if that were the case). I was not aware of any of the studs protruding into the coolant passages and requiring rtv. Anyone else out there want to correct me on this? Just weird that only #1 has this problem. Makes me think the head after all of our deliberation.

Turbo is eliminated, head gaskets are also. Intake has been nullified. Only things left are the head and the block. If it is the block, I should be seeing water/coolant in my oil and other cylinders filling, and that is not happening. Once again the head becomes the likely suspect. I've taken it off earlier this evening and will be taking it back to the machinist for pressure testing. I hope that he did this prior to turning it over to me, otherwise he is definitely off my christmas card list.LOL

Thanks for all of the inputs, there have been brains working overtime on this one for sure!!

Chris

[GAboySVO]

Chris,

When I tore down my engine for the rebuild there was one head bolt that was corroded and rusty. It was the number one cylinder, exhaust side, #1 position from the front.

Upon closer inspection of by block with the head still off, the front bolts on #1 cylinder open to the water pump bolts. I can see them at the bottom of the hole. Remove the top two bolts from the waterpump and put some thread sealer on them. The botom one also goes into the water jacket as well.

[NavySVO]

Dude,

Go over to me house and look up the head bolt thing in my Ford dealership repair book. It's in the cabinet above the workbench. It'll be in the Powertain manual.
Actually, you might even find the bolt when you pull the head..........

Fleming, E.C., Pat, anyone?