I just did.

I told ralliart that I had to keep topping up the water in my Evo - about 600ml a week. They tested the system to 28psi, and couldn't find any leak. So I just kept putting in another 600ml every week...

But today, I left the car running while I said goodbye to some friends. I came back and there was white steam coming out from the car... Intercooler water sprayer on a hot Intercooler, I thought?

Got in the car. Nope. The needle was off the roof.

I still needed to get home, so I babied the car home. Made sure it never went near 0 vacuum, let alone boost.

I got home, and popped the hood. You could hear a crackling and pop sound - same sound you hear when you put chips in a fryer. Oil was boiling.

The radiator cap was cold - that can only mean one thing. not even enough water to turn to steam to heat up the cap.

Sure enough, I open the cap, and it's dry as. I guess that 600ml a week all of a sudden got a lot higher.

Well, tomorrow, I bring it to Nat-Rad (They specialise in Radiators). Forget going back to Ralliart. I'm sure I've probably damaged something in the car. Bubbling oil can't be very lubricating. I'd be lucky if I haven't destroyed the turbo or something.

Anyway, refilled it with distilled water. I hope that's enough to get the 20 minute drive to NatRad.

Any comments or thoughts as to what kind of damage I should be keeping an eye out for over the next drive?

 

Wow. Open the hood and let it cool. You can spray some water on the radiator to help. After it cools, open the radiator cap. If there is a sludgy mixture that looks like coffee with cream, you;ve got a blown head gasket. Same thing if you see anything funny on the dipstick. From what you're saying, I bet you won't see any water in the radiator. Let it set for a while, start the motor and add some coolant. Do this before you drive anywhere. Tow it instead of driving it if you can't wait.

Don't trust the overflow bottle from the radiator to tell you if you're low. This system depends on very secure connections on the little tube that runs to the fill cap area. If they are not tight there won't be any vacuum to pull the overflow back into the radiator.

In normal driving oil will get above the boiling point of water.

 

You drove it with the needle pegged HOT? You're lucky the motor is still running now, but I'd bet it's going to require a new motor. Good luck. When the instruments say somethings wrong, shut it off. The cost of taking a cab home is SO much cheaper than a new motor and all the time involved with the hassle.

 

Refilled it with distilled water. and took it for a "roll" around the block.

Seemed okay, so I stopped, checked, water still fine, took it for a gentle drive. Water temp is normal. Cap too hot to touch as usual. Waited for it to cool and still saw full tank of water.

Took it for a bit of a harder drive, including a WOT test to see if the turbo still spools. Turbo still seems to hit 1.1 bar no problems. To all apparent observations, nothing's been damaged. Even after the hard drive, the oil did not make any funny popping gurgling noises.

Everything seems back to normal now... Still bringing it to Natrad tomorrow, but boy, do I feel stressed.

 

That's good to hear. I hope everything is ok.

 

You might have warped the head. Check your compression.

 

OMG, you drove it while it was overheated!? You should have turned it off, popped the hood and called a flat bed right then and there.

 

iron block alu head... head is probably warped... very likely.

usually it'll still seem like it runs alright with the head warped.

 

I found out what happened...

With the turbo timer running but the key out, the radiator fan doesn't run. So, having set the turbo timer to 10 minutes so I wouldn't have to cool down and restart the car again, I boiled over the radiator. It turned to steam and vented out the overflow tank, leaving the radiator dry.

There was sufficient water left in the radiator/engine to survive the drive home. In fact, as I noticed, turning on the heater full bore, actually lowered the temperature back to "normal" levels. Anyway, NatRad confirmed that the Radiator and cooling system were still just fine.

I am going to get the head polished soon, and I'll have them check the head. If it's not bad, they can machine it back to shape, if it is, then half the expense of replacing the head has already been paid for anyway.

I went to the central coast today anyway, and the car still pulls like new (110km/h to 150km/h to overtake in a matter of 2 seconds), so I'm guessing compression isn't down.

 

If you are lucky all that you did was blow your headgasket. In fact, it was already blown before it started overheating. That was where your coolant was going.

If you are unlucky:
1. You warped your block and head.
2. Your coolant mixed with your oil and took out your bearings.
3. Your oil got hot enough that it provided no ptrotection to your bearings.

Don't ever drive your car if the coolant temp needle is anywhere above normal temp!

 

ShapeGSX,

Thanks for the concern, but as stated above, I don't think too serious damage was done.

I found out that if I don't idle down the car, I don't lose coolant, so I'm sure it's nothing major.

 

Losing coolant is always major. You have a leak somewhere in the system. Could be a gasket. Could be a hose.

One other option. Is your overflow reservoir full?

 

Ralliart tested the system to 28PSI and found no leaks.

There is no oil in my water, and no water in my oil. Compression is still good.

The reason I am losing coolant is because when the turbo timer operates, the radiator overheats due to lack of fan/airflow and boils off a small proportion of the water.

 

Change your oil immediately. It probably doesn't have much life left in it after running it that hot.

 

Fix your turbo timer wiring so the fan works while it is running!