Coolant coming from where turbo mounts to downpipe

[mrchriswray]

Okay fellas, i know im new to this turbo dodge thing (thank you to minigts and 89 rampage) and the support the community gives is amazing, with that being said, i have number 303 csxt and i just got it running and driving again thanks to the two mentioned above. i was driving it and started smelling coolant and i got it home and opened the hood and there was coolant everywhere. i got home and let everything dry off thinking it was from one of those universal overflow bottles but upon further investigation i noticed coolant dripping from the back of the motor. i looked under there thinking it was one of the turbo coolant lines but i saw that it was dripping from where the turbo meets the exhaust downpipe. i drained the oil hoping for no coolant in the oil and there wasnt any just smelled like gas. i also pulled the number three spark plug to see it was coated in gas. could i just be able to run some stop leak in the coolant and hope that stops the leak or would that just be chasing my tail and wasting my time?

[tryingbe]

Stop leak is the worst thing you can put in your coolant system. It will clog the radiator and making it less efficient, it will also clog the heater core and making it less efficient, and very hard to get rid of it once it enter the system.

There could be a crack on the hard line, it happened to me. Find out what's broken using a mirror and replace what's broken. Probably a hose, or a hardline or the connection. I like our vendor's stainless line options.

http://turbosunleashed.com/shop/turb...39_235_79.html

Gas in oil is never good. You could have a bad injector. Find out what's broken first before replacing. Replace the oil when you're done. Ignore this issue means you'll have a dead motor in a very short time.

[mrchriswray]

thats what i was thinking about the stop leak, its a t3 garrett turbo and i looked up and saw coolant JUST coming from where the downpipe connects to the turbo. no signs of it dripping onto it somewhere else. thats what made me think its coming from the turbo internally as soon as i figure out how to post videos and photos to this thread i will post them and show you what i am talking about

[2.216VTurbo]

I'm betting on center freeze plug. Toughest one to access of course. There are expanding rubber replacement plugs if that's what it turns out to be...

[ajakeski]

Used correctly, modern stop leak isn't that bad in the radiator or heater core, but it's only a band aid repair, especially if you have a leaking core plug.
There are dyes you can add to the coolant that glow under UV light. another possible source of coolant leaks are the exhaust manifold studs. If you haev the manifold off recently, a stud may have loosened allowing coolant to leak.

[mrchriswray]

Used correctly, modern stop leak isn't that bad in the radiator or heater core, but it's only a band aid repair, especially if you have a leaking core plug.
There are dyes you can add to the coolant that glow under UV light. another possible source of coolant leaks are the exhaust manifold studs. If you haev the manifold off recently, a stud may have loosened allowing coolant to leak.

I have never ever had the exhaust off and they're isn't evidence of a freeze plug that I can see like I saw with the coolant from the exhaust

[going4speed]

The coolant uv dye with light and glasses is indispensable. Best $30 ever.

[minigts]

Well it's burning coolant out the exhaust, which makes me think it's a turbo issue and not a coolant plug, unless there is some "plug" in the turbo that can go bad. If it were a plug, I would think it would not burn coolant out the exhaust.

[tryingbe]

Very unlikely for the turbo center section to be broken. If the motor was overheated, more likely the head is cracked somewhere.

[mrchriswray]

Very unlikely for the turbo center section to be broken. If the motor was overheated, more likely the head is cracked somewhere.

The engine was never overheated but it was ran for short amounts of time with no coolant in it due to the radiator being mounted and the fan being tested. By short amount of time I mean a minute MAX. Also I noticed that the boost was around 15lbs at full throttle. I'm hoping it's not a headgasket due to overboosting

[minigts]

I think at this point I would pull the head and check for obvious damage, if any. If it's unlikely water is pouring into the exhaust from within the turbo, it isn't going to be a bad thing to pull the head and well, that is required at that point. At the very least, if the turbo is the culprit, you can swap it out. You're out a head gasket and head bolts and time, but the head bolts can be reused if they aren't stretched out. It'll take a little more time, but way easier to work on the turbo if the head is off.

[contraption22]

The engine was never overheated but it was ran for short amounts of time with no coolant in it due to the radiator being mounted and the fan being tested. By short amount of time I mean a minute MAX. Also I noticed that the boost was around 15lbs at full throttle. I'm hoping it's not a headgasket due to overboosting

A minute is an awfully long time to run and engine with no coolant. Part of the job of the circulating coolant is to make sure that the engine comes up to temp gradually. This is especially important with dissimilar metals (line an iron block and an aluminum head) as they expand with heat at different rates.

[Chris W]

Very unlikely for the turbo center section to be broken. If the motor was overheated, more likely the head is cracked somewhere.

I agree with tryingbe on this point. Why don't you just head down to your local Autozone and rent a coolant pressure checker for free. Replace the coolant cap with the tool, pressurize the system and start looking for leaks. If you can't find one but the pressure is still going down then the leak is internal and might be the head gasket or cracked head as Harry suggested.

Chris-TU

[mrchriswray]

i went and got uv dye and put it in the motor and ran it for a minute and checked all around and found that the number three plug and piston was covered and that can only mean that the headgasket is blown. which is what i feared but now its all over but the crying. now to pull the engine and clean it up and check the head for warping and figure out a way for it to handle 15lbs of boost relably. and ideas guys?

[ajakeski]

Do the headgasket and go from there. You cant really do a compression or leakdown test with a bad head gasket. You need to do those tests before you start boosting. Both tests will give you a better idea of the condition of the rings and valves.

Did the engine run well before? Does it have low mileage?

If both answers are yes, give it a good tune up and get it running reliably in stock form. Make modifications one at a time so you can identify any problems easily.

If it ran poorly before the headgasket blew and has a million miles. Every thing you do to increase boost will turn the engine into a ticking time bomb. Old, tired engines make poor high performance pieces. Look for a better candidate, or rebuild what you have.

Assuming the engine anf turbo are good, here are some basic performance uprades:

Install a ported exhaust manifold and 2.5 inch swingvalve. Follow with a low restriction exhaust system.

While the head is off to the machine shop for surfacing, have the valves back cut.

Depending on if you have a suck through or blow through system, you can benefit from some intake porting and a larger throttle body. ( especially for a T I suck through, the TB is a big restriction)

if your engine is pre 1989, take off the water pump housing and look inside. See how restrictive it is in there? Do some porting and smoothing of the inside of the housing and install a new water pump. The porting will allow the coolant to flow more freely and less engine power will be required to spin the pump. Do a forum search, there are a couple threads on
this.

Assess your fuel system and make sure it can support the boost level you want to run. Improve as required.

Install new plugs, wires, cap and rotor. Make sure your distributor shutter wheel isn't falling off.

Get a GOOD performance calibrated computer

[2.216VTurbo]

Ideas? Yes, the head DOES need to come off now for sure but this DOESN'T mean that its a head gasket for sure.

Cracked block.

Cracked head.

Pinhole/porosity to coolant jacket in head(was this head ported extensively?).

Those three come to mind as well as a HG failure.

[mrchriswray]

The engine had very low mines on it and ran like a scolded dog. I was thinking cam and valves but I'm open to suggestions. How hard is it to do a cam with it in the car and what's the biggest cam I can put in it on stock springs? Is it even worth building it up? Another way I was thinking about going was since I have a spare head is slap the old one on after it gets a through inspection and put it on and go about my business and just build another one up one piece at a time. Where are common places for the engines and heads to crack?

[tryingbe]

Cam should be the LAST thing you do for performance, not the first. Camshaft can be changed out in less than an hour.

Fix your coolant leak first.