dave c 83

hi all....I've got a 06 sti spec d and im fearing the worse as theres bubble entering 'A' black coolant box (atleast that's what I think it is) situated just right of were the panel filter is....am I right to be worried??thank you in advance...dave

BillyBrown

The bubbles aren't a good sign if the water system has been filled properly. Does your car ever heat up more than normal or the heaters blow cold on hot?What colour is the water? Can you smell anti freeze from the exhaust when the car is running? I have a 56 reg hawk sti and at 39k I had to get my head gaskets done.

dave c 83

hi pal....the heaters are fine....I haven't noticed much tbh about car heating up...temp sits just below half all the time...takes 10mins to get upto that.....no funny smells....not topping up any coolant....no bubbles when I take radiator cap off an start engine when cold or the bubbles in the white coolant tub in bottom right of engine....

dave c 83

how much am I lookin in the region of mate if need doing?

rob84

iTrader: (5)

it would be advised to top the coolant level up and ensure its not airlocked first. take it for a good hard run, if its spitting coolant out of the bottle next to the radiator then it would be assumed its pressurising the cooling system.

The next step would be to have a combustion sniff test carried out on the cooling system.

dave c 83

tbh rob.....theres been 1 or 2 times when ive jumped in my car when its cold and only reversed off the pathway and liquid of some sort has shot out...haven't a clue where from ....I didn't think much of it.....is that another tell tale sign?....like I said its only happened twice in the 6 months ive had it?

dave c 83

my coolant never needs topping up though?

rob84

iTrader: (5)

have a look in the bottle next to the radiator for oily black deposits, this is also can be an indication of hg failure.

dave c 83

yeah there is pal..il phone someone tomorrow and get a test done....thanks for your help...

dave c 83

im sure its been like that since I got it lol

dave c 83

can I still use it?the bubbles are that small that when I turned the engine on an had a look I thought it was just the vibration causing the bubbles?

BillyBrown

A headgasket replacement is anywhere between £800 and £1200

It's the standard head bolts that stretch under load causing air from the cylinders to blow into the water system.

I drove mine for quite a while with it on it's way out (2000 miles)

It would be advisable to uprate your gaskets and headbolts at the same time.

I have a hawk sti running 340+ bhp and since getting my headgasket done it's been perfect!

The 2.5's aren't bad once uprated parts have been fitted.

dave c 83

cheers billybrown....

BillyBrown

No problem mate

dave c 83

what were the symptoms on yours billy?

BillyBrown

Dark Sludge in the expansion bottle on radiator

Bubbles in the black filler on top of engine

Sweet smell of antifreeze from exhaust

Water started to go brown all the time

Car would heat up after a long run when idling

Water would rise up in the expansion bottle due to air pushing it out of the engine coolant system

Thermostat doesn't open because the coolant system becomes air locked.

Bottom radiator pipe stays cold as the thermostat doesn't open.

I ran my car with out a thermostat for a while to stop it over heating. Some might turn their nose up at this lol, but I wanted to get a new clutch, Cosworth gaskets, arp head bolts, heads rebuilt, uprated thermostat all at the same time and it doesn't come cheap. I use my car as a daily driver and I didn't have 2k spare at the time so I had to save a month before I could put my car in to get repaired.

When my engine was stripped the garage said it was the cleanest engine and turbo they have ever come across so it must not have done it any half running it for 2000 miles on its way out.

dave c 83

so im lookin at about 2k to get it all sorted?

cster

Obviously while the engine is out, you might want to take a look at the clutch and cam belt condition.
Some would say rebuild (forge) the engine as well.
I got my HGs done at 90K by a well respected muppet in Essex and then had a rebuild by API at 103K.
Runs as sweet as a nut now, but that was over 2K wasted in the first instance.

Gambit

iTrader: (6)

Mine was done in Jul 11 @55k mile. Cost 1200 to fix with cosworth gaskets, now on 78k with no issues and running 330bhp.

There are specialists on here thatll do it cheaper than 2k

BillyBrown

Off the top of my head

£120-140 for Cosworth gaskets (uprated)

£200 for ARP headbolts (uprated)

£40-60 low temp thermostat (uprated)

£200 Both heads skimmed and pressure tested

£600 labour, antifreeze, oil, oil filter etc

I had both heads rebuilt with new seals etc when I got mine done and a new clutch

Your looking at around £1200 for all above but you might also require a timing belt kit at the same time... My timing belt let had just been done around 10k before so I left it.