some problems... not sure

aspensti04 · 08-29-2009, 05:48 AM

I searched and came up with no hard evidence

anyway I have a 2004 STI, 3inch TBE catless, little tuning nothing big. today was driving through town (35 mph) stopped for a stoplight started to pull forward and instantly had steam shoot out the front of my car. I quickly looked down, temp gauge was pegged hot.

had the car towed. tore it apart found the plastic top of the radiator lifted from the aluminum part of the radiator.

no biggie, got a radiator and installed it. filled it up with coolant let it run, burped it etc. sat at normal running temp. drove down the road. and it quickly overheated again. I let it cool down, figured I didnt get all the air out of the system so I topped it off again.

went on my way. it overheated again. did the same as above. and went on my way.

again it overheated by this time i figured something is wrong i stopped by an autoparts store and figured my thermostat was stuck closed. I have not replaced it yet.
only due to I was driving home and it wasnt overheating bad but was at like 2/3 on the stock gauge. I gave it a little 14lb boost pull temp rose, then when I let off the temp gauge instantly dropped down to normal. after driving it rose back up again. give it some throttle and let off. it went back down.

now later I let the car completely go cold. and started it up. I have white steam coming from the exhaust. untill the car gets warm. then it goes away.

im kinda stumped on thinking it is either a headgasket, waterpump, thermostat, or turbo problem.

only think turbo because no matter what I do for tuning I cannot get the car to spool over 14lbs. boost threshold set to 18, wastegate freq set to 80 etc. but that doesnt really explain the overheating problem.

any insight is appreciated. im praying for just a waterpump!

thanks,

Mike

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QksilverRS · 08-29-2009, 09:47 AM

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news
Are your fans coming on/ hooked back up? that would be why it seems ok while driving ( airflow over radiator) any boost = heat.

Thermostat may have stuck. Your radiator would not be that hot (except the very top were the hose hooks in)...but the engine would be burning up. Your radiator or fans probably failed and caused the overheat problem which blew the head gaskets. If the water pump was bad it would over heat almost instantly upon startup. If you have condensation coming out of the exhaust untill it warms up the heads are more than likely blown...the water seeps into the cylinders while the engine cools down then burns off while it warms up.

Good luck! ...hey look at it on the bright side...engine build time!

09rexwagon · 08-29-2009, 10:42 AM

Your own thoughts plus the last post has all the diagnostics you'd need....fans, stuck thermostat, bad waterpump, etc.

But why did you let it peg the temp. gauge multiple times? There is a very fine line between operating temperature and a temperature that is detrimental to many complex/expensive parts. A $15 thermostat might have turned into warped heads requiring an engine pull, decking at a machine shop and new HGs and reinstall. Hopefully it doesn't come to that though. Worst comes to worse, if you have to bull the engine, time for forged pistons and upgraded internals

. Good luck.

bcblues · 08-29-2009, 11:00 AM

warped head?

aspensti04 · 08-29-2009, 12:15 PM

fans did not fail, they have came on every time it has gotten warm.

the reason i let it get pegged hot on the temp gauge was honestly I was having a bad day, just wanted to go home. I am one to glance at my gauges all the time. this just happened to be that 1 time i hadnt looked at my temp gauge for a bit.

the bad day came from going in to have a root canal that was quoted at 429.00 once they finished the root canal they made me pay 1245.00 out of pocket. I was not prepared for that and really put a damper on my finances.

and now the car.. haha looks like ill be turning my race car in to a daily for a bit.

*edit* and when I say it "overheated" all the times after I "fixed it" it just got above a comfortable temperature i wanted to drive at. which is the 2nd mark on the stock temp gauge. so 2/3 the way up the gauge I know this is not a detrimental temperature, and should have not caused problems.

but can anyone explain why either I give it a little throttle pull, or free rev the engine considerably say 4000-5000rpms the temp gauge instantly drops down to normal. that makes no sense to me at all.

bcblues · 08-29-2009, 12:26 PM

bad water pump?

aspensti04 · 08-30-2009, 10:02 PM

started the car today, no white steam at all. let it warm up. took a drive it started to climb 2/3 on the temp gauge, a reved the engine up and it dropped back down to normal temp. im hoping its just the water pump. unless can the water pump create enough pressure to force and closed thermostat to open?

DHRDAN · 08-31-2009, 06:20 AM

MMMM white smoke? Headgasket problems? you never said your mileage or mods?

Sounds like you can't hold compression, i hope i'm wrong.

2cents.

WrxRcr · 08-31-2009, 02:03 PM

I have seen this happen a couple times have to agree with DHRDAN, headgasket and possibly warped head or heads. Going to have to have your heads resurfaced if its true.

aspensti04 · 09-01-2009, 02:08 AM

96k on the clock 3inch tbe. k&n drop in filter. hks ssqv bov. open source stage 2 tune. no other engine mods.

kevinh211 · 09-01-2009, 09:53 AM

im going to agree with a blown head gasket and possible a warped head.
how does the oil look? any coolant in the oil or oil in the coolant?

aspensti04 · 09-02-2009, 02:27 AM

dont think its a headgasket, I pulled the thermostat just because it was the cheapest thing to do. the thermostat was stuck partially open. but almost all the way closed. that explains why it was cooling down when I reved the engine. the white smoke that 1 time on startup I believe was condensation. it didnt smoke a ton and it only happened once.

anyway hasnt overheated yet since changing the thermostat. and glad to hear it. I also did a leak down test and held pressure all night. did a compression check and got 145/145/147/142

pretty consistent so seems to all be well.

08-29-2009, 05:48 AM	#1
aspensti04 Scooby Newbie Member#: 209998 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Pleasant Hill Oregon Vehicle: 2004 STi Aspen White	some problems... not sure I searched and came up with no hard evidence anyway I have a 2004 STI, 3inch TBE catless, little tuning nothing big. today was driving through town (35 mph) stopped for a stoplight started to pull forward and instantly had steam shoot out the front of my car. I quickly looked down, temp gauge was pegged hot. had the car towed. tore it apart found the plastic top of the radiator lifted from the aluminum part of the radiator. no biggie, got a radiator and installed it. filled it up with coolant let it run, burped it etc. sat at normal running temp. drove down the road. and it quickly overheated again. I let it cool down, figured I didnt get all the air out of the system so I topped it off again. went on my way. it overheated again. did the same as above. and went on my way. again it overheated by this time i figured something is wrong i stopped by an autoparts store and figured my thermostat was stuck closed. I have not replaced it yet. only due to I was driving home and it wasnt overheating bad but was at like 2/3 on the stock gauge. I gave it a little 14lb boost pull temp rose, then when I let off the temp gauge instantly dropped down to normal. after driving it rose back up again. give it some throttle and let off. it went back down. now later I let the car completely go cold. and started it up. I have white steam coming from the exhaust. untill the car gets warm. then it goes away. im kinda stumped on thinking it is either a headgasket, waterpump, thermostat, or turbo problem. only think turbo because no matter what I do for tuning I cannot get the car to spool over 14lbs. boost threshold set to 18, wastegate freq set to 80 etc. but that doesnt really explain the overheating problem. any insight is appreciated. im praying for just a waterpump! thanks, Mike * Registered users of the site do not see these ads.

08-29-2009, 09:47 AM	#2
QksilverRS Scooby Specialist Member#: 16826 Join Date: Mar 2002 Chapter/Region: NWIC Location: FT. Lewis Vehicle: 01 STi DOMINATOR 3 444 WHP 431 WTQ	Sorry to be the bearer of bad news Are your fans coming on/ hooked back up? that would be why it seems ok while driving ( airflow over radiator) any boost = heat. Thermostat may have stuck. Your radiator would not be that hot (except the very top were the hose hooks in)...but the engine would be burning up. Your radiator or fans probably failed and caused the overheat problem which blew the head gaskets. If the water pump was bad it would over heat almost instantly upon startup. If you have condensation coming out of the exhaust untill it warms up the heads are more than likely blown...the water seeps into the cylinders while the engine cools down then burns off while it warms up. Good luck! ...hey look at it on the bright side...engine build time! Last edited by QksilverRS; 08-29-2009 at 10:07 AM.

08-29-2009, 12:15 PM	#5
aspensti04 Scooby Newbie Member#: 209998 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Pleasant Hill Oregon Vehicle: 2004 STi Aspen White	fans did not fail, they have came on every time it has gotten warm. the reason i let it get pegged hot on the temp gauge was honestly I was having a bad day, just wanted to go home. I am one to glance at my gauges all the time. this just happened to be that 1 time i hadnt looked at my temp gauge for a bit. the bad day came from going in to have a root canal that was quoted at 429.00 once they finished the root canal they made me pay 1245.00 out of pocket. I was not prepared for that and really put a damper on my finances. and now the car.. haha looks like ill be turning my race car in to a daily for a bit. edit and when I say it "overheated" all the times after I "fixed it" it just got above a comfortable temperature i wanted to drive at. which is the 2nd mark on the stock temp gauge. so 2/3 the way up the gauge I know this is not a detrimental temperature, and should have not caused problems. but can anyone explain why either I give it a little throttle pull, or free rev the engine considerably say 4000-5000rpms the temp gauge instantly drops down to normal. that makes no sense to me at all. Last edited by aspensti04; 08-29-2009 at 12:21 PM.

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08-29-2009, 10:42 AM	#3
09rexwagon Scooby Specialist Member#: 216135 Join Date: Jul 2009 Chapter/Region: South East Location: Durham, NC Vehicle: 2009 WRX SSM	Your own thoughts plus the last post has all the diagnostics you'd need....fans, stuck thermostat, bad waterpump, etc. But why did you let it peg the temp. gauge multiple times? There is a very fine line between operating temperature and a temperature that is detrimental to many complex/expensive parts. A $15 thermostat might have turned into warped heads requiring an engine pull, decking at a machine shop and new HGs and reinstall. Hopefully it doesn't come to that though. Worst comes to worse, if you have to bull the engine, time for forged pistons and upgraded internals . Good luck.

08-29-2009, 11:00 AM	#4
bcblues Scooby Specialist Member#: 17256 Join Date: Apr 2002 Chapter/Region: MWSOC Location: America's Outback Vehicle: 04 STi Blue w/ custom bug splat	warped head?

08-29-2009, 12:26 PM	#6
bcblues Scooby Specialist Member#: 17256 Join Date: Apr 2002 Chapter/Region: MWSOC Location: America's Outback Vehicle: 04 STi Blue w/ custom bug splat	bad water pump?

08-30-2009, 10:02 PM	#7
aspensti04 Scooby Newbie Member#: 209998 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Pleasant Hill Oregon Vehicle: 2004 STi Aspen White	started the car today, no white steam at all. let it warm up. took a drive it started to climb 2/3 on the temp gauge, a reved the engine up and it dropped back down to normal temp. im hoping its just the water pump. unless can the water pump create enough pressure to force and closed thermostat to open?

08-31-2009, 06:20 AM	#8
DHRDAN Scooby Specialist Member#: 204358 Join Date: Feb 2009 Chapter/Region: SCIC Location: Santa Paula, CA. Vehicle: 01 2.5RS W/ EJ257 99 2.5RS Black	MMMM white smoke? Headgasket problems? you never said your mileage or mods? Sounds like you can't hold compression, i hope i'm wrong. 2cents.

08-31-2009, 02:03 PM	#9
WrxRcr Scooby Newbie Member#: 218050 Join Date: Jul 2009 Chapter/Region: MWSOC Location: Columbus ohio Vehicle: 2009 Wrx sedan White	I have seen this happen a couple times have to agree with DHRDAN, headgasket and possibly warped head or heads. Going to have to have your heads resurfaced if its true.

09-01-2009, 02:08 AM	#10
aspensti04 Scooby Newbie Member#: 209998 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Pleasant Hill Oregon Vehicle: 2004 STi Aspen White	96k on the clock 3inch tbe. k&n drop in filter. hks ssqv bov. open source stage 2 tune. no other engine mods.

09-01-2009, 09:53 AM	#11
kevinh211 Scooby Specialist Member#: 56297 Join Date: Mar 2004 Chapter/Region: Tri-State Location: Long Island NY Vehicle: 2004 STi HTA Green MSPT Tuned	im going to agree with a blown head gasket and possible a warped head. how does the oil look? any coolant in the oil or oil in the coolant?

09-02-2009, 02:27 AM	#12
aspensti04 Scooby Newbie Member#: 209998 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Pleasant Hill Oregon Vehicle: 2004 STi Aspen White	dont think its a headgasket, I pulled the thermostat just because it was the cheapest thing to do. the thermostat was stuck partially open. but almost all the way closed. that explains why it was cooling down when I reved the engine. the white smoke that 1 time on startup I believe was condensation. it didnt smoke a ton and it only happened once. anyway hasnt overheated yet since changing the thermostat. and glad to hear it. I also did a leak down test and held pressure all night. did a compression check and got 145/145/147/142 pretty consistent so seems to all be well.