Blown head gasket :(

[BlackBirdVQ]

Well, its blown, there are no coolant leaks what so ever and the coolant was bout 1qt (500ml) low today - after just 70 miles of driving, since I put in the new radiator.

I can hear water rushing through the heater core due to the blow gasket.

I guess my bad knock sensors, bad injectors are not the only thing that are keeping my HP away from me. I will be tearing the engine apart this coming week to see what I need (might have a cracked head, but I just hope its a head gasket). I am going to take it EZ (Q is one of my 4 cars) with the job and gonna port out the intake ports and the lower intake manifold for a little extra flow.

I looked up the Labor for headgaskets on this car today while at work doing a side job on a Maxima, and head gaskets are a 26 hour job PER MOTORS FLAT RATE LABOR TIME GUIDE. WOW, I have looked at other cars and nothing is allowed that much time for it. Nissan warranty pays 18 hours to do both headgaskets. According to Nissan, head gaskets require removal of engine.

Infiniti wants 120 bux a hour x 26 hours plus 400 for machine shop to check the heads and do a valve job, plus 500 for engine gasket kit. I called just to get a estimate- FOR a good laugh. Approx 4200 dollars +/- 400 dollars they said, PLUS tax. So make that 5K dollars to stop my car from eatting coolant.I am not letting anyone touch it, I will try to snap some pics of the VH without the heads and engine still in the car

[elwesso]

unless its really rushing, its not uncommon to hear a gurgling sound behind the dash where the heater core is... Ive heard it on both my Qs, and my current Q does it on occasion, and i know for a fact the headgasket is not blown, in fact, i bet it has never seen above 200F...

After talking to you, i trust your judgement (woudlnt surprise me as much as its overheated) but I hope thats not what your basing it off of...

BTW dude halloween is around the corner and I still dont have a fresh pumpkin? Are they just not ripe yet or what?

[Q451990]

I agree with Wes... the water noise behind the dash is normal after a flush, refill, or anytime you have to drain the coolant. I typically wait a day, then top it off an it's good...

Here again I think you know what you're talking about, but without confirmed oil in the water, water in the oil, or steam from the tail pipe I would think twice before pulling the heads...

Heath

[Chansen]

Might as well look for a new engine for the price that Infiniti will charge.Good luck on the repairs! I just flushed my coolant today,no problems.Not to question your knowledge but are you 100% sure that it was topped of after your new install?

[Flagship-Q]

I agree, you should have white smoke and a sweet smell out of the exhaust if it's consuming coolant internally. Any leaks maybe?

[Raxephon]

Just out of curiousity, have you ran a compression test?

If so, what kind of numbers did you get for each cylinder?

In my '90 FSM it reads:kPA (kg/cm2/ psi) @ 300 RPM

Standard: 1,275 (13.0, 185)Minimum: 981 (10.0, 142)Difference limit between cylinders: 98 (1.0, 14)

[BlackBirdVQ]

No compression test done on the motor yet, I'm taking the car to my work tomorrow (my day off) and gonna rip into it this Tuesday after work. I would like to have the heads off that same day. Basically I had a radiator blow out on me last week, it was a aftermarket radiator but it was practically brand new. It blew the end tank apart. There HAS TO BE too much pressure in the system in order for the radiator to blow out, at the same time when it blew I dont know if the coolant was low or not as I didn't check it. This time around I noticed that its low, and my plugs had green looking substance on them when I was changing them 2 weeks ago.

Tuesday I will try to- pull the intake off, lower intake off, EGR off and possibly the exhaust system (I'm getting a custom Xpipe catback done on it soon anyways as the stocker is leaking). I will try to do a compression test on it then to see what it has. I need to do knock sensors, injectors and valve cover gaskets on the car anyways so pulling the intake is a must regardless. After that pulling the heads off is just bout hour more work I belive (gotta pull the timing chains off).

Are the top chain tensioners the same as Nissan SR20s ? I have done a few of those on my 93 SE-R and they look identical, so this might be a good time to do them also.

BTW I have 2 good Q MAFs for sale if anyone is interested, I put them up on SR forums asking for a trade on 6 370cc injectors but no one replied to me

[Raxephon]

Well if you're finding green liquid on the plugs, then you're more than likely getting coolant seepage of some kind. (bad gasket, structural damage to the head/block)

The driverside chainguide tensioner is really similiar to the SR20DE, the passengerside is a little different.

Aftermarket radiator had plastic tanks?If you bought it new, I would be talking to the manufacturer.

Be sure and print up the chain guide pages from http://www.q45.org , those & a FSM are invaluable.

I went by the FSM when I did my guides & ended up pulling the heads to be pressure tested and slap some fresh gaskets in. ABS unit & the a/c lines were the most problematic area for me.
Modified by anlasak at 7:52 AM 10/10/2005

[BlackBirdVQ]

I thought bout pulling the motor out and doing everything to the motor while its out of the car. Winter is coming and I would most likely not drive the Q in the snow anyways, this would give me a few months of time to get the engine runing in good shape and maybe even throw some of those custom ground cams in, from australia.

Radiator was repleaced by the previous owner (8 years of ownership), it was a cheap aftermarket unit that was overheated a few times. I think the recepit is in the glovebox for the radiator but even then, the place where he got it repleaced at is over 100 miles away.

My oil pan, and torque converter seal are leaking slightly (for 11 year old car its really not a leak but I am picky) so I thought of pulling the whole engine and transmission out to fix everything all at once, but I don't have the space to do a engine rebuild in and doing it at my shop where it would sit unattended at times kinda scares me. So I am still trying to decide if I wanna pull it out or do everything in the car.

Did you remove the exhaust manifolds in order to pull the heads off ? Or did you remove the heads with manifolds still on them ? I know when I do HGs on Legends I never take the manifolds off.

I haven't ordered the head gasket kit yet, cause I am not sure what else I'm going to break/need in the process of tearing the engine apart. I also do not wanna pull the heads off and find out that one of the heads is cracked, and I am stuck with a **** load of gaskets that are useless. I have few good machine shops that I personally deal with whenever I do an engine at work, so I will be giving them a call, hopping the heads check out good.

I will do a compression test tomorrow.

[Raxephon]

I thought bout pulling the motor out and doing everything to the motor while its out of the car. Winter is coming and I would most likely not drive the Q in the snow anyways, this would give me a few months of time to get the engine runing in good shape and maybe even throw some of those custom ground cams in, from australia.

If you have the time and space, I'd pull the whole engine/transmission as a unit.Having it sitting on a stand is a helluva lot easier than trying to work around the limited space in the engine compartment.

Radiator was repleaced by the previous owner (8 years of ownership), it was a cheap aftermarket unit that was overheated a few times. I think the recepit is in the glovebox for the radiator but even then, the place where he got it repleaced at is over 100 miles away.

Since its a high mileage radiator, I doubt the manufacturer will do anything to help you. (Wishful thinking on my part, sorry.)

My oil pan, and torque converter seal are leaking slightly (for 11 year old car its really not a leak but I am picky) so I thought of pulling the whole engine and transmission out to fix everything all at once, but I don't have the space to do a engine rebuild in and doing it at my shop where it would sit unattended at times kinda scares me. So I am still trying to decide if I wanna pull it out or do everything in the car..

You can do all of that with it in the car, but its gonna be difficult.I have more than a few scares from my endeavors.

Did you remove the exhaust manifolds in order to pull the heads off ? Or did you remove the heads with manifolds still on them ? I know when I do HGs on Legends I never take the manifolds off. .

I unbolted the manifolds & pushed the to the side,(slightly). I didn't want to deal with replacing the gaskets at the end of the manifolds just yet.

I haven't ordered the head gasket kit yet, cause I am not sure what else I'm going to break/need in the process of tearing the engine apart. I also do not wanna pull the heads off and find out that one of the heads is cracked, and I am stuck with a **** load of gaskets that are useless. I have few good machine shops that I personally deal with whenever I do an engine at work, so I will be giving them a call, hopping the heads check out good. .

Some cracks can be Tig welded. Warpage is another thng to look out for.Remeber they're aluminum heads.

Out of curiousity, have you looked straight down between the runners to see if you have a puddle of coolant sitting on the top of your motor?

[BlackBirdVQ]

Since its a high mileage radiator, I doubt the manufacturer will do anything to help you. (Wishful thinking on my part, sorry.)

Nahh the radiator is 1 year old and the previous owner only drove it bout 3K miles till it started to overheat and he parked it and drove it a few times a year- to and from the dealer and mechanics who had no clue what to do- Thermostat was stuck.

Out of curiousity, have you looked straight down between the runners to see if you have a puddle of coolant sitting on the top of your motor?

No, I do not have any coolant there, although I do have some oil there from what it looks like someone spilled it while doing a oil change on the car. I thought that this motor might have a valley pan (deep in the V part of the block) like some German cars do ( Audi 2.8L 2V V6) which tends to leak over time ( like anything on German cars). But it doesn't look like the VH has anything like that.

I drove it to work, which is 40 miles away @ 80MPH and heat on full blast to make sure it doesn't overheat on me. I got to work and it started to drop injectors again on me. I will be updating tomorrow evening as to what I find.

I would love to pull the transmission out and rebuild it MY way, with Raybestos clutch packs, updated solenoids, diff line pressures and reworked valve body with a billet torque converter- BUT for now I need to make the engine bullet proof. I am THINKING of doing a lil bit of AutoX with the car next year, but I want more power- right now with bad Knock sensors, injectors and head gaskets this thing can't get out of its own way sometimes. I want wicked powerslides And I am not buying a S13 or S14, I disslike those cars.

[Bwana]

If you end up pulling the engine, definately plan on doing the engine/transmission together. I've done it twice (for the engine), and it's the easiest way. 'Gotta jack it up pretty high though, if you don't have a lift...

[BlackBirdVQ]

Well after working on the car for approx 3 hours total, here is what I am down to.... started off looking like this.

[BlackBirdVQ]

I made myself a photo copy of my little FSM I call the Q-BIBLE, and made the copies larger so they are eassier to read. I labeled all plastic bags for corresponding parts I was removing- like one bag for all the intake manifold parts, one bag for all the PCV hoses, one cylinder head parts and the other.

[BlackBirdVQ]

Here is what I got accomplished tonite, 3 hours of working on it. I have left- removal of the exhaust manifolds, removing the front covers and timing chains, and then remove the cylinder heads. I have never worked on a VH45DE before so I wouldn't say I am fast at it - YET. I belive I have another 3 hours MAX, worth of work to pull the heads off.

I did notice coolant in the valley of the block, so the gaskets are shot for sure. My leaking valve cover gaskets made my engine look like a mess.

Wes, has alot more pics I just send him so ya should see a write up and all on how to do this type of a job soon. Really not much to see here

[Rex]

WOW, very "up to your elbows" work going on here.

Can't wait to hear how things turn out.

[Jesda]

Nice! This is the most interesting engine thread in years, back when Daniel "Forecast" rebuilt his motor in his barn.

Cant wait to see more

[BlackBirdVQ]

Thank you for the comments, I really wish I didn't have to do the head gaskets but in the end I will know everything will be perfect, and I will have a pretty much repleaced 60% of the sensors etc in the engine bay.

I am getting quotes today for getting my intake manifold chromed or polished, both valve covers powdercoated candy apple red, and timing chain covers chromed or polished. Along with lots of little brackets and suck which will be powdercoated the same color as the valve covers to bring the engine some shine

Don't anticipate this motor runing next week, the machine shop I deal with takes a little while to do their work, but they are THE best in the area. I should have my cylinder heads back looking like they JUST came out of the factory. I would like to have the car runing by the end of this month, provided my parts are all blinged out.

Then its going to be time to swap the auto out for a 5spd

[Q451990]

Then its going to be time to swap the auto out for a 5spd

Can't wait to see that one!

Heath

[maxnix]

Of course the hoses will be replaced! Coolant leak under the plenum may not be from head gasket. Good luck in your endeavor. Looks like you are approaching it correctly.
Modified by maxnix at 8:46 AM 10/13/2005

[elwesso]

cant wait to see how it turns out!

[BlackBirdVQ]

Of course the hoses will be replaced! Coolant leka under the plenum may not be from head gasket. Good luck in your endeavor. Looks like you are approaching it correctly.

Well, I agree that the hoses could leak as they DO sit right there where the Y section of the coolant passage is. But none of my hoses where leaking ANY coolant out. It actually did leak out from the gasket itself, gasket looks like composite gasket which doesn't supprise me it let go. Acura used the same POS gaskets on their C32 and C35 motors in the Legend and RLs from 1991 to 2004 and those engines are notorious for head gasket failures.

I was going to finish pulling the engine apart today, but I didn't wanna sit at work really late- especially on nite out with tha boys. So tomorrow I will have both heads off and I should have my head gasket kit, with all the other hoses begining of next week. This gives my machine shop enough time to fix up my cylinder heads, and my speed shop enough time to polish out all the engine pieces and powdercoat others.

[GreenQ45a]

I don't think this Q45\H50 could have a better owner!

Are you leaving the Plenum as is?

Don't forget to love all that black engine compartment cladding.

[BlackBirdVQ]

I bought the car with fixing up and selling in mind, but the more I drove it the more I liked it. Then I said well I could just keep this car and make it something you don't see on daily basis, a really nice tastefully moded HG50 So I will be attending more Nissan shows/BBQs here localy with it, since I never seen a Q45 of any year at one.

As for the plastics over the VTC/valve covers and intake manifold, lets just say I have alot of carbon fiber in my Maxima, and I am not going to stop on my Max I have plastics at home and I'm working on em whenever I am bored.

[Rex]

I bought the car with fixing up and selling in mind, but the more I drove it the more I liked it. Then I said well I could just keep this car and make it something you don't see on daily basis, a really nice tastefully moded HG50 So I will be attending more Nissan shows/BBQs here localy with it, since I never seen a Q45 of any year at one.

As for the plastics over the VTC/valve covers and intake manifold, lets just say I have alot of carbon fiber in my Maxima, and I am not going to stop on my Max I have plastics at home and I'm working on em whenever I am bored.

Check Wes' sig for alink about a meet in Indy at the end of the month, you'd have a chance to see at least 1 nice Q (Wes').

Also, The Q head gaskets are not notorious for failure. I've been a member here for years and this is *maybe* the second and both were related to overheating as part of a radiator failure.

[texasoil]

Don't let the head shop take ANY metal off the sealing surfaces. Taking metal off the engine side will destroy the alignment of the cam bearings when the head is torqued down. Warpage up well over 0.030" end-to-end will flatten out fine on retorque. The heads are surprisingly flexible.

[BlackBirdVQ]

Really ? I never had ANY issues with ANY car having problems after having just a tiny bit of aluminum taken off. Q45 uses POS composite gaskets just like I thought, I pulled the heads off and there is deff coolant being burned in the combustion chambers, my new plugs- few of the center electrodes where green, after 2 weeks on new plugs. Here are some pics from todays work. BTW passenger side exhaust manifold is a Biatch to pull off, but pulling the heads off was a piece of cake. I didn't have to remove a thing to get the manifolds off, other than move the alternator out of the way. Took me bout 2.5 hours to take the timing covers, chains, guides, exhaust manifolds, heads off.

[BlackBirdVQ]

Chains and guides off.

[BlackBirdVQ]

One cylinder head off, looks like I can only attach one pic per post, I'm sorry that I don't have these on some sort of a website where I can just link ya all too.

[BlackBirdVQ]

picture of the cylinder head on the floor after removal, valves are fairly large in person, much larger than any Honda 4 valve head I am acustomed too.