there is some steam and coolant coming out of the radiator cap. i replaced the cap with a new one rated at 13psi and it's still happening, any suggestions? is it okay if i use a cap that's rated higher?

 

Is the edge of filler neck on the radiator damaged at all?

You should be getting fluid going into the overflow bottle too. Does that happen at all?

 

The edge of the neck looks okay, but i don't think any fluid is getting to the overflow.

 

that's a good clue then. take off the overflow hose. With the cap off, stick something through that little pipe and make sure its clean. Maybe replace the hose. Put a little water in the overflow tank if its dry.

 

I'm a retard. i knew the radiator wasn't sucking fluid back in from the overflow and figured it was clogged, then i got the damn flu and my mind went south for a while. Anyway, yeah there was some gunk clogging the bottle that reminded me of wet paper.

I recently used some of that copper block seal for a blown head gasket, i wonder if thats what it is? Otherwise that stuff has been working great, can't beat $10 compared to $1500.

 

Except it's probably clogging other water passages too... like the ones that cool your engine...

How could a blown head gasket cost you $1500? That should be the cost for a complete stock engine rebuild.

Head gasket replacement should be closer to $400.

With that gunk in your coolant system, it may cost you $1500 to rebuild the engine when it finally let's go. I would start looking for a cheap low mileage junk yard motor now, so you'll have it when the time comes to put a bullet in the one you have.

 

That won't work because these engines are bullet-proof!

 

How could a blown head gasket cost you $1500?

Labor around here is about $100 an hour, that's how.

 

Exactly! It should be about a 4 hour job! It runs about $95 to $125 an hour here in the SF Bay Area as well.

Actually, I don't know what the book time is to replace a head gasket, but I've seen it done in about 4 hours.

It takes me about 12, but I take my time to 'feel' my way through it...

 

Sorry lww but I've never done it or seen it done so I was just going from what two local mechanic shops told me. One was RyNck and the other was Ken's Tires, both are pretty reputable shops here in Livermore. RyNck said $2000 or more and Ken told me $1400. If you know of anyone around here that can do it for $400 I shure would be glad to know.

I also heard there is a shop called The Z Doctor in Richmond, is that true?

 

The Z Doctor was up in the rough part of Richmond and is now out of business.

I would call Dando's in Fremont and ask them what it would cost to do the head gasket replacement. For 'basic' maintenance, Ken is a pretty good guy.

http://tinyurl.com/5zjgf

If you're a member of the Z Owners of Northern California, you get a discounted rate from Rob Fuller at the Z Car Garage in San Jose.

http://www.zcargarage.com

Call and ask how much to replace a head gasket. Who knows, I could be WAY off, but it just doesn't seem like much more than a 4 hour job. I'd be interested to find out what they say...

 

Thanks for the info, I'll let you know what they say. I'm going to try to hold off as long as possible to get it done. I signed up for the Air Force in November, so hopefully that copper block seal will hold until then. I've got a can of Blue Devil also that comes highly recommended from one of my customers just in case.

The copper block seal seems to be working fine except for that crap that floated up to the top and plugged up the overflow, but then I don't think that was from the copper stuff becauseit's supposed to be like liquid glass.

Whatever got in there might have clogged the thermostat too because the needle on the temp gauge won't even reach the middle now unless I let it idle for a long time, but hell, beats overheating after five minutes. I think I'll pull the thermo tomorrow to see if it's clogged.