16 replies to this topic

[Jonathan Ng]

My prize for attending the Art of Road Racing this weekend (so awesome, will post a review in a bit!) was a blown head gasket. I've been told that when the head is off, it should be machined down? Since my HOA probably wouldn't appreciate me pulling the head in my tandem parking space...I think I should probably take it to a mechanic. Any local recommendations?

[Qik Nip]

Jonathan:
While can't offer any help with a SJ shop referral, I'll opine that solving your problem may take more than a head gasket. I fear that if you have a head warped badly enought to allow the gasket to go, you might not be able to solve it by milling the head. Before you tear into it, you might want to locate a used head on Craigs list or ebay.
Rick

[davew]

If your head is untouched, you probably don't need a new head. It only takes about 0.005" to warp the head and blow the gasket. An untoucged head can go about 0.016" before being out of spec.

BUT, and this is a big BUTT. You need to find the underlying reason for the blown gasket. Miatas don't just blow head gaskets, like some cars do. Look for a leak or other cause of the issue.

Dave

[Alberto]

I live in Mountain View. I'd suggest that you speak with Mike Haag of Haag Performance and consider rebuilding / doing maintenance to the valves and head while it is out to gain back the efficiency and power that it has lost over the years of street use. He isn't particularly local but is close enough.

http://www.haagperformance.com/

[Jonathan Ng]

If your head is untouched, you probably don't need a new head. It only takes about 0.005" to warp the head and blow the gasket. An untoucged head can go about 0.016" before being out of spec.

BUT, and this is a big BUTT. You need to find the underlying reason for the blown gasket. Miatas don't just blow head gaskets, like some cars do. Look for a leak or other cause of the issue.

Dave

Jeff from One Stop Race Shop looked over the car with me at the track, the underlying cause seems to be the water pump belt shredding, and the car overheating. Pesky belts.

I live in Mountain View. I'd suggest that you speak with Mike Haag of Haag Performance and consider rebuilding / doing maintenance to the valves and head while it is out to gain back the efficiency and power that it has lost over the years of street use. He isn't particularly local but is close enough.

http://www.haagperformance.com/

I will call him, thanks for the suggestions. I'm not looking for a race motor, but a relaible one. I'll go over the options with him, thanks!

[Glenn]

Jeff from One Stop Race Shop looked over the car with me at the track, the underlying cause seems to be the water pump belt shredding, and the car overheating. Pesky belts.



I will call him, thanks for the suggestions. I'm not looking for a race motor, but a relaible one. I'll go over the options with him, thanks!

Not to rain on you but if you got it hot enough to warp the head and blow the gasket its probably toast. Maybe time to look for a replacement engine as well.

[Jonathan Ng]

Not to rain on you but if you got it hot enough to warp the head and blow the gasket its probably toast. Maybe time to look for a replacement engine as well.

After talking to a bunch of builders, it looks that way I don't want to risk it, so I just placed an order for a Rebello motor! Hopefully I can get it all in before SCCA licensing at the end of Feb. Thanks everybody.

[mdavis]

Not to rain on you but if you got it hot enough to warp the head and blow the gasket its probably toast. Maybe time to look for a replacement engine as well.

Seriously?
See Dave's comments. Depending on the year of your car I'm sure you'd find many folks willing to haul your motor away for you if you really think it's junk.

[Glenn]

Seriously?
See Dave's comments. Depending on the year of your car I'm sure you'd find many folks willing to haul your motor away for you if you really think it's junk.

Yes I read Daves post, I also read WHY and can only assume that an OVERHEATED motor run DRY caused the failure.
Never heard this quote" it just lost power", or this one "I looked at the gauge and it was cooling down".......

[Ron Alan]

Belt broke, no temp gauge I believe, ran until it died! New head is in order is my guess! Sent you a PM Jonathan.

[dstevens]

Three pieces of instrumentation no race car should be without. Tach, h20 temp and oil pressure. In addition warning lights are good too. I would think if one could afford a Rebello, one could afford some basic instrumentation. If it's run dry and it runs until it gets so hot it stops, it needs to come apart and have more than the head checked. That's true for any engine, not just chick cars.

Good rule of thumb on fluid sensors is that if the start to cool outside the normal window, you are likely losing that fluid or it's not flowing like it should. I'd shut down right away and pull off or coast as long as it was safe and find out why.

[Jonathan Ng]

Belt broke, no temp gauge I believe, ran until it died! New head is in order is my guess! Sent you a PM Jonathan.

The only part you stated incorrectly is I did have a temp gauge...but I wasn't watching it Entirely my fault. Caught up in the excitement of the school! Thanks for the PM.

Three pieces of instrumentation no race car should be without. Tach, h20 temp and oil pressure. In addition warning lights are good too. I would think if one could afford a Rebello, one could afford some basic instrumentation. If it's run dry and it runs until it gets so hot it stops, it needs to come apart and have more than the head checked. That's true for any engine, not just chick cars.

Good rule of thumb on fluid sensors is that if the start to cool outside the normal window, you are likely losing that fluid or it's not flowing like it should. I'd shut down right away and pull off or coast as long as it was safe and find out why.

I plan on wiring the water temp and oil pressure up to my either gauges, or my Traqmate. This is one thing that will not happen again. Lessons learned. Luckily, it was on a junkyard motor!

[Jeff Wasilko]

If you're thinking of installing warning lights, take a look at the Autometer Elite gauges. They have the ability to change the backlight color (and then flash the backlight) if you're out of range. There's a video that demonstrates it at http://www.autometer...popup_elite.htm

Last year I lost the alternator tensioner bolt, and the engine temp climbed very quickly. The change to red on my water temp gauge caught my eye right away and I was able to back off and save the engine.

[Ron Alan]

The only part you stated incorrectly is I did have a temp gauge...but I wasn't watching it Entirely my fault. Caught up in the excitement of the school! Thanks for the PM.



I plan on wiring the water temp and oil pressure up to my either gauges, or my Traqmate. This is one thing that will not happen again. Lessons learned. Luckily, it was on a junkyard motor!

Sorry, I misunderstood you when we talked! When you said you needed a water temp gauge(which I'm sure you meant besides the stock!), I took it as you didn't have one that worked period...my bad! But hey...you were caught up in the one on one dual with your coach at the time which I know was fun for you guys!

[dstevens]

The only part you stated incorrectly is I did have a temp gauge...but I wasn't watching it

Sounds familiar....

I plan on wiring the water temp and oil pressure up to my either gauges, or my Traqmate. This is one thing that will not happen again. Lessons learned. Luckily, it was on a junkyard motor!

With that Rebello you'll definitely be paying attention. I like using the data method to set high and low warnings. I have an AIM but it's the same concept. There still is likely a fair amount of stuff you can salvage from that blown engine to use for a low buck spare or sell. If the short block wasn't in bad shape you could later down the road throw a used (or even new) Rebello head on it and have a pretty decent spare.

[Jonathan Ng]

Sorry, I misunderstood you when we talked! When you said you needed a water temp gauge(which I'm sure you meant besides the stock!), I took it as you didn't have one that worked period...my bad! But hey...you were caught up in the one on one dual with your coach at the time which I know was fun for you guys!

Haha, well, one that doesn't work and not watching have the same net end result All the hiccups aside, what a great weekend.

Sounds familiar....

With that Rebello you'll definitely be paying attention. I like using the data method to set high and low warnings. I have an AIM but it's the same concept. There still is likely a fair amount of stuff you can salvage from that blown engine to use for a low buck spare or sell. If the short block wasn't in bad shape you could later down the road throw a used (or even new) Rebello head on it and have a pretty decent spare.

Oh you can bet I'll be paying more attention! Speaking of warnings, I'm torn between two physical gauges, or just wiring into the Traqmate. Any thoughts on that subject?

[Tom Hampton]

I prefer to have the gauges separate of the data system. That way if the data system fails in some way (wiring, etc)...I still have a gauge in the cockpit.

In fact, I like the new Elite gauges that have a 0-5V output that can then be wired into the data system for logging....but, the gauge comes FIRST in that chain. Plus they have a built in programmable idiot light (or several).