Important! : Water in combustion chamber

27th April 2010, 00:46

I have changed the headgasket, but i still have water coming out the exhaust

I can only think of two things

Crack in the cylinder head

Crack in the block

Cylinder head being much more likely as i do not have water in the oil and vice versa

Exhaust gasses are getting into the coolant and pressurising the coolant, and water out the exhaust

Ideas?

27th April 2010, 06:34

Before you do anything else, try 'K Seal' and report back

27th April 2010, 10:19

is the water in your rad going down??? you say water, has the car been sat? do you have a duplex exhaust system? have you taken in for a long drive? if you do short drives you are bound to get get a vast amount of water in the system?
also is the car spluttering? how can you be sure you are getting water in the combustion chambers? have you looked? or is it just a guess because of the water out of the back end?
dont jump to the worst idea, try a process of elimination fella

hope this helps

27th April 2010, 11:24

Do a compression test to show any abnormalities

27th April 2010, 19:45

if there was enough water in the combustion chambers to pour out of the exhaust, the piston would hit the water, wouldnt be able to compress it and would throw a connecting rod through the side of the block. its almost certainly condensation

27th April 2010, 19:52

Did u check the head wiv a straight edge wen u changed the head gasket if not could be worped and need skimming?

29th April 2010, 21:16

Its definently not condensation, not a chance.

I know its in the combustion chambers because its coming out the exhaust as steam, and exhaust gasses are pressurising the coolant.

Yes the water level goes down because its burning water.

When i say coming out the exhaust i dont mean literally pouring out like a tap, its steam. A decent amount of it.

Just tried k-seal, failure.

What next?

What else could it be but a crack on the engine somewhere?

When you say compression test it, can i do it with the engine in, or do i have to strip it down?

Thanks

29th April 2010, 21:18

you do a compression test with the engine still in.

29th April 2010, 21:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chico999

Its definently not condensation, not a chance.

I know its in the combustion chambers because its coming out the exhaust as steam, and exhaust gasses are pressurising the coolant.

Yes the water level goes down because its burning water.

When i say coming out the exhaust i dont mean literally pouring out like a tap, its steam. A decent amount of it.

Just tried k-seal, failure.

What next?

What else could it be but a crack on the engine somewhere?

When you say compression test it, can i do it with the engine in, or do i have to strip it down?

Thanks

Are you for real?!

Why did the headgasket? Have you done a 'sniff' test?

How do you know the coolant is being pressurised?

The coolant temperature fine when the car is driven?

As mentioned above, the engine can't compress water so isn't a lot of water at all so does sound like condensation.

29th April 2010, 21:43

I did the headgasket because the coolant is being pressurised with exhaust gases, and steam is coming out the exhaust.

I know that because i opened the coolant with the engine temp up and it came out like a fountain, trust me its pressurised.

Yeah the cooland temps fine with the car running.

And once again, theres no chance its condensation, it wouldnt be coming out constantly.

I know an engine cant compress water, but if its a small amount it can burn it in the mixture, creating steam.

Never heard of a sniff test before

why would the coolant be pressurising?

29th April 2010, 21:44

How do i do a pressure test then?

29th April 2010, 22:23

This might be a stab in the dark here but:

If you have some hold water in a sealed container, then heated it up the pressure inside would increase? Would the same principle not apply to a cars cooling system? I presume your radiator is topped upto the max mark?

A sniff test is where a garage uses a special chemical to 'sniff' the coolant - it goes from blue to yellow if exhaust/combustion gases are present. This would be a good test for you to get an answer.

Personally it sounds like the car is fine and it's condensation - I'm not there so can't say for sure.

I'm not trying to be an arse but a google search on the above and your perceived problem would have given you some avenues for investigation.

29th April 2010, 22:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chico999

How do i do a pressure test then?

You manually pressurise the coolant to check for leaks. This normally entails some sort of pump being attached to where you top the cars coolant up.

If you think water is leaking into the combustion chamber then this isn't a wise test to do. I don't think this is happening

29th April 2010, 23:03

Yeah if you heat water the pressure would increase, but thats why theres a max fill mark and an overflow hole just under the cap, more than enough to cope with a standard engine coolant system.

It pressurises so much that when i take the cap off, it literally blasts out the expansion tank.

I'll take it to a garage and get that done.

I also ran the car on three cylinders, to see if i could find the cylinder which was the cause, it releases the compression out the top of the cylinder rather than pushing it into the coolant, the first cylinder stopped the bubbles coming out the expansion tank, so i presume this is where the leak is.

If it was condensation, would it be coming out the exhaust constantly? Its a decent amount of steam not a pishy wee amount.

30th April 2010, 03:36

Did you get the head skimmed? Sounds like you didnt and the original problem still exists-ie a warped head. Do it properly this time