One thing you might try doing it pressurizing the cooling system with the spark plugs out. Carefully turn the engine over and you might be able to hear the air coming out one of the plug holes at the right crank position (air will come out when turning it over anyway - but you might hear a notable hiss or burble). Taking the exhaust manifold off would also give you a clear indication if it's being burned out the exhaust manifold. (It steams the port and looks pristine - no carbon build up) Either/both should eliminate if it's burning it. If it's burning a lot of antifreeze - then the tail pipe itself should give it away with white deposits or a very clean tail pipe. Antifreeze also burns white with a sweet smell - so you might want to park yourself behind the car and have some one rev it. (WOT to 4500, off to idle, repeat)
I'd also take efforts to clean the exterior of the engine REALLY well to make sure all residue from the recent work is washed off. Take lots of time protecting all the electrical bits if using a pressure washer - I use a good cleaner (Grease-off or some such from the makers of spray 9 works awesome) and just low pressure garden hose with an old paint brush works good. I still wrap up the electrical bits just in case as well.
OnSince you admit the car is noticeably crappy - you might look at finding a cheap replacement and then use this one as the parts car... It's one of the benefits of Peugeot ownership - beautiful cars in amazing shape can be had for a pittance...
I can understand you fixing this one though - I'm terrible for spending too much $$$ on cars when I fix them - it gets personal and I feel challenged to the point that I have to fix them... (almost $5000 into a rusty 90' Subaru Legacy AWD is the latest. It now runs and drives VERY well - embarasses newer cars in ride and handling - but it looks like a beat up old car... Happily - it runs and drives better than any car I could ever buy for the same money invested. We just won't talk about the labour costs would have been however... :)
Hope that helps narrow it down...
- Original Message -----
From: kenneth parker <elkeni@mac.com>
Date: Sunday, July 10, 2005 9:47 pm
Subject: Re: [Peugeot-L] XN6 cooked antifreeze smell
> Gary,
> Thanks for the thoughtful post. When I did the job I used short
> bolts
> with nice thick flat washers to make sure that the sleeves were
> not
> disturbed at all. I cleaned the intake side of the head and then
> repositioned the bolts and did the exhaust side. I didn't spend
> too
> long taking straight edge measurements, but I think I remember the
> liner protrusion being within specs.
> If there is coolant leaking into the oil, or vice versa, I can't
> figure out where the antifreeze smell would be coming from. The
> oil
> does not look milky. I assume that since I can smell the cooking
> coolant that it must be leaking somewhere onto the exhaust and
> burning
> off immediately.
> With regards to the florescent dye that you mention, is it
> something
> that you add to the coolant and forget or do I have to drain the
> system
> after using it? Also, where can I buy the dye and bulb?
> The worst part about this whole, seemingly endless, job is that
> it is
> a, kind of, crappy 505. The seats are ragged, the headliner is a
> mess,
> the windshield has a crack and there is either a rear main seal
> leak
> (lateral rubber strips) or a pan gasket leak that keeps the
> underside
> glistening. There is also the usual leak at the rear of the
> transmission from either the rear transmission seal or another
> rearward
> trans gasket.
> Is it possible to change the rear seal and pan gasket without
> either
> pulling the motor or having to lower the cross member? I assume
> that
> in order to lower the cross member that the lines to the pinion
> valve
> and ram need to be removed. I think I would rather pull the motor
> than
> have to remove the ram and its lines. Regardless, is it possible
> to do
> the seal/pan gasket job by lowering the cross member or do I have
> to
> pull the engine to do it?
> Thanks,
> Ken
> On Jul 10, 2005, at 9:20 AM, gary freeman wrote:
>
> > If I remember correctly, the head gasket for that
> > engine was almost perfectly symetrical; and there-
> > fore was quite easy to put on upside down. But, that
> > was a disaster because one hole was different and
> > would block a water passage. I've seen that give
> > professional Peugeot techs big headaches. There's a
> > kit you can buy that puts a chemical in the coolant
> > system and with an included glass bulb that sits in
> > the radiator neck, it turns a certain color if there
> > is exhaust gas in the system. The best way is to go
> > somewhere that has an exhaust gas analyser because
> > they can "sniff" the tailpipe, the radiator neck
> > (don't put the "sniffer" in the coolant), or
> > anywhere
> > else; and immediately detect the tiniest amount of
> > ehaust gas. A better way to check that discoloration
> > at the back of the head is to put flourescent dye
> > for
> > coolant in the cooling system, and then put an
> > ultra-
> > violet light on it and you will see bright yellow
> > wherever coolant is leaking. Another thing to con-
> > sider is whether you're leaking coolant into the
> > oil,
> > or if you're leaking oil into the coolant because
> > a bad headgasket doesn't always mean a leak to
> > exhaust. And if you're leaking coolant into the oil,
> >
> > there's a good possibility you have a leak at the
> > gasket for the cylinder liner as this is a wet
> > sleeve
> > engine with paper gaskets; and even if that wasn't
> > your original problem, that could have been easily
> > been disrupted during the head gasket job. Usually
> > if there's a head gasket problem not involving
> > exhaust gas getting in the coolant, then you'll
> > usually get oil in the coolant as oil pressure is
> > significantly higher than coolant pressure.
> >
> > I hope this gives you some ideas, but the XN6 engine
> > is usually very tough and isn't prone to head gasket
> > problems. BMW's also blow head gaskets when they're
> > overheated and you'll have regular timing belt
> > changes. And the Peugeot suspension is much tougher
> > and the comfort is much better.
> >
> > Good luck!
> >
> > Gary Freeman
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > --- kenneth parker <elkeni@mac.com> wrote:
> >
> >> Some months ago billows of white smoke caused me to
> >> pressurize my
> >> cooling system (Stant ST-255) and discover a lot of
> >> coolant leaking
> >> into cylinder #2. The head was removed and the head
> >> gasket was
> >> carefully scrutinized for any holes/defects, etc.
> >> Nothing apparent was
> >> found. I had the head pressure tested and a crack
> >> -I believe it was
> >> internal, not in a firing chamber- was found. I
> >> bought a used head,
> >> with enough meat on it, that passed the pressure
> >> test and had it
> >> resurfaced and had the valves and seats done.
> >> I did a surgical reassembly, though I used a
> >> Snap-on click stop wrench
> >> for torquing the head instead of the manual
> >> recommended torque angle
> >> gauge. The head bolts were wire brushed prior to
> >> assembly and their
> >> respective holes in the block were chased (not
> >> chaste) and, again,
> >> surgically cleaned out with compressed air. The
> >> bolts were torqued at
> >> 60 ft. lbs., and the head re-torqued at 600 miles.
> >> For some days everything seemed problem free and
> >> then I began to
> >> detect the smell of cooked antifreeze. I looked
> >> and looked but could
> >> not find an apparent leak, though I needed to add .5
> >> quart of coolant
> >> to the system every couple of days. No smoke from
> >> the tail pipe, but
> >> the smell was there. I did not detect the smell at
> >> the tail pipe, but
> >> in the engine compartment.
> >> A Peugeot guy in Alameda, Sam from SK Auto, put it
> >> up in the air and
> >> looked at the rear of the head (by the manifold down
> >> pipe). He noticed
> >> some discoloration on the block just below the rear
> >> of the head and
> >> said that he thought it was a bad head gasket. He
> >> told me to clean it
> >> off (the block under the head), and spray paint it
> >> and then run it and
> >> look at it again. Sam told me that it was probably
> >> not the right brand
> >> head gasket (It was a Curty Payen) and said that he
> >> bought his from a
> >> guy in Texas (I assumed Madhu from Disortex). He
> >> suggested that I
> >> re-torque the head at least five additional lbs. to
> >> 65.
> >> I think Brian Holm suggested that I drain the block
> >> before retorquing
> >> the head. I drained the block and retorqued the
> >> head to 65 ft. lbs. I
> >> re-adjusted the valves and put a couple of GM
> >> cooling system tabs in
> >> the radiator. Everything seemed fine and the
> >> coolant level seemed
> >> pretty stable. After a month of driving I, again,
> >> started to smell
> >> cooked coolant. The smell was apparent only
> >> sometimes after driving.
> >> The coolant loss is very slight, like a cup or two
> >> every four or five
> >> days.
> >> This problem has been driving me nuts. There are
> >> times that I think I
> >> can detect the smell of antifreeze at the tail pipe
> >> and times when I
> >> can't.
> >> I was wondering if anyone out there had any
> >> suggestions -other than
> >> seeing a therapist- that they might be kind enough
> >> to send my way.
> >> Again, the coolant loss is minimal and the smell is
> >> apparent after I
> >> drive my daughter to school (20 minutes non-freeway)
> >> or am idling after
> >> a brisk freeway run. The smell seems to be present
> >> at the tail pipe
> >> only some of the time. I put a lot of work into
> >> this car and am
> >> thoroughly demoralized with it and looking for a BMW
> >> 325is to elevate
> >> my spirits.
> >> Desperate in California,
> >> Ken
> >>
> >>
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > ____________________________________________________
> > Sell on Yahoo! Auctions – no fees. Bid on great items.
> > http://auctions.yahoo.com/
>
>
>
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Received on Mon Jul 11 10:21:27 2005
