Re: 164 Leaking Coolant

["Graham Davis" <grahamldavis@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Brad.

I'ld suggest a die-test to determine if combustion gasses are present in
the coolant.  My concern regarding coolant stop-leak products is, while
they do work to some degree, they do not always work well.  If coolant is
seeping into the combustion chamber/s, when burned, it will glue the
piston rings down rock-hard tight and you'll be in for a complete rebuild
including a cook in the hot tank to clean the crap out.  With the Alfa V6
motor you also have to be concerned about coolant leaks around the head
studs.  Last winter my eldest son bought an '85 GTV-6 2.5L where the
owner had stopped the leaks, or so he thought.  Unfortunately, both heads
were coolant-glued to the studs and the L.H. side is still though that
motor now resides in the shed.  I've NEVER seen such gunk inside a motor.

Anyone know how to get that stubborn head off?  It's free except for the
one glued stud; 10 o'clock on #4 cyl..  I can fine-wire probe adjacent
one side of the stud to a depth of about 3/4 inch then I hit bed-rock.  A
4 cyl. head-puller will not fit.  My thought was to unscrew the 7 other
studs and rotate the head to break the bond but I was successful in
removing only one.

Graham L. Davis'91 164 L'89 Milano Verde'89 Spider Grad

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