That shouldn't be there, should it?

[Matches]

Driving the other night I hit one of those steel plates road crews put down after digging a hole. It was sticking out pretty far and I didn't have time to slow down by the time I saw it, hit it, and the car bottomed out really hard. Right after the car started running terribly and a huge cloud of white smoke ( steam mostly ) was billowing out from behind me.

Checking things out, at first I thought the headers had hit the thermostat housing because I was missing a manifold stud right there. After re-sealing the thermostat housing water was still gushing out, soaking the intake/exhaust gasket and making a huge hole. Obviously I was going to have to replace the gasket now, plus I wanted to see if I could tell if something else was wrong. Pulling everything off that side of the head, this hole revealed its self. Best guess is it goes through to the water jacket. Can anyone tell me if that hole is there on all E88 heads?

Also, I now have water coming out of the exhaust port there, and water in the oil. Last time I ran it it was making a horrible noise that sounded like something knocking, but I just can't be sure because of the big nasty exhaust leak right there making different sounds hard to pick out. At this point I am thinking the engine is trashed.

Thoughts?

Thanks

[e_racer1999]

any pics?

[Matches]

They must not be loading for you, try this:

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c121/GoonDriver/DSC_0002-4.jpg

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c121/GoonDriver/DSC_0001-2.jpg

[Walter Moore]

To answer your question: No that hole should not be there. It looks like the header has punctured the head and broken out enough material to open up a water passage.

It might be repairable, but will require that the head be cleaned and welded. That looks expensive to me.

[Matches]

Alright thanks. I thought that maybe the corrosion had been happening for a while and the impact finished the job.

I really don't feel like putting a band aid on that old motor. I will be looking for a long block to swap in. That will probably the cheapest and quickest option. Which of course means the longest and most expensive.

[Zs-ondabrain]

That is your basic electrolicis or corrosion. If you look into the opening for the thermastat housing, you'll probably see some more pitting. Time to Flush the whole cooling system and replace the head.

New or good used head

new intake/exhaust gasket

flush the cooling system (buy a bottle of coolant flush, run it in the car for a few miles, then flush the cooling or take it in and have it flushed. put NEW coolant and water and maybe even an anti-corrosion additive.

Winter is coming, don't mess with mother nature.

Dave.

[Exdamyankee]

L-series internals are tough, unless I knew for sure i had a rod knock I wouldn't be so anxious to trash the block.

The head looks like toast--too much trouble to fix, and good used cylinder heads are reasonably cheap enough. It looks to me as if you've had a coolant leak there for a good long time, all that corrosion around the #1 exhaust port didn't just happen overnight.

Check the bearings. If they're still good slap a used head on it, flush the cooling system, replace your gaskets, and motor on!