Cheers, but I either have to remove the VTEC assembly and tighten the head or failing that, back to square one! I'll let you know tomorrow night.

 

if you tightened the head bolts to spec, you should be fine.

22 ft/lb in sequence, then 3 90 degree turns is good enough.

if the coolant is leaking, i doubt it is from the head, but rather from the intake manifold gasket.

i believe you are using the hondata...you have to torque that gasket twice...once...then drive around...and torque it again really really tight. that's probably where your leak is coming from.

 

The head bolts were done to spec with 3 90 degree turns on new bolts.

And the good news is I don't think there is an issue with the head gasket. The coolant around cylinder one I suspect is from the purge valve when I purged the system (Although obviously not too well).

Another thing I've realised is that the Hondata gasket blocks the coolant path to turbo.

And meanwhile I'm waiting on an email from Steve as he thinks he knows what the problem is.

 

Where are you pulling the H20 to cool the turbo from?

Here's what I did on a speedcraft car that was retro'd with a watercooled turbo:

1. Coolant flows to the turbo from the outlet on the side of the block that used to feed the sandwhich plate for the stock oil "cooler" (although it probably does more to warm the oil on cold days than cool the oil once the car is running)

2. Then, I plugged the hard metal line that runs across the front of the block, as that was the old passage by which the coolant that flowed through the oil cooler and go back to the block. It enters the block near the thermostat housing (which is why I argue it's more of an oil heater than cooler)

3. I then routed the return line from the turbo to the upper radiator hose using a t-fitting.

 

Steve's theory relates to the signal from the crank or cam angle sensor. He believes there is a problem with the sensor or the AEM reading it at start up and this caused the engine to run really retarded for the short run from the lights to where we pulled over. Retarded enough to cause the boiling coolant and red hot manifold.

Sounds plausible. We did have a problem when we first fired the engine where it would fire a few times, miss, and fire again repeatedly. It was a setting in the ECU where the ECU was repeatedly relearning the timing signal rather than just remembering it.

I'll check the sensor signal on an oscilloscope.

 

What does grotty mean? lol. Nice rebuild!

 

LOL, very english term for dirty.

 

How much did you pay for your Exedy recondition?

Awesome buildup, hoping for the best for you.

 

$308 Pacific Pesos!!

 

It's usually advanced timing that will cause hard starting and overheating. I've seen small block chevy's break starters from too much advance trying to get the engine started.