Any ideas what might me going on?

[mgbond]

For some time now when I start the car the left exhaust (front bank of engine) spits out sooty water.

This is also the side that lets a flame out on hard driving?

Could a weak spark on one chamber cause this?



Cheers

Bondy

[Plumber1]

For me it was the lamda sensor plug had come undone, no flames but sooty water.

[TuxMan]

Bondy is the left pipe from the front bank ?

[5paulmv]

Are you using a single silencer or 2 separate ones ?

[mgbond]

TuxMan said:

Bondy is the left pipe from the front bank ?

Simon, must try harder. Lol

It's front bank.

Bondy

[mgbond]

5paulmv said:

Are you using a single silencer or 2 separate ones ?

Can't remember if its seperate or not. It's a H&S

Simon are they seperate?

Also the front bank doesn't have a lambda.

Bondy

[5paulmv]

Chances are its valve stem seals will only do it from cold n clear soon as engine warms up a common thing on a Tvr Criffith I wod not panic

[TuxMan]

Yeah separate boxes Bondy , I wonder if its just condensation in the longer exhaust pipe , pretty normal I think as long as your water levels are stable !!!

[mgbond]

I have used about a litre of water over the last few months?

I did change my leads as my garage thought my bank 6 leads was giving a weak spark. Could it be still this area and why I get a flame as maybe unburnt fuel?

Bondy

[Gadgeroonie]

get your head gasket checked

[steveobes]

Looks like condensation in exhaust to me mate

[Zoobeef]

Is your coolant level dropping? Good indication that there something wrong with the headgasket

Water will normally come out the exhaust either from condensation building up after turning the car off or from water in the petrol. Sooty in colour because the inside of the exhaust is that colour and its just taking the dirt with it out the back

[AMG Merc]

.. and Martin, more importantly some kids been drawing on yer bumper again

[Gadgeroonie]

there is a chemical you put in the header tank and if it changes colour the head gasket has gone

alternatively you could try steel seal (i wouldnt recommend it on a Noble)

a solution is to fit high tensile studding and use a nut to fasten the head down

see if you can find exactly where the seal has gone and why

[Zoobeef]

Gadgeroonie said:

there is a chemical you put in the header tank and if it changes colour the head gasket has gone

alternatively you could try steel seal (i wouldnt recommend it on a Noble)

a solution is to fit high tensile studding and use a nut to fasten the head down

see if you can find exactly where the seal has gone and why

The chemical goes in a sniffer vial and you 'sniff' the gasses in your header tank. If exhaust fumes are present then it changes colour.
If its gone you will see a drop in coolant level too though so have you had to top it up?

[Hollowpockets]

It's condensation, ignore it

My car done it for ages, when Jetstream stripped the engine to rebuild it after it packed in the head gaskets were in perfect condition.

[RobP]

Having to top up header tank usually means you have a slight leak somewhere in the system, rather than a damaged head gasket. Usual culprits are jubilee clips around turbo hoses, although leaky rads are also quite common.

[CarbonV12V]

Hollowpockets said:

It's condensation, ignore it

My car done it for ages, when Jetstream stripped the engine to rebuild it after it packed in the head gaskets were in perfect condition.

This - had several cars do it. Nothing to worry about.

[Jim O.]

If you have to keep topping up your header tank, you should get your cooling system pressure tested. The most common cause of cooling system leaks that I've found are hose clamps, either loose or broken. If you're looking for a winter project, I'd suggest changing all the clamps to a better high-torque fully lined stainless steel clamp, not the cheap ones you get at your local hardware or auto parts store.

If you have a separate exhaust (no y pipe), the front tends to spit a little more condensation during warm up because the pipe is longer, so stays colder longer. Have you tried touching and sniffing the water that's coming out? Can you smell any fuel in it?

[mgbond]

Ok thanks all,

Coolant system I know is sealed tight.

Yes ARP bolts should be used but we couldn't get them to hold the head down. There has been a lot if talk about what torque should be used.

I never had an issue with std bolts at 1 bar so we went back to them.

I think it might be a mixture of condensation and maybe a bit of fuel.

Bondy