Burst CoolantHose ... Now runs choppy

[maXroOt]

Been a while since Ive visited, but just ran into an issue w/ my 87 turbo...

I was driving my friend home, and about a quarter of a mile from her place I thought my car was smoking. Wasnt sure (and was on the highway), got to her place and it definitely was (from under the hood). Checked the temperature guage and it was normal. Got out and could smell burning sugar, knew right away that a coolant hose burst. Sure enough, coolant sprayed all over the engine bay. There was still coolant in the reservoir tank, noticed the 90 degree hose that goes into the back of the engine split. Got that fixed within a couple of hours, poured in about 3/4 of a gallon of coolant to fill it up and was off. Right away I noticed that the car was running choppy (kind of has a fast pulsing to it. stand next to a mustang w/ an exhaust and its similiar, has that fast but choppy sound) and shaking a bit more then usual. Drove it home (~4 miles) but I didnt get on it hard, not sure if it was bogging down much.

Any ideas? Wasnt a problem before the burst hose, I am sure I did NOT see the temperature guage spike, though I guess it could still be a BHG (oil was not milky, but then agian didnt drive it around much for any coolant to possibly mix w/ the oil). Im gonna get some fuel injector cleaner since I figure maybe some coolant got sucked in through the air filter, but I am not sure what else to do, Im worried to drive it around. Any help would be appreciated, thanks guys.

 

[Supracentral]

The temp gauge measures temperature at the thermostat housing. A steady gauge in a compromised coolant system is no guarantee that you aren't seeing overheating in the block.

However, before jumping to bad conclusions, I'd say the #1 thing to check is if coolant has filled the spark plug galley and is shorting out a plug.

As a matter of course, this is a good time to change your sparkplugs while you are at it.

Start with the simple/inexpensive stuff before worrying about a BHG, I doubt that is your problem.

 

[maXroOt]

Thanks for the response ...

Well I pulled the 1 and 6 coil (easiest to get to w/o removing anything) and my car had a nice surprise for me: oil ... you could see it surrounding the tops of the spark plugs. I had suspected my valve cover gaskets were leaking, but was ok w/ just tightening the screws and putting a bit more oil in (yea I know, not exactly the greatest idea, but I cant really put much more money into this pit). Wiped the coil packs off a bit, only saw oil wasnt able to tell if their was any coolant down there. I am guessing this oil has been down their for a bit though, not sure why all of a sudden things wouldve gotten choppy? Should I get the area cleaned out and replace the plugs then?

 

[GrimJack]

Get it cleaned out and replace the plugs. I bet there is a bunch of oil and water down there, shorting one or more plug wires, and that will be the reason it's all choppy.

 

[maXroOt]

Ok thanks, I will probably bring it in on monday.

I just took it for a drive, and it first started up normally, no choppy'ness or sputtering. After driving for a minute or two, it would occasionally start to get choppy but would stop when I let off the gas. I got to a flat road, put it in second and 3/4 throttle, waited a couple of seconds for the lag, and then right when boost should start to come on it sputtered a lot. I would still get boost, but didnt have a chance to run out the gear to see if it peaked early. Perhaps the hot coolant burnt a hole in a line, giving me a boost leak? Ive read that boost leaks can give you similiar symptoms, not sure how to know if it is simply missing when I give it a lot of gas, or if its a leak (will check thoroughly tomorrow for any issues in the lines) w/o taking it in.