Ok so I'm going through coolant like it's going out of style. It's a 98 GS-T with 113k miles, Blitz BOV, FMIC, stock t25 turbo on 18psi, Injen intake, Apexi N1 Catback. I changed the oil about 2 weeks ago with mobil 1 fully synthetic which I always use every 3k miles and it looked fine when I drained the old oil. I replaced the radiator cap at the same time because the old one was getting bad. I still have a VERY small leak at one of the radiator hoses but nothing that would have me go through coolant like this. My overflow tank goes empty after about a day of driving. The radiator will be empty after 3-4 weeks. Coolant turns into a nasty brown color very fast. The car only overheats when the radiator is basically almost empty and needs more antifreeze and water. Does anybody have any idea what's going on because it's starting to worry me. I'm thinking it could be the thermostat and or radiator? Also this is a dumb question but does anybody know what color antifreeze the car takes cause I've just been using some prestone antifreeze that works with all colors.

ok update. I started up the car today and it started overheating just a little bit and I only drove it for about 5 minutes. There's an exhaust manifold gasket leak in the car and also a bad exhaust leak at the cat. I popped the hood and surely enough I was getting low on coolant and the overflow tank was empty (suprise suprise). Poured in more coolant and water in the radiator cap til it was full and poured some water in the overflow tank. Waited a little while and started the car up and opened up the throtle and saw a little bit of white smoke coming out where my exhaust manifold gasket leak is. Couldn't see any smoke coming out the cat or the exhaust tip. I'm guessing it's a bad head gasket and I'm definitely burning some coolant but does anybody have any other ideas on what it could be?

come on guys please I really need to get this car on the road. Does anybody have any ideas on what could be going on please? This car's breaking my heart right now.

I just went through this. I would drive maybe 2 miles and boom over heating, to the point of it shutting down.

how I fixed it:

Raplaced radiator. ( mine was clogged causing overheating)
Replace thermostat
Also gasket for thermostat
all new coolant obviously

Check to see if your head gasket is blown

honestly I just went though this. All new parts of what I listed above, ~$200 with tax lol and your own labor

you see I can drive mine for somewhere between 750-1000 miles before I actually start to overheat. I don't really have any antifreeze leaking anywhere and whenever I check the antifreeze it's a really nasty brown color and I'm sure it's not supposed to be like that. I have white smoke coming out the manifold so I know there's gotta be an internal leak somewhere. The head gasket hasn't been changed in a long time and has probably gone bad but I don't think any of the other gaskets and seals have been changed anytime recently so I kinda just want a list of options here cause I figure if I'm gonna change the head gasket I'd rather just change all the gaskets and seals that are easy to get to once the head's off. And by the way how important is it to have a torque wrench to change the head gasket? Do I really really need it or could I just be careful and do it without it?

Sounds like your headgasket needs to be changed.the brown is probaly oil.whats the oil look like when you change it.

agreed. sorry for the bad news

oil looks fine which kinda threw me off. I'm gonna replace the head gasket one way or another and put in arp studs. Is there anything else worth doing while I have the head off? And also can I put the bolts back on without using a torque wrench or is that a bad idea?

replace all your gaskets would be the smart thing. It is just that much easier to get to the intake mani gasket and exhaust gasket ;)

well my problem is the exhaust manifold gasket has been bad for awhile and the kid I bought the car from tried to change it himsef and he broke one of the bolts off in the block so it's gonna be a pain to get that out.

yes, you need a torque wrench. not so much for "exact" torque since you are using arp studs but for consistency so the head doesn't warp or crack.

that bolt is going to suck but it will be worth it to get that thing out. don't forget to replace your timing belt, tensioner, and pulleys. Any time you take the head off it's a good idea to do that.

also I heard our water pumps are a pain in a Ass to replace also. I would look into that also

I really wanna do the timing belt considering I only have about another 8k miles before it's time to get it done but I've never done timing before by myself and I don't wanna mess that up. I've never taken the 4g63t apart. I know I'm gonna get flamed for this but I've taken a whole bunch of honda motors apart to help out my cousin. Would you guys recommend me doing all this myself and just taking my time ( I have another car to drive in the meantime so I can take as long as I want doing this ) or should I take it to the shop and have them do it? By the way to do timing and a water pump I don't have to pull the motor do I cause I'd rather just leave it all in there cause I don't have the proper materials to pull it.

well, it depends on which honda motor you are talking about. if it was a DOHC engine then they have similar concepts. IMO The 4g63 isn't as easy to work on as a honda or even the 420a but if you take your time and follow the directions you will be just fine.

I put a link in the FAQ that will give you a complete step by step to change the timing belt. The only difference with what you are doing is you will be removing the head to do the headgasket.
http://www.mitsubishi-forums.com/index.php...pe=post&id=6447