Re: Intercooler not holding coolant
Intercooler not holding fluid would not be evident by a bad headgasket. Headgasket would leak coolant from the radiator, not the intercooler system.
Most likely your problem is the intercooler itself has a leak internally, coolant is entering your engine through the throttle body. The smoke could possibly be from that, but smoke on startup is a common problem with SyTys due to leaky valve seals, but if it doesnt do it when the IC is empty, then thats most likely the problem.
Internal leaking of the IC is a fairly comon problem. The easiest way to test for it would be to just it would be to remove the IC lines coming out of the back of the unit and capping them with some 3/4" rubber caps clamped in place. Rubber stoppers might work as well if you dont put any pressure in the system. Pull the hose going from the turbo to the IC, and if possible I would try to pull it away from the throttle body as well.
Fill it up with water and see if you get any water dripping out of the port where the turbo hose would connect, if you do, theres your problem. If you dont, then perhaps there is a leak somewhere else in the IC system.
