Believe I blew a head gasket

[wreckwriter]

Car started heating up so I checked coolant, way down. like a gallon, with no discernible leaks.

Doesn't appear to be coolant in the oil nor is there any obviously coming out the exhaust.

What should I check now?

[Andy@Livernois]

pull plugs, look for sulfer or chalky deposits on them, look for milky oil...

[wreckwriter]

Oil is not milky.

[GeorgeInNePa]

Any steam coming out of the tail pipes? Sometimes you can smell the coolant in the exhaust.

Like Andy said, pull the plugs...

If it's not leaking on the ground, and it's not in the oil, it's got to be in the cylinders.

[Devilish34]

Oil is not milky.
drain you oil to be sure.

[djchubbs]

put a container on the overflow hose to make sure it is not dumping there and you can get a kit that will test for exhaust gases in the coolant


:poof::poof::poof:

[GRRRR8]

If its a head gasket it should run rough or smoke out the tailpipes. You should smell it as well.

[Crazy Paul]

You'll also smell coolant if there's a leak under the hood.
Recently I had a cracked radiator. I was losing a litre or more of coolant each time I drove the car. I could smell the coolant from the leak at the front for a few days before I could find the leak visually.
I put one of those coolant circuit tester hand pumps onto mine and pressurised the system to find the leak.

[wreckwriter]

If its a head gasket it should run rough or smoke out the tailpipes. You should smell it as well.

Runs fine but seems a little haze out of the exhaust, very little though, might always be a bit? I can't smell shit if it was on my upper lip. Afraid to really nail it... Definitely no coolant under the car, it has to be going somewhere. Real sudden, just noticed it today, was not running it hard at all, just suddenly temp started going up.

Assuming it is head gasket, can I get better than stock to replace?

[Crazy Paul]

I wouldn't assume head gasket until you've done all the checks mentioned above and proven it. The stock GM MLS gaskets are fine. If you deviate from them then you have thickness issues to deal with, so you'd have to change both. Quality may not necessarily improve either.

You can lose quite a volume of coolant without ever seeing it on the ground.
A split can open up only under full pressure and temperature, while driving the fluid then gets misted away by the fan. Took me a week to find my disappearing coolant as stated above.

[wreckwriter]

I wouldn't assume head gasket until you've done all the checks mentioned above and proven it. The stock GM MLS gaskets are fine. If you deviate from them then you have thickness issues to deal with, so you'd have to change both. Quality may not necessarily improve either.

You can lose quite a volume of coolant without ever seeing it on the ground.
A split can open up only under full pressure and temperature, while driving the fluid then gets misted away by the fan. Took me a week to find my disappearing coolant as stated above.

What kind of tester is needed? All I've seen work on standard type rads and caps, not our screw in kind.

One of these adapters?:

http://www.stant.com/brochure.cfm?brochure=2945&location_id=183

['02 ws6]

Assuming it is head gasket, can I get better than stock to replace?

Cometic makes a .051 gasket that a lot of FI and nitrous users use. I ran .040 on my TA, held up great for 20k + miles.
BlackBerry8830/4.2.2 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/104

[GeorgeInNePa]

I wouldn't assume head gasket until you've done all the checks mentioned above and proven it. The stock GM MLS gaskets are fine. If you deviate from them then you have thickness issues to deal with, so you'd have to change both. Quality may not necessarily improve either.

You can lose quite a volume of coolant without ever seeing it on the ground.
A split can open up only under full pressure and temperature, while driving the fluid then gets misted away by the fan. Took me a week to find my disappearing coolant as stated above.

There is a florescent dye that you can add and then check with a black light if the leak is very small.

[Crazy Paul]

What kind of tester is needed? All I've seen work on standard type rads and caps, not our screw in kind.
One of these adapters?:
http://www.stant.com/brochure.cfm?brochure=2945&location_id=183

Yes if you can find the correct size and thread. GM tools pictured below.

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y20/PerthPurplePenguin/car%20parts/Instructions/cool2_03.jpg

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y20/PerthPurplePenguin/car%20parts/Instructions/cool1_03.jpg

Pressure Test the Rad Cap.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y20/PerthPurplePenguin/car%20parts/Instructions/coola_03.jpg

Pressure Test the Cooling System.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y20/PerthPurplePenguin/car%20parts/Instructions/coolb_03.jpg

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y20/PerthPurplePenguin/car%20parts/Instructions/coolc_03.jpg


Dye Method
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y20/PerthPurplePenguin/car%20parts/Instructions/coold_03.jpg

[wreckwriter]

Sure would be nice to have this be a cap or even a radiator......

[Ktlplxm]

Just think of this as a chance to service everything. Pulling a head is by no means difficult or that expensive. Now you can run a slightly thicker Cometic gasket (its what i have on mine since I was gonna spray or boost it) that will take more cylinder pressure than the stockers.

[Andy@Livernois]

did you check the plugs yet? that is free (assuming you have the tools) and takes minutes... do that first

[wreckwriter]

did you check the plugs yet? that is free (assuming you have the tools) and takes minutes... do that first

I took it to a radiator place. He said no evidence of head gasket leak (no bubbles in coolant or water in exhaust). He pressure tested the radiator and it was good. Could not test the cap though (no adapter). He thinks I should try replacing cap first. Will have to order one of course.

Have not pulled plugs yet but expect I will. No so easy in my crowded engine comp :(

[G8GT721]

that sucks, hope its a cheap fix for ya

[Robert@KBXPerformance]

I took it to a radiator place. He said no evidence of head gasket leak (no bubbles in coolant or water in exhaust). He pressure tested the radiator and it was good. Could not test the cap though (no adapter). He thinks I should try replacing cap first. Will have to order one of course.

Have not pulled plugs yet but expect I will. No so easy in my crowded engine comp :(



Tom, why bother with all that other BS first when doing what Andy said will literally take a few minutes? It seems that you are putting the cart ahead of the horse here. If you get in a rush to come to a conclusion then you might end up paying more money than you would really have needed to get this issue resolved. I am not trying to tell you what to do here but I guess I don't understand your method here. There are many things that could be causing this and a proper troubleshooting process will save the most time, money and headache. We are just trying to help ya out buddy. :)

If I were you I would check the plugs. If you find nothing there then move onto putting dye into your coolant system, drive the car for a while. Park it in a dark place and check with a black light.

My brother had an issue with his Jetta about a year ago where he was running into a similar problem. Had a coolant leak, feared it was the head gasket immediately and started freaking out. I told him to calm down and check his engine bay again more thoroughly the next time. He finally found it was an auxiliary coolant pump that leaked through its o-ring housing but only while driving. He almost spent a crapton of money until he found that. Replaced the o-ring for $5 and he was good to go.

[99-LS1-SS]

Does crapton = shitload? lol!

[wreckwriter]

I'm going to pull the plugs. Right now its raining but I will be doing it today. Won't be minutes in my jammed engine compartment but will be checked. If nothing found, replace radiator cap, then dye.

[G8GT721]

I'm going to pull the plugs. Right now its raining but I will be doing it today. Won't be minutes in my jammed engine compartment but will be checked. If nothing found, replace radiator cap, then dye.

my engine bay is not nearly as crowded as yours, and i don't want to say how long it took me to change plugs

[Robert@KBXPerformance]

Does crapton = shitload? lol!


Nope, there is a conversion that needs to be done. :)

[rclinton]

Hope it turns out to be something simple. You might want to check the heater core for leaks also. May be leaking into the cabin and getting soaked into the carpet, but you would probably smell the sweet smell of the coolant.

[GeorgeInNePa]

Does crapton = shitload? lol!

crapton < shitload

[G8GT594]

This is interesting. My car is doing the samething. Overheats at every light. Put the stock pully on. No change. New belt. No change. New waterpump no change. We've came to the conclusion that my belt tensioner is shot so a new one will be on order soon.
BlackBerry8330/4.5.0.77 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/105

[wreckwriter]

This is interesting. My car is doing the samething. Overheats at every light. Put the stock pully on. No change. New belt. No change. New waterpump no change. We've came to the conclusion that my belt tensioner is shot so a new one will be on order soon.
BlackBerry8330/4.5.0.77 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/105

Mine never got terribly hot, just noticed it was higher than normal and then found coolant down about a half gallon.

[wreckwriter]

Hope it turns out to be something simple. You might want to check the heater core for leaks also. May be leaking into the cabin and getting soaked into the carpet, but you would probably smell the sweet smell of the coolant.

First thing I checked, not it.

[BigV8]

If you are replacing the cap might as well put some die in while your at it, if its that simple.

[wreckwriter]

If you are replacing the cap might as well put some die in while your at it, if its that simple.

Trying to find the equipment for that.

[DRCUSTOMPARTS]

One guy had a cracked overflow tank and was loosing coolant there. Check that and the hose going to it.

[racerns]

This is interesting. My car is doing the samething. Overheats at every light. Put the stock pully on. No change. New belt. No change. New waterpump no change. We've came to the conclusion that my belt tensioner is shot so a new one will be on order soon.
BlackBerry8330/4.5.0.77 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/105

Little bit of a threadjack but are you sure that your fans are kicking on? I had both of my fans fail which caused on overheat conditions while sitting still.

[wreckwriter]

Yea, they're working fine.

[racerns]

Yea, they're working fine.

Since you have an obvious loss of coolant, that was more for G8GT594.

[G8GT594]

Since you have an obvious loss of coolant, that was more for G8GT594.

My bad. Yes fans are fine.

[wreckwriter]

OK, did the UV dye test last night. One place I think I have issues is where the overflow tank filler neck connects to the overflow tank. Keep in mind my overflow tank is a metal replacement (part of the ProCharger kit) which uses the stock filler neck and cap.

Can I use RTV to seal this area? Do I need to use something special?

[GeoffA]

OK, did the UV dye test last night. One place I think I have issues is where the overflow tank filler neck connects to the overflow tank. Keep in mind my overflow tank is a metal replacement (part of the ProCharger kit) which uses the stock filler neck and cap.

Can I use RTV to seal this area? Do I need to use something special?


I'm not a pro on this but it says it will work


Bonds, seals, caulks and insulates. Withstands temperatures from -70° to 500° (-60°C to 260°C). Resists oil, antifreeze, grease, and transmission fluids. Provides a waterproof seal and remains flexible
http://www.supergluecorp.com/pro-seal/rtv-silicone-instant-gasket-makers/clear-rtv-silicone-adhesive-sealant-0

[GRRRR8]

OK, did the UV dye test last night. One place I think I have issues is where the overflow tank filler neck connects to the overflow tank. Keep in mind my overflow tank is a metal replacement (part of the ProCharger kit) which uses the stock filler neck and cap.

Can I use RTV to seal this area? Do I need to use something special?

Can you take a pic so I can see how it attaches?

[wreckwriter]

It just pushes in :/

[GRRRR8]

Use brake clean to clean area and dry completely. Use grey RTV and see if you can use a wire tie to apply a little pressure around the neck as well.

[wreckwriter]

Use brake clean to clean area and dry completely. Use grey RTV and see if you can use a wire tie to apply a little pressure around the neck as well.

Why grey?

[GRRRR8]

Why grey?

Works better with coolant.

[wreckwriter]

Works better with coolant.

Any particular brand?

[GRRRR8]

Any particular brand?

I always use Pematex Ultra Grey

[wreckwriter]

I always use Pematex Ultra Grey

K, thanks

[HoldenMan21]

I blew my front head gasket, was having poor throttle response and plenty of gery smoke in the pipes.
My dealership is actually working on fixing the problem right now, Im lucky cause still under warranty and with approx: 15 hours to do the work
my out of pocket expenses will be a big fat 0 !