Blown head gasket symptoms

[BlackVert]

my car started running rough a just driving around. i may have gotten on it a little, but not much. and there is still a little pinging at around 3000 rpm.

i immediately went home and parked it. that was about 3 weeks ago now.

yesterday i started it up to start trying to figure out what was going on with it. at first i was thinking there was probably a spark plug that wasn't firing.

then i noticed that the exhaust looked like there was more white-ish smoke than i remember. it was chilly enough that it might have been steam, and it behaved like steam in that the smoke dissipated within a couple feet of the exhaust tips, if you know what i mean.

so i panicked and killed the engine.

now i am worried that i may have blown a head gasket and have coolant leaking into a cylinder. the coolant level is a little lower than i remember.

i pulled the dipsitck and looked at it, and it looked normal (not like the chocolate milk i have read about when coolant gets in the oil).

how can i determine if it is a head gasket without pulling the heads?

 

[Bullitt95]

You often won't get chocolate milkshake oil if you blow a head gasket 'cause the leak is usually between a coolant passage and a cylinder. Steam from the exhaust after the engine has warmed up and a wet plug will give the diagnosis away. Even if a plug isn't actually wet, you may find it's either cleaner than the others or it has brown coolant stains on it.
A compression test on all cylinders can also reveal where the head gasket is blown. You may sometimes find low compression in two adjacent cylinders but often it's only a single cylinder that's affected.

 

[64post]

Sometimes even a compression test won't tell you anything unless the engine is expanded to operating temp. Try using a radiator leak testing gauge, the type you pump up to detect a coolant leak (stant etc.) just put it on your radiator without pumping it up and start and run your engine for a 5 minutes if it builds pressure on the gauge dial quickly, say 15+ lbs. in just a short time then your hunch is correct or go to a shop with a 4 gas analyzer and have the owner hover the tip of the tailpipe sniffer just over the coolant (radiator cap off) level to see if it detects HC at all (Most shops do this) and then you have your answer without taking your engine apart needlessly. Head gasket leaks are NOT always obvious, some are so subtle they go undiagnosed or only show symptoms at a certain temp range. You can also use a bore scope to see just how clean the tops pistons are...good luck

 

[BlackVert]

thanks for the advice folks. i suppose it might just be bad gas too. i remember now that i was low and filled up before it started running like this.

 

[ProKiller]

pull the spark plugs. see if one is really white where as the rest should be a nice brown color. or if one has oil residue covering it. those will usually show you if a cylinder has a problem.

 

[gearhead101]

there are alot of ways to check for head gasket failer. the thing to remember is that if you try one way and it passes the test that does not mean your in the clear. are here some of the test i run in my shop.
1. first i look at the distick for milky oil
2.check water for oil.
3.check for steam coming out of the tailpipe (should go away in a few minutes if all is ok or if its very small leak.)
4.hook a pressure tester(leak down tester) for the coolant and pump it to max pressure of the cap. (if it leaks down your coolant is leaking check for leak from all hoses,rad and engine if no leaks are present from the outside of the engine and the oil is still clean rotate the engine and check for wet plugs.
5. go to napa and buy a gas anaylzer put it in your rad start enige and see if the color changes (if it does then ex gas is getting into for coolant from a blown headgasket or cracked head.
6. this should have been number 4. on the list pull plugs and check the color. they shold be light brown. if you do have one or two that cleaner then the rest you should do a compression test on those cyl. (if there is two cleaner then the rest they will usllay be side by side eachother. ive seen this in the
e7s before. a white plug usally means that cyl is seeing a lean condision.
7 you may want to perform a compression test all across the board. ( when doing so hold the the trottle at wot. and then leave the gauge in there to see how fast the needle drops.it should hold for a good bit of time.
if all checks out and the heads are good i would clean the injecter or manuely test them. pm me for details on doing so.

 

[blksn955.o]

If you have an air compressor or know someone who has a portable unit you can test with the car off.

Pull a plug and with either a air gun attachment or by attaching to something you can screw into the spark plug hole fill the cyl. Have the rad cap off. If you see bubbles you have a leak into the coolant system. This is often a cause of overheating. You can pop a HG and not have a milkshake...its just a better HG failure as it does not wipe out the lower end.

You can also do a leak down test or fill the cyl with air again and listen if its leaking into the crank case or take out the other plugs next to the cyl your testing and listen for escaping air out those cyl. This will show a cyl to cyl failure or even ring failure.

 

[WhiteCobra95]

I think everyone has given you some great advice. I've dealt with a number of blown head gaskets on development cars over the past couple of years, and ALL of these methods need to be explored if you think it really is a head gasket issue. Small leaks are EXTREMELY hard to find but can cause all sorts of problems.

One question though: Have you had any type of overheating problems at idle or during light driving? This is usually the first symptom aside from the white exhaust smoke. Combustion gas will get into the coolant jackets, stop at the stat, and the stat won't open as the engine warms up. If this type of thing is happening along with the other signs that got you suspecting a head gasket leak, you probably have one.

Good luck, and I hope it's something easy.

 

[BlackVert]

thanks for all the advice guys. i have not done anything with it since i started the thread, because that is what my life is like these days (or forever).

as usual, after a few months of not getting anywhere with it, i will probably end up taking it to my mechanic and asking him to look at it.

sometimes i wonder why i ever think i might have some time to do these things ...

a couple of notes: it has those head gaskets with the rings that are supposed to help avoid hg failures. and i have not noticed any overheating.

thanks again. i'm not ignoring you all, and i appreciate it.

 

[blksn955.o]

I would check your plugs, wires, look for anything vacuum wise that may be loose/off.

Start with the easy stuff first...I would even check the fuel pressure, if you have a wideband is it leaning out up top?