Head Gaskets shot!

[SmyleySho]

Well today I just figured out that the head gaskets were shot. I let my sister drive my car a couple of months ago and she let the car get hot. She said the gage would stay on the "N" and thought it was OK. Anyway the car had been driven 60 miles on the "N", Ever since then the radiator was shot and leaking everywhere. My SHO has been sitting a couple of months, other than starting it a few times. Today I decided to start her up a let her run for about an hour, It was blowing smoke like crazy the whole time, Didnt smell like coolant but water was comming from the exhaust. I put a cup under the tail pipes and the water looked grayish/green. Im not sure if I should try that "Blue Devil" stuff or not. I thought about a rebuild but I dont have that kinda cash. Has anybody had any experiance with that "Blue Devil" Stuff?

 

[F-22 Raptor SHO]

1: when did you put the cup under the tail pipe, after 1 hour or after 1 min? How much water came out?

2: seeing as how its cold outside, what does your oil cap look like? Any frothy stuff on it?

Grayish green? As is you are certain the green is from the coolant right?

Unless your gauge is broken and N is really the highest the gauge can measure, then N is still in the "NORMAL" range and blowing the hg shouldnt happen. Was this 60 miles of highway or city?

 

[wood_e]

I don't think you blew it dude. I ran my engine, off and on with NO COOLANT in the system. It lost it all and I couldn't pay a tow bill. Needless to say the engine was SO hot when I got it home, but I filled it with coolant and haven't had one problem.

 

[SmyleySho]

I put the cup down after an hour

She drove it 60 miles on the hwy. speed limit was about 65

The temp. outside was around 62 degree's

The oil looks fine and no oil is visable in the coolant. When you first start the car it has white smoke smells like strong gas. The oil cap also looks fine. I did notice one thing the other day when I was getting the oil out of my plug wells. Cylinders #1 and #6 had a wierd brown color to it, I guess you can say it was milk shakey, the other four cylinders had black oil in them. I sucked them out with rags and I took out plug #2. It looked like it had black oil all over the threads. The radiator leaks really bad. I pulled it out the other day and found a large crack in the end tank. I hate to buy a radiator if I have a bad head or gaskets. When you walk in front of the car it has that syrupee smell. when you walk to the back it smells like gas and water vapor. The grayish green color was comming from a smooty exhaust. You can actually put your finger in the exhaust tips and rake water out )0: . The green color is really light but looks more clear. Thanks for the replys (o:

Question: If water/antifreeze some how had gotten into the canister/ vacuum lines, could this cause the smoke from the exhaust? Im asking 'cause i was reading shotimes on the "decarbonizing procedure". They had sprayed cleaner in a vacuum line and white smoke was comming from the exhaust. The hole in the radiator is leaking on a trio of vacuum lines near the bottom driver side. They are completly saturated and rotted out at the ends of the lines. Could this be the problem?

 

[F-22 Raptor SHO]

Water will always come out of the tail pipe as it is a product of combustion. If your hg is blown, there are other potential symptoms that will be apparant.

1: coolant loss into the oil as evidenced by a froth on the oil cap and high oil levels due to coolant filling the motor and a corresponding loss of coolant (not via radiator leakage).

2: Percolating overflow jug due to pressure in the cooling system that is higher than normal.

3: low oil pressure.

4: a billowing cloud of steam behind your car when driving....and I mean billowing like a train.

You can run a compression check to see if you have a hg failure, but I am skeptical of it. Any other motor symptoms?

Sounds like your radiator just plain sucks and you should change it. Fans work properly? T stat stuck?

If it truly smoked the hg while she drove it, a temp light should have come on.

 

[SmyleySho]

No other motor problems, It does seem like the T-stat sticks. When I bought the car a year ago the previous owner used stop leak. I never did think about the Temp. light and I would think she would have noticed it if it had came on. When I drove it around the block the other day I didnt notice any power loss. I will do a compression test this weekend and will post my results. Thanks Raptor!!!!!

 

[rangerj]

Check you temperature sunding unit and make sure it has a good clean connection. Note that this is the sending unit and NOT the temperature SENSOR. It is a ground switch and a poor connection with high resistance can cause the high gauge reading you describe. There are two "connections"; 1 the single wire connected to the unit, and 2. the units threads connected to the engine.

The unit is relatively inexpensive and if it is the original unit it would be a good idea to replace it. You should also consider replacing the radiator cap Also check your hose connections, including the hose fron the radiator to the overflow bottle. If this hose is not tightly connected air can be sucked into the system when the engine cools down. This is also true for the radiator cap if it is not holding the correct pressure. Just some thoughts.

If you think you have a failed head gasket you should do a compression test AND a pressure test of the cooling system. If the head gasket seal is OK arround the cylinders, but failed arround a coolant port, then the compression test alone will not detect the failure. rangerj

 

[revhardSHO]

Ditto on the pressure test. So long has your rad is solid, the test will tell you if the engine block is holding pressure. I think it should hold 10-11psi for 5-6 minutes. Im guessing its head warpage over a failed HG.

 

[SmyleySho]

If you think you have a failed head gasket you should do a compression test AND a pressure test of the cooling system. If the head gasket seal is OK arround the cylinders, but failed arround a coolant port, then the compression test alone will not detect the failure. rangerj

Hmmm....I didnt know that.....Well I guess Ill be buyin a radiator... .and then get the compression test done. Thanks for the help!!! I plan on pressure testing this weekend. I will post the results when Im done.

Edit: I forgot to mention that I drove the car around today. I noticed that there was no white smoke but grayish on immediate start up. I drove around for about 30 Min. and noticed no smoke at all. Could a warped head/gasket be intermittent?

 

[nc89sho]

if you car has been sitting alot, smoke at startup is normal. and so is the water. if the thermostat is sticking though, replace it emediately. and of course the radiator(since it's leaking) if you need any help,, let me know. i've done all this a few times on my own car.