![[vu]juan](/d2/avatars/s/33/33153.jpg?1565793494){kind=avatar}
Water or coolant in your oil I suppose... or shooting white smoke out of your exhaust.
How can you tell that you have a blown headgasket?
Looking for signs of a blown headgasket not by actually taking part of the motor apart and finding out that way. The reason I ask is because there's this SRT-4 that was diagnosed with a blown headgasket but the problem is the techs "think" its blown they don't know for sure. Now I drove this car and it pulled nicely and I did not see any smoke. I check the oil and it was on minimum but was not that dirty you could still see a golden brown color in it. Did not look milky or anything like that. Now I've see what oil looks like with a vehicle that has a blown headgasket. Just seeing if there's other signs and if what the signs I think are... are correct.
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That's what I thought and there was no signs of either or. Car was hitting 17psi and pulling just fine. Weird, I'm going to probably check it myself tomorrow.[vu]juan said:Water or coolant in your oil I suppose... or shooting white smoke out of your exhaust.
BTW, this is not my car. Just one I test drove.
Block test kit from NAPA. Costs 30 bucks. Big syringe that sucks air from thermostat housing and the liquid changes color when exhaust gasses are present.
Napa is just around the corner from my house. I might just pick that up and give it a try.
Compression test should show it too
Good deal, yeah what bothers me is the fact they "think" it has a blown headgasket and they are techs I would say you should be sure before spending the money to have it replaced and it wasn't a problem to begin with.
It's always a good idea to question a dealership or a mechanic's word. And that's not because they don't know what they're doing, necessarily, it's because they could easily take advantage of you.whitefwdsm said:Good deal, yeah what bothers me is the fact they "think" it has a blown headgasket and they are techs I would say you should be sure before spending the money to have it replaced and it wasn't a problem to begin with.
Case in point, when I first got my SRT-4 I wasn't familiar with the LSD. It sounded like my clutch was going out. I felt it was 'too loud' to be anything but bad. I took it to the dealership to have it checked out, they immediately told me it was my clutch (at 28,000 miles, mind you) so I went along. After the new clutch, the sound was still present...and before taking it to the dealership, I had ZERO slipping problems. Nothing to indicate a bad clutch.
So, basically, I spent a bunch of money for nothing and they probably turned around and sold my clutch to someone else.
But..all that aside, if it's easy enough to do, it can never hurt to simply get a second opinion or check things out yourself. If the car isn't smoking, the compression checks out and you pass that syringe test (haven't heard of it before), I'd say the car is fine.
Thanks for all the replies I will keep these things in mind.
take the coolant cap off (cold) and start the car. look for bubbles in the coolant with the engine running. works better with a "spill free funnel", but it might work with just the cap off.
Its an easy three step process.
1.) Pull out dipstick
2.) Slide your tounge up and down the stick
3.) Wait
If there is enough quantities of anti-freeze, you may get severly sick and/or die. If not, its just oil and your ok :hi:
PS. Do not seriously do this, and if you do....you are a tard and i take no responsiblity for your lack of intelligence :jester:
1.) Pull out dipstick
2.) Slide your tounge up and down the stick
3.) Wait
If there is enough quantities of anti-freeze, you may get severly sick and/or die. If not, its just oil and your ok :hi:
PS. Do not seriously do this, and if you do....you are a tard and i take no responsiblity for your lack of intelligence :jester:
it was pretty obvious both times I blew a head gasket in my other cars. 
Billowing white smoke (coolant seeping into combustion chamber) and a cooling system that pressurizes with air. Also hydrolocked the one motor after I turned it off. THAT was funny!
Billowing white smoke (coolant seeping into combustion chamber) and a cooling system that pressurizes with air. Also hydrolocked the one motor after I turned it off. THAT was funny!
Good info, except for yours KillerSRT lol... someone would actually be a tard to do that lol. I've yet to hear back about what the "techs" come up with on the compression test. As soon as I hear the numbers I'll post them up. Funny thing is a compression test doesn't take that long and still no word back.
Again its not my red SRT-4 is my sig, its just one I ended up test driving over the weekend.
Again its not my red SRT-4 is my sig, its just one I ended up test driving over the weekend.
I was always under the assumption that with a bad head gasket you could also have a pretty decent oil leak. Maybe something to check out. Also, not all blown head gaskets are bad enough to actually mix coolant with your oil. But definitely get a compression test done.
what kind of #'s would constitute a "good" comression check? how much can one cylinder be off from the next and still be good?
Badger.....
Badger.....
what dealership is it? what color car?
Im not an engine man, so i might be wrong here. I deal with transmissions mostly.
But it is my understanding that in fact, with an MLS gasket. The actual gasket isnt what blows. It is in fact the aluminum head that warps.
Here is a test, that i learned a while back when checking for a head gasket leak. Take the coolant over flow hose off the thermostat housing. And run a hose from the thermostat housing into a glass jar filled with coolant. purge the air bubbles in the hose, put the radiator cap back on, then run the engine till its hot. rev the motor a couple times. If air bubbles come out. Then the gasket is leaking/head is warped slightly.
That sniffer test from napa works just as good. It is looking for hydrocarbons in the coolant, aka raw fuel/exhaust gases. It should turn from a blue color to a yellowish green color if there is a blown gasket.
Just out of curiosity,
Why is the car in the shop anyways? Misfiring?
But it is my understanding that in fact, with an MLS gasket. The actual gasket isnt what blows. It is in fact the aluminum head that warps.
Here is a test, that i learned a while back when checking for a head gasket leak. Take the coolant over flow hose off the thermostat housing. And run a hose from the thermostat housing into a glass jar filled with coolant. purge the air bubbles in the hose, put the radiator cap back on, then run the engine till its hot. rev the motor a couple times. If air bubbles come out. Then the gasket is leaking/head is warped slightly.
That sniffer test from napa works just as good. It is looking for hydrocarbons in the coolant, aka raw fuel/exhaust gases. It should turn from a blue color to a yellowish green color if there is a blown gasket.
Just out of curiosity,
Why is the car in the shop anyways? Misfiring?
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