Alright.. so I have been trying to chase down this annoying overheating problem for some time now. and I just removed all of my spark plugs and hooked up a Snap On Pressure Tester onto the radiator and pumped it to 16lbs.. the system bled down to zero in a little over a minute. Ive concluded that my headgaskets are blown.. I just want a second opinion. I replaced the headgaskets about 100 miles ago. let me know what yall think. Oh, and by the way.. my number 8 spark plug was really dark with oily and what lookes like water.. but could also be fuel.. I can hear the leakdown going on I think through the driver side cylinders.
Blown Head Gasket!!
- Thread starter Raginstang
- Start date
um. no I don't see any coolant leaking anywhere. I replaced them last time because they were blown and white smoke was pooring out of my exhaust.. and it looks like it may have just started again.. I have had the heads surfaced thats all. I just replaced them about 100 miles ago or so.. used felpro 1011-2 gaskets recommended by the shop I had the heads done at.. and used ARP bolts..
How does the car run? Have you checked the oil to see if it is contaminated? Also there is a chemical tester that detects hc's in the cooling system. If you can locate a shop that has one have them test it. I wouldn't be so quick to determine it's the h/g's. Is this a new problem since the new gasket install or one from before?
YEah, the shop I work at has the block tester.. I will borrow it. I was running fine after the last headgasket install. I was having intake leaking problems so I replaced the lower intake manifold gaskets and now it runs pretty crappy like it has a down cylinder. and it only overheats when I get on it hard.. also I used a bleeder cup that goes on the top of the radiator and bleeds out the system of air.. it seems like I could never get all the air out at idle.. like maybe the cylinder was pushing air through the cooling system.
bill302
Active Member
after the pressure test to determine which cylinder the coolant is leaking into remove the spark plugs have someone turn the key and attempt to crank and watch to see which cylinder coolant exits from. the piston will push any coolant that may leak into the cylinder out the sparkplug hole. this will tell you where to look for the problem. if coolant is spewed out of a cylinder remove heads and have the machine shop check for surface flatness again and cracks before replacing head gasket.also let us know if oil looks like chocolate milk or if you have a white foam under oil filler cap....
ALMOSTFINISHED
Member
You stated that the lower intake was leaking, you replaced the gasket and then the car started to run like it had a down cyl? I am wondering if the lower intake didn't seat properly-allowing coolant to reach the cyl-make the car run like crap. I would tear it down and check the lower intake gasket, along with the mating surfaces to make sure everything is squared away with them before you go ahead and dive into the head gasket swap again. I leaky lower intake gasket can cause a leakdown into the cyl it isn't seating properly. I'm just trying to beat down the possibilities for ya. Good luck either way...
Nick
Nick
hey, thanks for all the replies. um no I don't have a chocolate color in the oil or the cap have any crap under it. I have replaced the intake gaskets close to five times due to the front of the manifold leaking coolant.. I recently had the manifold resurfaced and now I have it so It isn't leaking fron the front or back.. just now it runs crappy! and overheats.. never ending!!! 
I was thinking the same thing that Almostfinished was saying about the manifold.. it seems like it would be hard to tell if the manifold was sitting flat or not.. Im hesitant to just do the manifold gaskets again since after 5 tries I still am having problems.. but all of my spark plugs look tan in color except for the #8 cylinder.. which is located under a coolant port on the driver side rear. I may look there for the gasket again!
I was thinking the same thing that Almostfinished was saying about the manifold.. it seems like it would be hard to tell if the manifold was sitting flat or not.. Im hesitant to just do the manifold gaskets again since after 5 tries I still am having problems.. but all of my spark plugs look tan in color except for the #8 cylinder.. which is located under a coolant port on the driver side rear. I may look there for the gasket again!
