Burning and leaking Coolant....whats going on?

[agent007kimball]

About 2 weeks ago, I noticed that I would be leaving small puddles of coolant when I parked my car. 2 days ago though, I noticed that a surprising amount of exhaust was coming out the tailpipes at a standstill. Once I got moving though, the exhaust would go back to what seemed like a normal amount. These clouds are getting bigger and bigger now though. I shoot out massive white clouds when I am going 5mph or less. I also noticed that my coolant level is dropping rapidly. What could be going on here and what can I do to correct it?

 

[noslow5_0]

sounds like a blown headgasket!!!! check your oil and coolant!!!! dont drive the car anymore!!!! the oil will look like a milk shake from the coolant in it, and you will see little bubbles of oil in your radiator or over flow mixed with water/coolant.... sorry to hear that man.... let us know what happens!!

 

[agent007kimball]

I had actually thought that may be the problem....is there anyway that I can check for sure without having to bring it to a mechanic?

 

[Legendary]

CHeck the coolant and oil like stated above. And stop driving the car till you find out what's wrong and get it fixed.

 

[agent007kimball]

I meant is there any way if I can check that the headgasket is bad myself aside from checking the fluid levels?

 

[TheUser]

you can run a compression test. You can buy a tester at autozone or whatever for around $20. Be sure and follow the instructions and pull all of the plugs before you test. Be sure and screw it in there tight. You should have no more than a 10% deviance between cyclinders. This would most likely find a blown head gasket, but I mean...if you have no coolant leak externally and you're losing coolant and you're blowing white smoke...that's a blown head gasket. Been there, done that, it's not much fun, but I learned a lot. Keep us updated.

 

[Na5.0HO]

In case you're lookin for a second opinion... I agree about the blown head gasket. Sorry. Another sign would be if your temperature has been running higher then usual.. and the milky coolant / oil mixture as cool as it looks is a pain in the ass to clean out.

 

[blkstangman88]

the lower intake gaskets could be the problem too. i had the same problem for about 3 months, and the compression tests were fine but the radiator wouldnt hold pressure and coolant was coming out my pipes, when i ripped it apart the head gaskets were fine but the lower intake gaskets were missing a lil chunk. just a thought.

 

[agent007kimball]

Guess it wouldnt hurt just to replace all the head gaskets right?

 

[blkstangman88]

then u know u would most likely fix the problem