Bad Head Gasket?

[Vignor2003]

I have been having some trouble keeping coolant in my radiator. I was looking for leaks but couldn't find any. I also check the oil to make sure that it wasn't mixed with the oil. It wasn't. I did notice, however, that there is a bunch of oil, some hardened, seeping out from the seal on the valve cover. Does this indicate a blown head gasket? Because if it does, then I believe I've solved my loss of coolant problem. Any ideas?

 

[Vignor2003]

To update a bit since I posted this like an hour ago:


I was checking my fluid levels and noticed that my Coolant Reservoir was filled with oil (actually oil and coolant mixed). I opened up the radiator cap and this brown, chunky liquid spurted out. Obviously, it is now apparant to me that my head gasket is blown. I ordered a new one just a few minutes ago. In the mean time, what all do I need to do along with changing the gasket? Flush and refil the radiator, change the oil - but is there anything else? Help is much appreciated.

 

[monkeypothrower]

Did you order the whole gasket kit? I ordered a whole gasket set. Yea all you have to do is change the oil bout 2 times. I did mine about every 5 days. Maybe just a suggestion. when we had everything unbolted on mine, we replaced some old stuff, like the tensioner, idler, waterpump, since you have everything off anyways. The best way we cleaned all the parts was in purple power, let it soak. Also you might want to get your heads checked, I dont know the cause of your blown headgasket. But i had to have mine resurfaced. good look in changing them. -TJ

 

[monkeydude3]

you'll need valve cover gaskets, and lower and upper intake gaskets, and anything else you would like to replace while you are in there.

 

[Eneurb]

A good idea to maybe get the heads pressure tested at a machine shop too... It would really suck to do all that work to find that there is a cracked head.

 

[monkeydude3]

yeah, have those tested. It would just be for good measure. You can also try doing a valve job, get those all cleaned up. Will give you a few more RESTORED hp and overall smoothness.

George

 

[MagicPinstripes]

Bad Head Gasket Here Too???

Hey all,

I was just checking out my engine yesterday when I noticed some sludge forming at the top of the coolant in the coolant reservoir.

It looks light brown, almost off pinkish in colour. It was hard to tell due to the fact that it was night and I was using a flashlight to diagnose the colour.

It looks like it also has a bit of particulate in there floating on the surface.

I have not noticed any white smoke from the exhaust, but I will look tomorrow.

It's also in the radiator.

Any ideas as to what this might indicate? Can the coolant mix with the ATF at any point in the system, or would it just be oil?

I'm driving a 95 Ex XLT with 356,000 kms on it. The head gasket has never been changed.

Any ideas are appreciated!

Evan

 

[MagicPinstripes]

Update

Hey all,

Two things: I have still not seen any smoke coming out of the exhaust or in the engine bay.

Also, I switched from using 91 Octane to 87 Octane (I had been using 91 for about 2 years due to engine knock) but now I don't hear the knock, but it idles really rough on startup.

Any ideas?

Thanks!

 

[Matthew Hamilto]

I have been losing coolant for about 3 months. I never could find a leak. A couple of days ago i noticed some coolant around the top of the starter. Is the head gasket my problem or what. No oil mixed with antifreeze its clean and bright.

 

[MagicPinstripes]

Solved

Hey all,

Well, I solved the problem as to the mysterious crap floating in my coolant reservoir. It's ATF that has leaked into the system due to an internal crack in the radiator.

The radiator houses a cooling system for both the engine coolant and the ATF. These are divided by and internal wall so they don't mix.

Well, that wall has cracked and ATF fluid is now seeping into the coolant. It's easy to remove, just get a cloth and soak up the ATF floating at the top of the reservoir. To fix the problem, you can run stop-leak through the system and hope it plugs the leak OR you can just replace the whole radiator.

Hope this helps someone else out in the future!

Evan

 

[explorer76]

I recently blew a head gasket on my 92 explorer 4.0 pushrod. I replaced it and all the other gaskets from the gasket set I bought. I put everything back together, changed the spark plugs, and checked the fluid levels.

Now the problem I have is when I try to start my explorer, it's turning over, but it wont kick in and start. Any ideas in what I need to do to fix this or what could be causing this? Please help. Thanks in advance. I need to get my Ex running ASAP.