2nd Head Gasket in 12 Months | Rant and Advice Wanted Please Topic is solved

Post by **abscate** » 27 Mar 2018, 17:59

Make sure your dog is healthy before Robert comes.

Still one of my favourite videos on YouTube , Robert

“ Thst will not be a comfortable situation”

kekec01 · Post by **kekec01** » 28 Mar 2018, 09:10

I had a gasket job two months ago. Did Not mix coolant and oil, no compression in the coolant reservoir, minor coolant leakage on LPG system, and everything seems ok. Then the mechanic fond O2 sensor working normally but Not in the range as it should. He said it is involved with engine mechanic. He pluged put the Spark plugs and show me wet pistons, wet from coolant in the engine. When he opened the engine he fond blown gasket from 2nd to 5th cilinder.

Post by **nickelghandi** » 12 Apr 2018, 07:34

Alright, I finally took it to the shop to get it checked out and make sure it was indeed the head gasket. It was not.

It was a cracked radiator. Apparently it was allowing air/coolant to escape while running and then partially sealing causing some weird pressure and temperature changes in the cooling system which then caused leaks to appear elsewhere simply due to pressure. Then as it cooled after running, it was allowing air back into the system because it was under vacuum due to the escaped pressure when hot, then partially sealed itself again at some unknown temperature and stayed that way until the next running cycle.

This was the cause of the air slurping through the system, and the pressurizing and leaking of the cooling system during and shortly after running.

One new radiator later and it is running fine again. I guess in some circles I would owe the other shop owner an apology, but he still did not adhere to his initial word, so my conscience is mostly clear.

I still don't know why the coolant smells like exhaust and why there is still a little oil entry so I will monitor that. I might flush the system, but I am waiting until I am ready to replace the rest of the hoses with silicone to do that.

Thanks everyone for your replies and suggestions. I have a new project to take on that I will document here as best I can. I am going to pull and either rebuild or replace the head on my 1999 V70. I am waiting for the weather to warm up just a little bit more before starting that though.

Post by **erikv11** » 12 Apr 2018, 07:51

If the coolant smells like exhaust, test it for exhaust gas contamination. You can get a test kit at any auto parts store, including the "rental" programs (you will have to buy the indicator fluid).

Post by **nickelghandi** » 12 Apr 2018, 08:20

I actually own one. I have tested it and it passes. No yellow fluid. It also passed when the gasket was blown though. Before you ask I did purchase additional fluid in case mine was no good. If I blow through a straw into the fluid, it changes to yellow because of the CO2, but leaving it on the engine for 20+ minutes and even revving does nothing but blow a few bubbles though it and eventually flood it with coolant.

Last time, I ended up with coolant in the cylinders causing a misfire. If I start getting misfire codes or notice it running rough at startup, then I will know what to check.

Post by **erikv11** » 12 Apr 2018, 11:39

Sounds like you are on top of it!

Post by **abscate** » 12 Apr 2018, 13:51

nickelghandi wrote: ↑12 Apr 2018, 07:34 Alright, I finally took it to the shop to get it checked out and make sure it was indeed the head gasket. It was not.

It was a cracked radiator. Apparently it was allowing air/coolant to escape while running and then partially sealing causing some weird pressure and temperature changes in the cooling system which then caused leaks to appear elsewhere simply due to pressure. Then as it cooled after running, it was allowing air back into the system because it was under vacuum due to the escaped pressure when hot, then partially sealed itself again at some unknown temperature and stayed that way until the next running cycle.

This was the cause of the air slurping through the system, and the pressurizing and leaking of the cooling system during and shortly after running.

One new radiator later and it is running fine again. I guess in some circles I would owe the other shop owner an apology, but he still did not adhere to his initial word, so my conscience is mostly clear.

I still don't know why the coolant smells like exhaust and why there is still a little oil entry so I will monitor that. I might flush the system, but I am waiting until I am ready to replace the rest of the hoses with silicone to do that.

Thanks everyone for your replies and suggestions. I have a new project to take on that I will document here as best I can. I am going to pull and either rebuild or replace the head on my 1999 V70. I am waiting for the weather to warm up just a little bit more before starting that though.

I believe the official MVS dogma on the test kit is..

Positive test - exhaust in coolant definitively. No false positives

Negative test - indicative of good condition, but not definitive.

Post by **FLXC90** » 12 Apr 2018, 15:02

OP- oil could be residual from heater core and hoses, system was drained and refilled, but the nooks and crannies still had "stuff" in them. I got my car for $300 dollars four years ago because it displayed same symptoms. (plus symptoms of PCV blockage, and dried stem seals and a leaky heater core) I might get around to changing the radiator this weekend. I have to top it off about every three weeks.

Post by **nickelghandi** » 13 Apr 2018, 06:05

Abscate -

I recall reading before purchasing the kit last year when I was still troubleshooting. My leak was small, and did not push much exhaust gas into the cooling system except at higher RPMs than I was comfortable revving to without being under load. My main clue was oil in the coolant and coolant in the combustion chamber. I figured there was coolant getting into the oil as well, but maybe not. The amount was so small though. It was just barely enough to cause misfiring on a cold start after sitting overnight when run just before cooling over night. It had to meet some pretty specific criteria, but I knew something was wrong.

FLXC90 - I think you might be right, but just to be safe I have dyed the cooling system again. I also don't think I was able to get ALL of the oil out of the coolant reservoir last time.

My long term plans are to keep this car basically forever. I do most of the work to it DIY and can afford to pay someone else if I can't, and I really enjoy driving and working on it.

I might try driving it a little harder and see if I can exacerbate the symptoms and prove one way or the other. Better to find out for sure on purpose 5 miles from home than by accident halfway into a long trip, right? I have several vehicles so if this one has to go out of commission for a little while then I won't be too upset.

Post by **RickHaleParker** » 13 Apr 2018, 16:23

It is now blowing coolant from all available leak places and I can hear air slurping through the heater core each time I rev it on startup.

Could be the cooling system not holding enough pressure. Lower pressure would enable the coolant to phase change to the gas state at a lower temperature. Any leak(s) that lowers the pressure in the system could cause the coolant to vaporize.

I suggest tighten up the coolant system before doing the head again.

2nd Head Gasket in 12 Months | Rant and Advice Wanted Please Topic is solved

Re: 2nd Head Gasket in 12 Months | Rant and Advice Wanted Please