Trev-Rock

Had a throttle problem, fixed it. Had a loud pop during acceleration, fixed it.

Then I check the oil and find a glob of white pigeon crap on the dipstick about a 1/4 the way up and now seem to have about a quart to much oil. It has to be a head gasket. Seem to be missing some coolant, and having too much oil. Damn damn damn. This is my only driver. Any suggestions?

SEMNCHEROKEE

There are a few different products you can dump in the coolant. Get one with sodium silicate (liquid glass). I did on my 97 f150 with a bad head gasket and stopped the problem. I in no way think its ok to do this as it is just a band aid on a bigger problem but it has worked.

tannerp89

pull the head and put a new gasket on

ya great idea...NOT
if your leak is bad enough to get into the crankcase I doubt any "stop leak" will fix it...and you do know that the sodium silicate is what they put in the cash for clunkers cars to DESTROY the engines, right? I wouldnt go near my engine with that stuff.

darknezz

I had an oldsmobile once and it started to burn coolant. Not bad though and I didnt see water in the oil, it was oil in the coolant.

I poured a big bottle of this liquid copper stuff, dont remember brand but it was like $25

it totally stopped using coolant, drove for a few more months and sold. 6 months later the guy still didnt register and needed a bill of sale again. I asked how its been running and he said great!

So it works sometimes, your case sounds bad though

Trev-Rock

Drained oil and have about a quart too much. Will be changing a head gasket tonight. How hard is the re-assembly? DO I need a timing light? How do I know if the head is cracked? Can you see it?

Turbo X_J

Can you pressure test the cooling system?

OttawaXJ

Stop leak and other gimmicks are ridiculous. Its for people who want to dance around the problem and pretend its not there. When I got my truck when my mom died and switched it to Synthetic my stepdad ranted and raved that synthetic EATS gaskets and will cause it to leak. Ofcourse it leaked because it cleared out the gunk that he kept putting in there to stop the leaks.

It doesnt fix anything, it just delays the problem and causes more. I fixed the head gasket and gained a ton of power after cleaning out the garbage in there.

I'm glad you took Tanner89's advice. Very smart move.

XJninja

A chic I knows jeep was overheating like a **** and she noticed coolant in her oil. Pulled the head to do a gasket and discovered that the head was cracked. It was a hairline between 3 & 4. YOu could see where the coolant was on the gasket surface. Get some brake clean and a brush once you get it off. Carefully inspect the mating surface and you should be able to see a crack if there is one. You should also check that its not warped. Most times you should always get it milled flat before putting it back on or you might do alot of work only to find that its still leaking when you get it back together.

tjwalker

You don't have a proper diagnosis, so don't just change the head gasket.

If you pull the head, take it to a reputable machine shop and have them magnaflux the head (check for cracks) and check it for straightness as well as verifying the internals of the head.

Coolant and oil make for bad news for engine bearings.

You might be better off to swap in a new salvage yard engine.

SEMNCHEROKEE

[/QUOTE]
ya great idea...NOT
if your leak is bad enough to get into the crankcase I doubt any "stop leak" will fix it...and you do know that the sodium silicate is what they put in the cash for clunkers cars to DESTROY the engines, right? I wouldnt go near my engine with that stuff .[/QUOTE]

Yes I know that as I am a mechanic at a salvage yard. This was an alternative. Not that I suggest that it was a good idea to use the stuff. But I put it in my f150 that was burnung up a gallon of coolant per tank of fuel and 5 years and 40,000 miles later motor still runs like new. Oh nice smart *** coment by the way.

Trev-Rock

Well, after pressure testing and 2 oil changes, I went to Advance Auto and bought a $65 bottle of Blue Devil Head Gasket Sealer. Drained the coolant, put new coolant and this stuff in and followed the directions. I am not sure how long it will last, but it seems to have put a band-aid on the problem. I have no water showing in the fresh oil. Did 150 miles Sunday and no overheating, no smoke. I am looking for a salvage motor, but for now I am going to drive it till it dies.

Thanks guys.

On the road again.

ken72

good job. I see nothing wrong with putting a band aid on it. There is always those guys who will tell you how much above putting this stuff in their engine they are and try to make you feel or sound dumb for trying it. If it works even for a little while, it at least will buy you some time. Sounds like a worthy $25 investment to me. Keep us updated on this so we can know how long this lasts. If you were this far gone and this stuff worked, it could really buy someone some time with a minor issue.

TheJerm

The head gasket would cost like 35-45 bucks and take an afternoon to do with a buddy. I would do that long before i swapped motors, but thats me

Trev-Rock

Agreed, but my Renix motor has 150K on it and I am looking for a H.O. If the head gasket completely fails, I will be doing a head job. Money is so tight.

I did find 2 motors on CL, one for 400. with a guarantee. So who knows, it runs now and I can get to school and work. Thanks

TheJerm

HO head, intake, exhaust and electronics is what is different between renix and HO motors