Hey guys,

I'm afraid I might be loosing a head-gasket, but maybe you can tell me if I'm correct or not.

Background:

Before we went to Chicago on business, we had to take the dogs to the boarder. Since Mandy's Disco (the 2000) is the only one with the dog rack, we took that. When we got to the boarder, as soon as I opened the door, I smelled a faint "burning coolant" smell.

I got home, put it in the garage, and we left for Chicago about 1 hour later.

WHAT I DID:

When we got back, I checked, and it was low on coolant. The last time I looked was probably 2 weeks ago, so I'm not sure, between then and now, when it got low.

So, I went and bought two gallons of 50/50 Prestone OAT Dex-Cool.

The Disco took 1/2 gallon to get to the "COLD" level.

SYMPTOMS:

We got back from Chicago on Sunday night, so I topped it off early on Monday morning.

My wife then used it on Tuesday (yesterday) to look at horse boarders in preparations for our Colorado adventure, and drove about 200 miles.

TODAY, I smelled it again, and checked, and the coolant reservoir is again empty.


ALSO:

The "Check Engine" light came on when I did the Induction Cleaning, and it never went off. Like a Major Douche, I never took it in to read the codes. I just did take it in, and I got five codes- three of which were "Random Misfires" in cylinders 5, and 8. (8 registered twice).

I don't have the other codes right this second, because Mandy took off with the checkbook that I wrote the codes in.


Well, what do you guys think. Failing head-gasket? If so, should I replace it now, ?

Thanks bruth@z for your Land Rover luvin!

 

PS- There's no leak symptoms (wet spot on the ground).

 

Smells like a head gasket, hope I'm wrong.

 

won't necessarily get a wet spot. Open your hood and go all through it. Don't be afraid to get under the truck.

Need to clear the misfire codes and see if they come back. If you can't find an external leak and your codes persist, you are leaking internally.

I wouldn't drive much until you get it figured out.

 

Thanks for the replies!!

Do you have to ask AutoZone specifically to clear the codes? The light never went off.

It will be interesting if it is the head gasket, since I know the coolant was flushed at 27k and 41k miles by the original owner.

It won't be that big of a deal, though I'll probably have to have someone else do it. I'm pretty truckin' busy right now.

Poor ole' Disco's got a booboo!

 

They probably won't clear them, you will have to rent the scanner. If you get a cool guy, he may do it, but it is their policy to not reset. Tell them you just did an induction cleaning that morning, and you are expecting mis-fire codes.

 

The people working at Autozona aren't smart enough to do anything you don't specifically tell/ask them to and even then who knows if they will. More than likely they thought you just wanted them read so you can find and fix the problem.

If you didn't do your induction cleaning properly you could have fouled a plug which would cause your misfire codes.

If you don't see a spot on the ground and smell coolant in the exhaust then your head gaskets are well on their way to total failure. Have a pressure test done on the system to see if there is an external leak and if nothing is found have your head gaskets replaced.

 

Roger that, AK.

Say... I know this is a dumb question... but should I even TRY to find someone other than the dealer to do the work?

I'd like to avoid paying a crap-ton of money, but I'm not sure if any ole' car mechanic around here can do it.

ALSO, AK:

What if I don't smell the coolant in the exhaust, only in and around the engine compartment?

And lastly... (sorry AK!)

Can any mechanic do a pressure test?

THANKS!

 

The engine is an old buick 215. Anyone that can do heads can do it.

He will tell you like I did, gett in there and find it, or have it pressure tested.

Call the shop first, if they don't know what you are talking about, they can't do it.

 

Roger that, AK.

Hey AK- I hope I get a chance to meet you when we come to CO!

AK... One last thing...

Do you think I could change the head-gaskets? All you pretty much do is take all the stuff off the engine and remove the heads, right?

I changed the transmission in our old GMC 4x4 half-ton... do you think I could handle this?

I think I can come up with a good system for remember where everything goes, and I can film myself taking all the junk off, so I get it all back on in the same order.

Should I attempt it, or not?

As I see it, the worst case-scenario is that I have to have it towed to a real mechanic.. hehehee

AK- thanks again, and I hope you don't think I'm too big of a NEWB!

Pat