Hey guys,

I was planning on doing my head gaskets this weekend because of a small coolant leak in the back of the engine. I have a buddy who is going to help me out, but he swears that it's not the head gasket. He said it is impossible if I don't show 1 or more of these symptoms:

Sudden loss of power
Sweet smellin steam from the tailpipe
Coolant in the oil, or vice versa

I don't have any of these issues. So if he is wrong, can someone explain how I can have a blown head gasket but none of these symptoms? I sure would appreciate some clarity!

Thanks!

 

Those things are generally true but the way the coolant passage is you could conceivably leak on the out side of the head gasket and not leak into the engine so you would not see any of those things. If it is only leaking on the outside of the engine it could also be leaking from elsewhere like the valley gasket or the throttle body heater plate and running back.

Try putting one of those little bottle of antifreeze dye in your coolant and follow the dye trail.

 

what is the mileage on your truck? have you had the head gaskets done already?

 

Since it's a big job some diagnoses should be done first. This link is for a simple tool that can detect combustion gases mixing. A DYI tool.

http://www.automotive-diagnostic-too...p/lis75500.htm

Secondly most shops will have a detector that screws onto the radiator cap and takes a air sample that outputs to a digital monitor to check for this. Since I hate tearing heads out, I always test first.

 

Lipad is correct. Your buddy is assuming a internal leak only. From cylinder to cylinder (loss of power) or into oil passages (coolant in oil). It is possible that it is an external leak only. In which case you will see the coolant leaking and smell that sweet coolant smell when you open the hood. Look for any signs of dripping coolant on the exhaust pipes as well.

 

When I found out I had A leaky head gasket I had none of those symptoms, just a lot of wet build up on the front side of my block below the power steering pump. When I noticed it I brought it to a local Rover shop and had them do a leak down test which is when they hook up a pressure tester to your coolant overflow ( I believe that is what it is reffered to ). I went ahead and did the job my self considering all the rover shops wanted no less than 1500 to do. You can very easily spend half that doing the work yourself,I spent over the 1500 but replaced way more than the gaskets. Just depends on your mechanical abilities, the hardest part i found in doing it was releasing the wiring harness connections the the knock sensors and finding the sealants and lock tights they used, I suggest getting a few Rover mechanics phone numbers so if you run into problems you can call for advice. This job took me two weeks by myself but I highly recommend scrubbing down every little part you remove so you can see if you have any leaks. Good Luck

 

oh also im positive that even if it is your valley gasket you still have to remove the heads to get to it, the lowest part of your air intake is wedged between the heads and bolts to them.

 

dexcool strikes again!

 

No that is definitely not true. The the cylinder heads do not need to come off to change the valley pan gasket.

 

Ya sorry about that I started recapping the exact steps I went through and realized I put out some bad info. Your right you dont have to pull the heads to get to the valley pan gasket.