Blown headgasket or not?

[Schwebe101]

Alright guys, first off I just want to say this. For the past 3 days I have searched every section of the forum and read everything I could on my problem, so please don't just say "Use search" I have done a lot of research but would like your guys opinion on MY car.

So heres the problem. About a week ago I was driving and had my windows down as it way a nice day. Then I started smelling burning coolant. Instantly pulled over and found out my coolant temp sensor was spraying coolant onto my header and burning it that way. I tightened my clamps up and fixed the problem. Put a cardboard box under my car to insure no leaking. I didn't think about checking my coolant that day...for some extremely stupid reason. But a few days after that I was poking around in my engine bay and I was my coolant level sitting near low when it was all the way cooled down. Instantly jumped to a conclusion "Oh no I have a blown headgasket" Then the next day I was like....wait stupid, that low coolant could have been from the coolant temp sensor. So i filled my coolant back up and had my brother check for white smoke out of my exhaust. I did a few pulls and drove by him multiple times, even taking off from first. He said he saw no white smoke. So then I told myself alright I'm fine, no blownhead gasket. *Might I add that my temp has stayed exactly at operating temp, has not overheated at all* Okay so then I went to drive my car to school like a do everyday. Got to school, had school, went home, let car cool and then checked my coolant. It was about 1.5 inches down!? So now I am freaking out again...This morning when I went to school, it was early and kinda cold, 40-50ish. So I was going to school, which is about 3 minutes away I noticed whenever I took off from a stop there was white smoke coming out of my exhaust. Same when I was stopping and going at the 4 way stop. Now I didn't really let my car warm up since I was running behind. So was this coolant burning or just moisture? I really don't want to worry about a blownhead gasket again

Just for some extra info I have a 420a N/t and 166k miles. Only have been driving it for a few weeks because it took forever to get my body work done. Sorry for this long read guys, just trying to provide as much info as possible.

 

[Arnie]

By chance is your water pump leaking coolant? Could be why you Coolant leaks.
The head gasket I am unsure of, so can't give you an answer on that. Sorry.

Always check your coolant, brake fluid, oil, clutch fluid. I always check these on my N/T RS. Love that car. Never know when it might get low.

 

[Schwebe101]

If my water pump was leaking, wouldn't it keep leaking on the floor after I park it?

 

[rlacasse1]

If your water pump were leaking you would more than likely see a continuous leak when it's not running.

It's very possible that the white smoke you saw is moisture.

Also, if you over filled your coolant, it will push out the extra when the car is hot. And the level would be lower once it cooled back down. That may have happened. But since only you know how much you put in, only you would know.

If I were you I would try doing a compression test or a leak down test to find out if it is leaking. I would also continue to monitor your coolant level to see if it's level is constantly decreasing, or if it was a one time thing.

 

[Schwebe101]

If your water pump were leaking you would more than likely see a continuous leak when it's not running.

It's very possible that the white smoke you saw is moisture.

Also, if you over filled your coolant, it will push out the extra when the car is hot. And the level would be lower once it cooled back down. That may have happened. But since only you know how much you put in, only you would know.

If I were you I would try doing a compression test or a leak down test to find out if it is leaking. I would also continue to monitor your coolant level to see if it's level is constantly decreasing, or if it was a one time thing.

Well thats definitely good to hear, I have been keeping a very close eye on all of my fluids. The only thing I am losing on my cardboard is oil...tiny little drops but still not good

Anyway not the problem at the moment. After school I am going to my uncle's, who is a mechanic and he is going to do a compression test, but I hope I have enough time to be over there because I have other important things I need to take care of. If my headgasket was blown would it constantly burn coolant? like a constant white smoke? The only smoke that came out of my exhaust that my brother could see was some minor blue tint (oil) it is a high miles engine so I expected that

 

[jay_wurts]

Im thinking its going to be your headgasket,i had the same problem years ago. I would lose coolant but saw no leaks and eventually there was white smoke coming out of the tailpipe. I used this stuff from Welcome to RX Auto. Makers of Thermagasket Industrial Head and Block Sealant and it worked great. I never had the problem again. If the oil is milky you have water in the oil. This stuff will save you 900 bucks easy.

 

[Schwebe101]

Im thinking its going to be your headgasket,i had the same problem years ago. I would lose coolant but saw no leaks and eventually there was white smoke coming out of the tailpipe. I used this stuff from Welcome to RX Auto. Makers of Thermagasket Industrial Head and Block Sealant and it worked great. I never had the problem again. If the oil is milky you have water in the oil. This stuff will save you 900 bucks easy.

I have heard good and bad from sealers like that, it would be a last ditch effort for me because I am one who would rather fix it than worry. Also my oil looks fine from my dip stick.

 

[BogusSVO]

Do a leak down test or a coolent system pressure test.

Either one will let you know if you have a blown HG

 

[Schwebe101]

Do a leak down test or a coolent system pressure test.

Either one will let you know if you have a blown HG

I am gonna try to get a compression test done today by my uncle, he can also do a leak down but compression is way faster, correct?

 

[Schwebe101]

Alright quick update, I didn't have time to do a compression test yesterday, buuut I did get it up on the lift. It looks like I am losing coolant somewhere and then its dripping off the back of the block? I could see the coolant dripping slowly from the rear of the front cross member. It also looks like I have a bad gasket on my thermostat housing. Could it be possible its leaking from there and then finding away to the back of the block? I also found out why i was smelling burning oil and coolant. THe coolant was tripping on my manifold and burning there. Then the oil was leaking out of my oil temp sensor for my gauges. Then the wind was blowing it back all over my exhaust and burning it. So I put teflon on that and fixed that problem. Now I just need to get a gasket for that housing and hopefully that will fix what I am dealing with?

 

[Bankos66]

I am having the same exact problem with my 95 rs. It starts smoking pretty bad after about 5 minutes of driving and the coolant level is slowly dripping

 

[Schwebe101]

I am having the same exact problem with my 95 rs. It starts smoking pretty bad after about 5 minutes of driving and the coolant level is slowly dripping

Well if yours is constantly smoking and losing coolant, better check your headgasket cause thats not good. Check your oil and see if any creamy coffe looking color is in it. Make sure your not just dripping coolant, does the exhaust smell sweet, like antifreeze? Or does it smell more like oil burning. All things to consider when dealing with burning coolant