Is there a way to know whether the rings are bad

[Redslayer]

prior to opening the engine up? I've run into head gasket issues, and I'm trying to sort out what I should do before I decide what course of action to take.

Problem A : Coolant leak rear passenger side of engine just below where the intake manifold connects.

Problem B : 200 miles on the oil, and its very watery from being contaminated by gas. (no signs of antifreeze in the oil I.E. Not milky.)

I've read mixed things on the oil contamination, and some come down to simply running rich. More importantly, a bad fuel pressure regulator : which in my case, I've discovered my car doesn't even have.

And then there is the 'your rings are (going) bad'. Because of the coolant leak I need to be careful driving the car around, so I need to get as much testing in as I can in a short amount of time. I'm going to be taking the FPR off of my parts car (97GS) and working it on to my car.

What I don't want to do, is open it up and find out my rings are shot. So, the question, is there a good way to know if my rings are going bad while the engine is still in one piece.

If anyone has any other idea's on what could cause the oil to be contaminated by fuel, add em in. Trying to get an idea of how screwed I am

 

[dalesocks]

Do a compression test, if compression is low proceed to a leak down test.

 

[Redslayer]

Do a compression test, if compression is low proceed to a leak down test.

But with a leaky head gasket, wouldn't that possibly skew the test? Granted the oil and antifreeze are not mixing, so I suppose it may not, afraid engine internals go a little beyond my experience atm.

 

[hotrodssnova]

You didn't say you were blowing white smoke/steam from the exhaust. I would say compression test also. If the oil is mixed with antifreeze, and you're still driving it, that's a bad thing. Park the car now, or you'll have a tow bill.
If your compression test comes out good, I would find out why your gasket failed, fix the problem and put it back together. If you're still driving it with water in the oil, count on a rebuild, your block and everything in it is going to need gone thru.

 

[Redslayer]

You didn't say you were blowing white smoke/steam from the exhaust. I would say compression test also. If the oil is mixed with antifreeze, and you're still driving it, that's a bad thing. Park the car now, or you'll have a tow bill.
If your compression test comes out good, I would find out why your gasket failed, fix the problem and put it back together. If you're still driving it with water in the oil, count on a rebuild, your block and everything in it is going to need gone thru.

No only gas in the oil, and its been sitting ever since I discovered that. (while I try to decide what to do next) But the engine is from a 97 (my parts car) it was fine when that car last ran. Antifreeze is leaking externally and I haven't seen any smoke from the exhaust.

I am a bit concerned about the head though, simply because the leak is right below where the rear hook for lifting the engine is.

Still learning as I go, this car has taught me a ton about mechanics and it seems intent on making me learn about internals

 

[d-meeks]

Leak down test will be more tell you more that just the compression

 

[Redslayer]

Leak down test will be more tell you more that just the compression

Seems to be the general consensus haha. You guys know if Autozones have compression testers that I could borrow? Or where I can buy one?

 

[dalesocks]

Seems to be the general consensus haha. You guys know if Autozones have compression testers that I could borrow? Or where I can buy one?

They have the loan-a-tool program. I saw that they have a compression tester but do not loan a leak down tester.

 

[Redslayer]

They have the loan-a-tool program. I saw that they have a compression tester but do not loan a leak down tester.

hmm damn, I didn't even know it was a separate tool .