Help, I think I have a blown head gasket...

[Roy 96 T/A Convertible]

I have a 96 T/A and I think I may have a blown head gasket or something? I am loosing coolant daily. Need help to determine where its going. I have checked the oil several times and it looks normal. I don't see any leaks from under the car, no puddles or anything on the garage floor. If I do have a blown head gasket, shouldn't I get a code for a misfire or something? What's the best way to figure out whats going on? Thanks for any help you can give.

[Z Ya Later]

Dude, if you have a blown head gasket, you're gonna know. The car would have overheated instantly, stalled then stopped. If you're loosing coolant but the motor is not experiencing problems, look at the water pump would be my guess.

[Kevin - Blown 95 TA]

You might see if any antifreeze is coming out the exhaust, or you can pull some plugs and look for deposits.

[Dave M]

A stupid question.... how do you know you're losing coolant? Are you physically seeing the level go down every day after filling it or are you just getting a low coolant light? False low coolant lights are often caused by air bubbles trapped in the system.

[LS1 TA]

I blew a head gasket and my car was running alright other that intermitten steam coming out in the exaust. Do you have any of that going on at all? It may also be your intake manifold gasket leaking a little somewhere.

[Joe 1320]

A partially blown headgasket will simply drink coolant slowly, eventually overheating due to coolant loss. Pulling the spark plugs and examining the tips will show the affected cylinder. Typically it's the metal fire ring that seperates from the composite material of the gasket, causing the coolant leak into the cylinder and turning it to steam by the combustion process. A compression check will determine which cylinder isn't sealing. In any case, you should do headgaskets on both banks so really it won't matter where the leak is. If you don't do them both, you'll be doing it twice.

[Roy 96 T/A Convertible]

Thanks for the responses, the coolant is physically low in radiator

I get the low coolant light just about everyday, check coolant level in the radiator after the car has cooled off and its always down a little.

I had the car on ramps checking for leaks and I did notice some steam and a little bit of water dripping from the exhaust. I doubt this it was caused by the rain.

[Joe 1320]

I get the low coolant light just about everyday, check coolant level in the radiator after the car has cooled off and its always down a little.

I had the car on ramps checking for leaks and I did notice some steam and a little bit of water dripping from the exhaust. I doubt this it was caused by the rain.

Yep. Sounds like a partially blown headgasket. Sorry broh. An upper end gasket set will run you about $200 for the whole kit and about 12 hours labor for the install if you know all the shortcuts.

[Roy 96 T/A Convertible]

This stinks

Car only has 67k miles, run with synthetic oil and now this........

[Kevin - Blown 95 TA]

If you do the head gaskets, you need new head bolts (ARPs). Try to reuse the old torque-to-yield ones, and you might be doing it a second time. Also, pay a lot of attention to prepping the surfaces of the heads and block. You need a certain finish to get the gasket to work properly on a car with aluminum heads.

[Dan B. 96 T/A]

These things happen. The engine block is iron, and the heads are aluminum... both metals heat and cool at different temps, causing some movement inbetween the surfaces.

Mine blew at 55k miles... Just take your time and do it right the first time.

Like Kevin said... Make sure you clean the surface of the block. Don't leave any old crusty gasket material or it will not seal. If you are not familiar with the job, get a repair manual like Chilton's or Hayes for a little more insight.

[z28_xxx]

Steam/water is common from exhausts on start up. Ever seen a cold
day and all the cars blowing smoke? Ever seen cars drip water out
the exhaust when they get started? Guess not - living in Sunny Floriday

anyways - up north, this is common.

Now if his car does this after it is warmed up (10-15 minutes) and is hot - then
he's got a problem.

Anyways, he can use a cooling system pressure tester to test for a
blown head gasket. Turn the car on with the pressure tester attached -
and watch the gauge - a slow rise in coolant pressure is okay - jumpy
pressure indicates a blown head gasket.

Yep. Sounds like a partially blown headgasket. Sorry broh. An upper end gasket set will run you about $200 for the whole kit and about 12 hours labor for the install if you know all the shortcuts.

[BANSHEE001]

Headgasket

Check and see what the water smells like. Put a rag on the tail pipe while the car is running. If it smells like antifreeze its a headgasket if it doesn"t it"s not.

[Roy 96 T/A Convertible]

Update...

I think this makes since. Computer is setting code 0172 left bank rich. Oxygen sensor reading in the mud (reading with hypertech scanner) due to the coolant leak, so the computer is dumping in more fuel to compensate. Anyway, she's going in to get checked out this week. Since I work 7 days a week I'm going to have a local shop do the repair. Not looking forward to the bill. Thanks again for all the replies.