Tools for testing head gaskets?

[chrisziem]

I have another method to pin point which cylinder might be leaking combustion gas into the coolant jacket.

1. remove spark plugs and disable ignition system.

2. remove drive belt from water pump if possible.

3. fill coolant system to the very top so its on the point of overflowing from the header tank or radiator.

4. Fitting one spark plug at a time (you must only have one plug installed at any one time) crank the motor.

5. The leaking gas bubbles from a faulty cylinder will cause the coolant to overflow when you hit the leaking cylinder.

I've heard of this method, too. Very old school but works in most engines were you can look directly into the radiator.

 

[chrisziem]

Another thing to be aware about is that some engines have oil and coolant galleries in by the intake manifold. A bad intake gasket can cause issues in certain engines. Turbos that have coolant and oil lines can be issues, too. The turbo crack or looses seals and oil and water mix.

Most likely this in not your issue, but something for your edification.

 

[Hans]

so i didnt see anyone mention it. seeming as the coolant has a brown texture to it, and thats your only symptom, let me ask you this. does your radiator have a trans cooler in it? could there be a possibility theres nothing wrong with the head gasket but possibly a crack in the ****** cooler leaking into the rad making the coolant/water turn brown? cause like others have mentioned, if theres oil in the coolant it will turn almost a white milky looking substance. like vanilla.

if you dont have a trans cooler then ill reread the thread lol.

 

[adamturbo]

Also going back to the brown-colored coolant... I've seen coolant discolored by rust. On fairly old Honda Civic that was overheating, when I drained the coolant it was brown as well (made me think the head gasket failed too but compression was ok). For whatever reason, I eventually pulled off the non-OEM waterpump and noticed the blades on the waterpump had completely rusted away. Basically just a shaft spinning and the coolant wasn't moving anywhere, problem solved...

What caused the blades to rust away, I have no idea. Either it was a junk aftermarket replacement (likely) or a wrong/incompatible/poor-mixture of coolant was used and promoted it to rust.

My point being, could the brown discoloration be the result of some component in the cooling system rusting?

 

[Hans]

Also I guess we need to know your symptoms to make u believe it's a head gasket. I didn't read that anywhere. Unless I over looked it. I just recently blew the head gaskets on my 4.6l f150. Pushed coolant out of the degas bottle whenever I got on the highway. Ended up just using BlueDevil in the motor and called it a day lol.

 

[Uncle Ben]

I think the only sympton he mentioned was the brown-colored coolant

 

[treasureseeker]

Also going back to the brown-colored coolant... I've seen coolant discolored by rust. On fairly old Honda Civic that was overheating, when I drained the coolant it was brown as well (made me think the head gasket failed too but compression was ok). For whatever reason, I eventually pulled off the non-OEM waterpump and noticed the blades on the waterpump had completely rusted away. Basically just a shaft spinning and the coolant wasn't moving anywhere, problem solved...

What caused the blades to rust away, I have no idea. Either it was a junk aftermarket replacement (likely) or a wrong/incompatible/poor-mixture of coolant was used and promoted it to rust.

My point being, could the brown discoloration be the result of some component in the cooling system rusting?

Your description happens when straight water was run to the point of pure rust which won’t go away after changing over to coolant after flushing.

 

[treasureseeker]

I have another method to pin point which cylinder might be leaking combustion gas into the coolant jacket.

1. remove spark plugs and disable ignition system.

2. remove drive belt from water pump if possible.

3. fill coolant system to the very top so its on the point of overflowing from the header tank or radiator.

4. Fitting one spark plug at a time (you must only have one plug installed at any one time) crank the motor.

5. The leaking gas bubbles from a faulty cylinder will cause the coolant to overflow when you hit the leaking cylinder.

If the OP had combustion chamber pressure getting into the coolant they would have issues with overheating and air in the cooling system. A photo of the coolant they are describing as an issue would help.

 

[richfinn]

If the OP had combustion chamber pressure getting into the coolant they would have issues with overheating and air in the cooling system. A photo of the coolant they are describing as an issue would help.

Yep I know, he was asking about tools so I suggested an alternative to a chemical block tester.

 

[treasureseeker]

I would hate for the OP to tear down their motor because they didn't leave a clear description of their issue. My first car used to overheat and my mechanic brother decided it was a head gasket. I never did get it back together but did find out the problem was a bad Rad years after it went to the junkyard. I found out the rad was the problem when I gave it to someone else with a similar vehicle.

 

[scott37300]

If the OP had combustion chamber pressure getting into the coolant they would have issues with overheating and air in the cooling system. A photo of the coolant they are describing as an issue would help.

I did try taking a picture with my phone of the coolant but it didn't turn out and you can't tell anything from it other than dark fluid, looks black in the picture. I didn't have any "symptoms". The car was/is driving fine with no overheating or hard starting or anything. This all started when I went to change the coolant and it came out brownish, like chocolate milk color. It also had an oily sheen to it, like oil on top of water. Then I tried using a combustion leak detector that I bought off ebay a while ago for about 5 bucks. The blue fluid turned yellow which is supposed to mean a leak somewhere, head gasket or block or heads. The tester looks old and not sure how old the fluid is. The brown fluid with oily sheen and the failed combustable gas test were what lead me to believe blown head gasket or other issue. I also did a pressure test and it dropped a few PSI in a couple minutes, didn't time it. But I believe this was due to using a mityvac universal adaptor. The next day I flushed the cooling system by draining and filling and then running up to temp and repeating 4 times. Then I did another pressure test and it didn't leak down at all and had it on for 8 minutes. I also did a compression test and all cylinders were 150-155 PSI.

Due to the combustion tester being used and older and everything else saying it's good I ordered a new combustion tester to make sure it fails the test again before tearing anything apart.

I was just wondering what tools/methods were the best for telling if there was a head gasket issue. Wanted to try everything to make sure it was bad before tearing into it.

 

[Techniker]

I know I am reviving an old topic on here, but I am in the market for a combustion leak tester right now. Which would you recommend the UView dual chamber combustion tester or the regular Lisle combustion tester? I like that the UView has two chambers, but what I like as well about the Lisle is that it has the hose to connect to a vacuum source (I also like that the Lisle fluid is a heck of a lot cheaper). I suppose I could do the same thing with the UView by just running my own vacuum line to it.

Thoughts?

 

[wafrederick]

Does it miss under a load?This is another sign of a bad head gasket.

 

[Stick]

I know I am reviving an old topic on here, but I am in the market for a combustion leak tester right now. Which would you recommend the UView dual chamber combustion tester or the regular Lisle combustion tester? I like that the UView has two chambers, but what I like as well about the Lisle is that it has the hose to connect to a vacuum source (I also like that the Lisle fluid is a heck of a lot cheaper). I suppose I could do the same thing with the UView by just running my own vacuum line to it.

Thoughts?

Two chamber version if you're getting one, less false positives. Usually I know within 2-3 pumps of the bulb if it's going to change colors or not.

 

[scott37300]

I know I am reviving an old topic on here, but I am in the market for a combustion leak tester right now. Which would you recommend the UView dual chamber combustion tester or the regular Lisle combustion tester? I like that the UView has two chambers, but what I like as well about the Lisle is that it has the hose to connect to a vacuum source (I also like that the Lisle fluid is a heck of a lot cheaper). I suppose I could do the same thing with the UView by just running my own vacuum line to it.

Thoughts?

I ended up buying a new uview dual chamber tester, I'm the original poster. I had a lisle type single chamber, napa brand and it was giving false results-said there was a leak. Granted I bought it used for 5 bucks and who knows how old the fluid was or if that makes a difference. The uview worked great, ended up not having a leak. I don't see a use for the vacuum hose, it doesn't take long to pump the tester up. I would recomend the uview.

 

[treasureseeker]

I did try taking a picture with my phone of the coolant but it didn't turn out and you can't tell anything from it other than dark fluid, looks black in the picture. I didn't have any "symptoms". The car was/is driving fine with no overheating or hard starting or anything. This all started when I went to change the coolant and it came out brownish, like chocolate milk color. It also had an oily sheen to it, like oil on top of water. Then I tried using a combustion leak detector that I bought off ebay a while ago for about 5 bucks. The blue fluid turned yellow which is supposed to mean a leak somewhere, head gasket or block or heads. The tester looks old and not sure how old the fluid is. The brown fluid with oily sheen and the failed combustable gas test were what lead me to believe blown head gasket or other issue. I also did a pressure test and it dropped a few PSI in a couple minutes, didn't time it. But I believe this was due to using a mityvac universal adaptor. The next day I flushed the cooling system by draining and filling and then running up to temp and repeating 4 times. Then I did another pressure test and it didn't leak down at all and had it on for 8 minutes. I also did a compression test and all cylinders were 150-155 PSI.

Due to the combustion tester being used and older and everything else saying it's good I ordered a new combustion tester to make sure it fails the test again before tearing anything apart.

I was just wondering what tools/methods were the best for telling if there was a head gasket issue. Wanted to try everything to make sure it was bad before tearing into it.

Your symptoms are what I have seen when straight water was used for a time and turned to rust which even when flushed returns in a short time.