[Roadsters] OT: Funnel head gasket leak test?

[Gary and Cindy Ault]

The discussions on this topic provide a good tutorial on checking for head 
gasket leaks.

But, if you're lazy and just don't give a hoot, you put a funnel in the 
radiator and tell the customer the car's no good.  One can never go wrong 
saying something is no good, but, if one says something is all right and it 
turns out not to be so...

Gary
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "dave" <daveandlindab at comcast.net>
To: "'Datsun Roadster List'" <datsun-roadsters at autox.team.net>
Sent: Friday, February 13, 2009 4:25 PM
Subject: Re: [Roadsters] OT: Funnel head gasket leak test?


> I'm with Eddie (and others)on this one.  Bubbles mean that there are
> bubbles, no idea where from.  A head gasket leak MAY produce bubbles, but
> bubbles don't mean the head gasket leaks.
>
> Any competent professional mechanic has a cooling system pressure
> tester...Even I have one, and I'm competent :)
>
> Diagnostics 101
> You put it in place of the radiator cap, pump it up to 17 PSI, and if the
> pressure drops, take out the spark plugs, remove the oil cap and find the
> coolant leak.  If it's the head gasket or a cracked head, the coolant will
> come out somewhere, intake, exhaust oil pan or combustion chamber(flow out
> the sparkplug hole).
>
> If it holds the pressure, no head gasket leak, at least to the cooling
> system.
> Next step, put 150psi of air into the cylinders one at a time at TDC, THEN
> you look for bubbles in the radiator, then listen for air hissing  from 
> the
> oil cap or hiss from intake or exhaust.
> Pretty straight forward stuff
>
> Dave Brisco
> ECR
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Eddie [mailto:eddietude at socal.rr.com]
> POTENTIAL Signs of a blown head gasket:
>
> 1) Air bubbles in the coolant
> 2) Coolant in the oil.  (looks milky due to the engine parts "stirring"
> up the mix))
> 3) Oil in the coolant.
>
> 4) Car overheats  (due to coolant level dropping)
> 5) white exhaust (water vapors in the exhaust smoke)
> 6) coolant level drops over time and needs to be refilled, but there are
> no external leaks.
>
> Bubbles alone in the radiator do NOT mean it has a blown head gasket,
> but that it COULD have one.
>
> Eddie
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