headgasket question

[esy]

ok, so it would appear that my headgasket may be slowly going out. just recently had a mechanic take a look at the truck (tranny, specifically) because i was just recently rear-ended. he didn't notice anything funny or strange, but he did notice some coolant leaking from the passenger side of head. i never noticed it before, and did see some old, coolant on the backside of the oil pan (which i've never noticed since i don't go far back enough under the vehicle when i'm changing the oil).

 

so, i'm hoping to get ready to get the work done soon since the 150k is coming up soon, just curious if there were any upgrades to the headgasket out there? i haven't seen much in the light searching that i've done so far, but if there were any, anyone know anything?

 

any help is appreciated. it's going to be a big chunk of change, but i'm not ready to let the Pathy go since it is still in pretty awesome shape aside from that.

[esy]

BTW, i'm not totally certain it's a HG issue yet. since i was told from the mechanic that he saw a leak from the psg side head, i haven't had a chance to check it out any deeper than what he showed me behind the oil pan, under the truck.

 

this mechanic isn't my normal mechanic that i have do some of the work that i don't do myself, so again, not sure.

 

hoping he's wrong and was just assuming things because i did change my upper rad hose about six months ago when it cracked and sprayed coolant everywhere, but just preparing myself, just in case.

[WOT]

Does the truck overheat, burn coolant and throw clouds of white smoke when you drive?? Coolant in the oil?

 

Im curious what symptoms of a blown HG youve got other than a puny residual leak

 

The sure way to professionally check for a blown headgasket is by doing a cylinder leakdown test, you could probably pay 1 hour labour at a shop and get it done, or buy the tool yourself for probably under $100.

 

If you can change a spark plug on the VQ then thats all you really need to know to do a leakdown test

[devonianwalk]

It's also a good idea to degrease your engine. I do this from time to time to check for new leaks. In my case, I keep finding hidden pockets of dirt/mud.

[pathfounder]

This may not apply to the VQ, but on the VG, there are about 100,000 coolant lines at the back of the engine, each one ready to leak all over the engine at some point. Check the easy stuff first.

 

Then, pressure test.

[Leo94]

Yeh degrease your engine and you could even do a compression check those tools come by really cheap, Also check your radiator cap and look for any signs of oil or creamish brownish colors

[Kingman]

You can do a CO test through the cooling system as well, but that only shows if exhaust gasses are being introduced in to the cooling system.

[esy]

Again, i haven't looked much deeper into it yet. Haven't had time lately with everything going on.

 

To answer some quick questions, no other typical symptoms of burning oil/coolant, etc. other than the old oil on the backside of the oil pan. Which is why it was a bit surprising that this guy said that he believes my HG is going out.

 

I haven't ever degreased the engine, even after the upper rad hose went out on me, and i know that's something i should've done long ago.

 

Hopefully, i can get under the hood and track anything down this weekend. I've never seen Any leaking fluids ever, anywhere, except when the upper rad hose went out. The only "saturation" that i have is right at my cone filter, but that's from excess filter oil when i clean it.

 

I'll report back later, but does anyone know of any upgrades to the HG, just in case? Or am i just relegated to the OEM HG?

[Towncivilian]

Hopefully, i can get under the hood and track anything down this weekend. I've never seen Any leaking fluids ever, anywhere, except when the upper rad hose went out. The only "saturation" that i have is right at my cone filter, but that's from excess filter oil when i clean it.

How often are you cleaning your filter? Excessive cleaning and oiling reduces the efficiency of the air filter and can result in oil buildup on the MAF sensor.

 

Inspect your radiator cap according to this TSB.

 

I'm not aware of any head gasket upgrades from OEM, and I'm not sure of the construction of the OEM head gaskets. I haven't heard of head gasket issues being common on our engines.

 

I echo the above suggestions to thoroughly degrease the engine bay and the underside of the engine and watch for leaks.

[esy]

How often are you cleaning your filter? Excessive cleaning and oiling reduces the efficiency of the air filter and can result in oil buildup on the MAF sensor.

 

Inspect your radiator cap according to this TSB.

 

I'm not aware of any head gasket upgrades from OEM, and I'm not sure of the construction of the OEM head gaskets. I haven't heard of head gasket issues being common on our engines.

 

I echo the above suggestions to thoroughly degrease the engine bay and the underside of the engine and watch for leaks.

 

when i first got the POP charger, i cleaned it a couple times at ~10-12k because i was driving through some fairly dusty roads during a few of our vacations. right now, i'm on a 15k-20k"ish" schedule, depending on what the filter looks like. the saturation on the L side of the engine bay/plastic wheel wells isn't bad, but just due, in part, to me not wiping all of the oil off when putting it back on or what have you.

 

wasn't aware of that radiator cap TSB and i'll have to check that out too. thanks. although it doesn't really help me with my "supposed psg head side coolant leak".

 

i'm also not aware of any HG issues with the VQs either which also strikes me as a bit strange, and yes, i need to degrease the engine and engine bay.