There is a cheap and simple process for detecting any combustion products in
your coolant. You can buy a kit to do this at your auto parts store, or
take the car to a radiator shop, which will do it for you. The kit (about
$30 when I bought mine 10 years ago) is made by Balkamp, amongst others, and
consists of fluid through which you pass the coolant - any combustion
products make the fluid change color.
If there are combustion products in your coolant, you have at the very least
a blown headgasket, but there may also be other (worse) conditions that
cause this, like a crack in an engine casting.
Pressure in your valve covers indicates something badly wrong, assuming your
PCV valve is hooked up and working. Either you have outrageous blowby
(broken piston?) or a crack in an engine casting. If the stuff coming out
of the valve covers is white, I suspect there is coolant getting in the
crankcase somehow. Since you find no evidence of water in the oil, this
must be vapor only, which leads me to suspect a head gasket also.
Dick Benjamin
----- Original Message -----
From: Rob P <fristpenny@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Monday, August 26, 2002 6:10 AM
Subject: Re: IML: What's wrong with my small block?-update (long)
> Mike and List,
> I think my original 2 am post was not clear. It was not dumping coolant
> from the oil filter. Went I went back and started it after it cooled it
was
> leaking OIL from the filter adapter. The heat must have blown the gasket.
I
> fixed that. The oil does not seem contaminated with water or vice versa.
> The thunking noise was definitely water boiling in the radiator.
> Consensus seems to be that the head gasket is blown or the head cracked,
but
> that could be because people think I have water in my oil. My main concern
> is the continued overheating and the smoke/steam and pressure from under
the
> valve covers.
> Rob
>
>
> >From: Mike Pittinaro <mechimike@xxxxxxxxx>
> >Reply-To: mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> >To: mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> >Subject: Re: IML: What's wrong with my small block? (long)
> >Date: Mon, 26 Aug 2002 04:57:28 -0700 (PDT)
> >
> > > Dumping water from the oil filter. Guy in Mieneke
> > > said you can't bypass
> > > the heater and therefore the pressure was too high.
> >
> >He's full of it. Many people (esp in warm climes)
> >bypass the heater to prevent hot air from coming into
> >the passenger compartment. However, should the engine
> >overheat, it will prevent you from using the heater as
> >an auxilliary radiator to help cool the engine.
> >
> >Dumping H2O from the oil filter?!?!?!? Sounds like
> >the coolant and oil became intermingled...blown head
> >gasket at least.
> >
> > > there and white smoke
> > > (steam?) is slowly coming out and it seems to be
> >
> >While you have the heads off, I'd have a machinist
> >check them for trueness and cracks. I'm also
> >wondering about that clunking you heard. If the oil
> >was dilluted with coolant, that no doubt reduced its
> >lubricating abilities. You could have spun bearings,
> >worn rings, etc. Also, a loud knock (not to be
> >confused with lifter ticking) could be indicative of a
> >bad wrist pin.
> >
> >Wrist pins are funny- sometimes they go quickly (after
> >you begin to hear the knock) and sometimes it takes
> >30,000 miles (evidence a friend's now-deceased
> >Oldsmobile). Either way, its very messy.
> >
> >=====
> >--Mike Pittinaro
> >
> >"Peculiar travel suggestions are dancing lessons from God."
> > --Kurt Vonnegut, "Cat's Cradle"
> >
> >__________________________________________________
> >Do You Yahoo!?
> >Yahoo! Finance - Get real-time stock quotes
> >http://finance.yahoo.com
> >
> >
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