Blown/leaking head gasket?

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Dr. Gonzo
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Blown/leaking head gasket?

Post by Dr. Gonzo »

I have seen a couple things I think are symptoms of a craked/blown head gasket in my 92' SS. If it has been sitting for a week or so it will smoke a light white smoke till its warmed up then the smoke goes away. Secondly, If I remove the radiator cap after starting (cold engine) and then rev it a little air bubbles come out of the coolant resevoir.
It still drives fine, has no power loss and doesn't even get to the mid point of the temp gauge. Could it be someting else?

Thanks
S
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SILINC3R
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Post by SILINC3R »

i think mine would blow white smoke but i aussumed that it was running lean or rich( not sure which one)
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Skruyd
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Re: Blown/leaking head gasket?

Post by Skruyd »

Dr. Gonzo wrote:I have seen a couple things I think are symptoms of a craked/blown head gasket in my 92' SS. If it has been sitting for a week or so it will smoke a light white smoke till its warmed up then the smoke goes away. Secondly, If I remove the radiator cap after starting (cold engine) and then rev it a little air bubbles come out of the coolant resevoir.
It still drives fine, has no power loss and doesn't even get to the mid point of the temp gauge. Could it be someting else?

Thanks
S
What exactly are you looking for? You can get white smoke from condensation in the exhaust system until the car warms up. Has your vehicle been overheating? just because you are getting air bubbles in the reservoir it doesn't necessarily mean your head gaskets are blown. you can just have a leak somewhere else. If you want you can pressurize the coolant system with a tester to check for leaks. Make sure you check your cap to. if you have no leaks you can always test the coolant for hydrocarbons with test strips, or while you have the coolant system pressurized. Take a spark plug out every few seconds to see if the system looses pressure. If it does, then your head gasket is most likely blown

SILINC3R wrote:i think mine would blow white smoke but i aussumed that it was running lean or rich( not sure which one)
A little white smoke is lean and black smoke is rich :-D
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Dr. Gonzo
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Post by Dr. Gonzo »

Nope, no overheating. It doesn't smoke right when started, it takes about 20 seconds to start and then does so till its up to operating temp. There is condesate in the exhuast as I can see droplets accumulating at the exhuast tip, but the smoke hangs in the air a little bit making me things its not just steam.
04 Forester XTi VF39, TMIC, 3" exhaust, COBB accessport
92 Legacy L wagon 5 spd, 266K miles
83 wagon SOLD
04 STi COBB stage 2 & wingless SOLD
92 Legacy SS 5MT-TD04,TMIC, 3"exhaust SOLD
00 Legacy GT wagon 5spd SOLD
90 Legacy LSi wagon
alexandermf
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Re: Blown/leaking head gasket?

Post by alexandermf »

i have the same exact problem, thinking im runnin a lil lean
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