Blown Head Gasket?
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Blown Head Gasket?
Can somebody tell me the symptoms for a blown head gasket? I have a 96 Explorer, 5.0L V-8 with 132Kmiles on it. Check engine light is one, engine's running rough, number six cylinder is misfiring. Seems like I'm going through coolant but have seen no leaks. Had to fill the radiator with about a quart of coolant and poured another quart or so into the reservoir (which was dry). Have checked for coolant leaks and not found anything yet. Have heard several theories from this forum on why the check engine light may be on (everything from a bad spark plug to blown head gasket). I changed out spark plugs and wires two months ago, car was running great since. So, how what would I look for to determine if I actually did blow the head gasket? Thanks!
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From: Baltimore
With the engine cold, remove the radiator cap. Start it up and give it some RPMs and look in the radiator. If it's bubbling up and over, then you could have a blown head gasket. Also, if the oil is milky looking, that's also a sign of a blow head gasket. Since the CEL is on, did you pull the codes? If so, what were they? I don't think a code will reveal a blown head gasket.
Mike
Mike
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Thanks for the reply Mike. I did check the oil and it is not milky looking. Will do the radiator check once the engine has cooled down (just got home). Did have Auto Zone do a diagnostic and found that the number six cylinder is misfiring, code 0306. I just changed out the spark plugs and spark plug wires a few months ago so was very surprised to see the CEL come on again. Other than changing out the number six spark plug and/or wire, I'm not sure what else could be causing the problem.
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i had a blown head gasket on ym 96 X 4.0L....my syptoms were liquid coming out of exhaust an extreme power loss with the check engine light. the dealership i got my X from said it owuld cost 1100 bucks to rip the engine apart an put new ones in.my neighbor is a ase/ford certified mechanic an did his diagnostic and agreed on the blown head gasket......... he told me about this liquid Blue Rhino that i believe you pour into your radiator or something an when it cycles through it fills in the gaps and expands to create an artificial head gasket.i did that at 74,000 miles, today i just broke 85,000 an i havent had a problem since.plus on the misfire have you tried replacing your plug wires???? OEM boots tend to dryrot an the connection could be off this also happened to me but its wasnt major like the head gasket
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Not heard of this Blue Rhino stuff before. Is that something you only use when you suspect a blown head gasket, or is it more of a preventative measure? Are you saying you use this stuff after knowing your head gasket was blown and it fixed the problem? If so, that's pretty amazing. I'll have to check it out.
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From: Florida
yeah dude my head gasket was blown out i was without my X for about a week checkin prices an crap and my neighbor got me this stuff an we put it in ran the truck for 10 minutes(in park) an i havent had a problem with it since thank god cause i didnt have the 1100 bucks being fulltime-college/part-time worker
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Where did you get the stuff. I looked for Blue Rhino on the Internet but didn't find anything similar to what you were talking about. Would Auto Zone carry it?
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I wouldn't put any foreign substances in the cooling system unless it's your last resort. I've known people that have put bars-leak in the radiator to try and stop a leak and end up with all sorts of cooling system problems. Have you verified that you have a blown head gasket?
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Good lord, it kills me to see people dump quick-fix in a bottle into their engines. I had a customer come in that dumped ceram-a-seal into his engine because he had a head gasket leaking, ended up costing him a motor, plus the core charge. Do your self a favor, pressure check the cooling system with a radiator pressure tester. You can also use a block testing kit that will detect exhaust gases in your coolant. A blown head gasket will usually be apparent by: milky looking oil, the smell of coolant from your exhaust, rapid overheating. You may also want to check up on recall notices for your truck.
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From: Florida
Originally posted by 68FordCA
A blown head gasket will usually be apparent by:, the smell of coolant from your exhaust, rapid overheating.
A blown head gasket will usually be apparent by:, the smell of coolant from your exhaust, rapid overheating.
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If the head gasket is gone you generally know right away, I had mine go at 110,000 miles and it was leaking outside (you could see coolant coming out of the engine between the block and the head). I poor-boyed it and just replaced the gasket and this lasted for 40,000 more miles before it blew again. This time the cel came on and there was a huge loss of power and a lot of steam coming out of the exhaust. I replaced the heads and gaskets with new head bolts and it cost me 700 bucks but I did all the work. It's not that difficult a job to do, just make sure you have a good torque wrench and be sure to put in new head bolts when you go back in. I've put 10,000 miles on it and runs like a charm. This is a 94 sport v-6 4.0 l.
Good luck
Good luck
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From: Palmerton Pa
The Radiator trick is not fail safe but it give you a good idea
as far as adding that blue rhino or what ever it's called I remember one thing my father always taught me years ago "no chemical additive will correct a mechical problem it will only delay the end resolts"
as far as adding that blue rhino or what ever it's called I remember one thing my father always taught me years ago "no chemical additive will correct a mechical problem it will only delay the end resolts"
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That sounds like some good advice from your father and something I will definitely abide by. Turns out I didn't have a blown head gasket. I did have a number six spark plug wire that went bad. Replaced it and engine is working fine. I also found that I did have a coolant leak out of one of the hoses. Fixed that too and everything seems great. Thanks all for your help.
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