Exhaust in Overspill/ Rough at Start... Head gasket?

[X98STSX]

There IS exhaust in my coolant, but it's not smoking now. Also, my temp. fluctuates a little now. But still not overheating on the needle. Is there a way to see the ACTUAL running temp. in the DIC, or do i have to rely on the needle?

[zonie77]

You have the classic symptoms of bad headgaskets. One common thing is their not acting consistently. They'll overheat one trip, then be ok the next couple of trips. It seems the corrosion of the gaskets is the cause.

If you have combustion gasses in the coolant and are loosing coolant consistently you'll have to address the gasket problem.

The temperature gauge will usually stay in the normal range, then suddenly swing up.

[91TexasSeville]

X98STX

Yes, the coolant with double dose of conditioner and sealant is a "Band-Aid" patch at best. I was not suggesting that it was the fix.

The problem is fixable. It is not the end of the world. Yes, it is more than likely at least one head gasket has ruptured. The sealant will only buy a short time for diagnostics.

The only way to know the extent of repair is a top end tear down. If X98STX does not have the mechanical expertise to go this far, then the car is "drivable" a short distance to a qualified repair center.

Nobody here knows for sure the extent of the repair without a visual inspection of the parts as they are removed. At any rate, the engine problem is "fixable".

Worse case scenario is that the block will need a complete timesert for head bolts. The heads need to be checked to ensure that the gasket surfaces are flat.

If you are doing the work yourself, expect the car to be out of service for at least a week or more. If a competent repair center is doing the work, then expect it to be in the shop for three to four day’s minimum. In either case, when the repair is done properly, it will last indefinitely as long as it is maintained according to the manufacturers routine maintenance schedule.

I mentioned worse case scenario only to give an estimate for time. Best case scenario would involve having only to replace the top end gaskets and checking the heads. This can be done in one day, two at the most depending on when they actually get to the repair.

The repair (worse or best scenario) can be done yourself provided you have the tools, parts, and a factory manual for reference.