How do I spot a head gasket starting to go?

[mtflight]

The tabs (or GoldenPowder) themselves do not prevent headgasket damage, but they MAY help prevent the leak that could lead to an episode or two of overheating, which COULD cook the headgasket.

[mwwebmstr]

The tabs (or GoldenPowder) themselves do not prevent headgasket damage,

I was under the impression that the additive tabs were used to mitigate the corrosive nature of coolant and prevent the steel inner part of the head gasket, as well as the entire coolant system from corroding, rusting, etc.

[mtflight]

Originally Posted by mwwebmstr

I was under the impression that the additive tabs were used to mitigate the corrosive nature of coolant and prevent the steel inner part of the head gasket, as well as the entire coolant system from corroding, rusting, etc.

Nope. The tabs are ground up walnut shells and ginger root. They expand to seal nuinsance leaks caused by casting porosities.

You were on the right track though: the coolant must be replaced every so often according to schedule, in order to prevent corosion. While it's cooling capacity does not degrade, the anticorrosive agents deplete.

[davesdeville]

Originally Posted by mwwebmstr

I was under the impression that the additive tabs were used to mitigate the corrosive nature of coolant and prevent the steel inner part of the head gasket, as well as the entire coolant system from corroding, rusting, etc.

They do - kind of. If the coolant starts to corrode the headgasket, the barsleak sealant will get into the corroded area and help prevent it from spreading and worsening.

[Ranger]

Head gaskets are under an intense amount of pressure. The tabs do nothing to prevent or cure a bad head gasket. NO addative can do that. Mtflight is correct.

[cl1986]

So what if i have missing coolant and no overheating even going up the mountains on steep grades??

I saw the check coolant level a couple weeks ago, put in about a gallon of mixture. I just went to centennial wy to snowmobile and when i got back the check coolant level was on again. 1500 mile trip plus about 2 weeks of driving. The hill from centennial is about striaght up, no overheating, no message. I got the message when i got home.

Could the water pump leak like they do on the chevy pickup and im not seeing the leak?? When i got to the lodge something was smoking very faint, could have been from the snow up there at the lodge. This happened all three times. No overheating though. Could it leak out the waterpump and burn off somewhere??

The car is always garaged and have never seen any puddles. Have had the car just over a year now.

[Ranger]

Yes, it could be leaking and burn off (evaporate). Have the cooling pressurized when cold and let it sit overnight. If there is a leak, it should show up.

[JohnnyO]

Also you can send your old oil to a lab, which besides telling you how your oil and engine are getting along, will find even miniscule amounts of coolant in your oil and you can "head off" a problem (pun intended) before it gets bad.

www.blackstone-labs.com