99'PEGASV6

Thanks for the useful advice petrock. I've tested it from the rad cap when the car has warmed up. I only stopped because the coolant kept rising to the top and would overflow, making me suck coolant into the test tube.

So i'll try testing it from the radiator cap when the car is just started and running.

Also, how do I know when the thermostat has "opened up"? Should I wait like 5 minutes or so?

dawson1112

I would never rely on a negative result from that test...
Proper way is to do a compression/leakdown test on each cylinder.

You have all the symptoms of a blown hg though. The gunky junk in the radiator could be some ones halfwit attempt to temporarily seal it with some kind of stop leak like bars. You may also have a leak between the intake and head .

LilRoush

I agree it sounds like a blown head gasket.

petrock

Good idea on the compression & leak down test on the cylinders. That would be a more definitive test, assuming he doesn’t have a leaking valve which can be tested in other ways.

99'PEGASV6

Thanks for the help guys. Before I try to go into compression & leakdown tests

I turned on my car to do the cold engine block tester. Again the fluid remained blue. However I noticed that my car isn't smoking anymore. I smelled the tailpipe and it doesn't smell like anything out of the usual. My idle seems fine. I even had some courage to drive it around for literally 1 minute..pushed it hard even. I remember about a week or two before my car started smoking like crazy, I ran out of coolant and decided to dump a bunch of water in there in order for me to get to a gas station without it over heating. Could all that white smoke about 2 weeks later and a bit of rough idle be the cause of all that white smoke? Like maybe the water mixed with the coolant and this mixture burned off, creating white smoke and the smell of coolant for a little while then disappear when I let it run for a bit. Maybe ALL OF IT finally finished going through the system and burning off out of the tailpipe? I'm second guessing myself and think completely thought the worst case scenario when i saw smoke maybe?

I noticed that when I turned my car on, something (i'm guessing coolant) burns off from the side of the engine.. I hear a tick when I run the car as if it's a broken exhaust manifold. When I drive and step on the gas, its just a tick tick tick (I could record it) would THIS contribute to my oil/gunk in coolant?

I'm real sorry to run you all around all over the place with questions and symptoms and really appreciate the patience. Thanks for helping me out. really

If nothing else...I'll just have the guy replace my headgasket and hope that was the problem. I bought everything already including the head gasket set, 2 head bolt sets, 3 gallons of coolant, a new thermostat.. I'm kind of hoping now that it IS a headgasket problem so I could just use this stuff and be done.

dawson1112

Coolant (or water) does not simply burn off. There should be no way for the water or coolant to enter the exhaust at all.

Only way coolant or water could burn off is if it is entering the cylinder via a blown head gasket , or bad lower intake gasket.

How ever I have seen condensation in the exhaust system and cause white smoke , or more accurately steam.

Some times a blown head gasket wont even present itself until the engine reaches full operating temperature.

If your not loosing coolant from the system , and you are not having overheating or drivability issues such as a very bad miss , then drive it or run it up to full temp for awhile and see what happens . A blown head gasket will pull coolant from the system and burn it out the exhaust or dump it into the oil. Dumping it into the oil is BAD very BAD because that means it is also washing down your crank bearings as coolant displaces oil .

That test needs to be done from the over flow res, And the car needs to be warmed up. It is only testing for exhaust gasses that are being pushed into the cooling system. Once the car is completely warmed up you can start sucking fumes from the overflow .

99'PEGASV6

Thanks for the information dawson. I'll run the car tomorrow for a bit longer till it gets to normal operating temperature (warmed up) and i'll see what happens. I'll do the test via the reservoir after as well.