12 Ways of How To Test A Blown Head Gasket Compared- PART1
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- Опубликовано: 29 мар 2014
- In this video series I scientifically compare many methods of testing for a head gasket failure / cracked block / warped cylinder head. The tests range from established professional tests with sophisticated equipment down to some crazy shadetree mechanic type tests and we'll see how accurate they are!
Part 2 can be found here: • 12 Ways of How To Test... 
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Never on RUclips have I ever seen a guy like you who is so well educated and informed and such a good teacher to those of us who dont know much about our cars. I have learned so much from you in just this one video because you took time to explain that all that glitters may not be gold which is so true. I really wish that more guys on RUclips would be as good as you and as educated as you in informing us how car engines run and what tests are available to test things that could be very costly in the end. So keep up the good work and Thank you so much for taking time to educate us!
Dang- made my whole week Brah!!! Thank you!!!
@HRH Kashogghi You've said well; this one's a keeper for future reference.
This is the best series of videos I have ever seen on blown head gaskets. Well done, Dude!
awesome experiment and an awesome trans am!
Thanks for the upload
Very thorough and informative THANK YOU SO MUCH! Very well done!
Wow, you explain it in great detail .Finally i am understanding how this all works. Keep up these excellent videos, please. I have liked and subscribed.
A blown head gasket is definitely a generic term I use it when describing my wife quite often when she's angry
Yeah. "Shark Week" often causes that behavior lol.
oh wow, you've given me the knowledge and understanding I need to know about Head Gasket. I previously own an 2003 Buick regal ls. After church Tuesday my engine started smoking took a look at it today it the smoke was coming from that area. This actually helped my curiousness. Thanks :-)
You are always the best in this field .. keep going.
One thing that makes your videos so completely enjoyable, in addition to the fantastic knowledge you share, is that you have great wit that you shoot off at the most unexpected moment. You also have a tendency to go on a spontaneous colorful rant in the middle of you lectures, and I like that a lot too. Your channel is great.
Great to see this done scientifically, with a little more time than most flat rate mechanics would spend.
You are my favorite vehicle teacher. What you teach is so helpful! Thank you!
Occam's razor applied to diagnostics/repairs on cars... love this channel!
thank you for taking the time for videos, you sir are awesome!!
marc lester Thanks for taking time to comment- 98% of people will watch something like this and have no idea what we are doing here so it is always refreshing to know there are people like you out there who appreciate though process.
marc lester u
Danua
As a shop owner, I like to watch these type of videos to always learn something new but more to catch people doing something stupid. I watched the entire thing and enjoyed every second. You are doing a great job. Keep it up. :)
Glad you enjoyed it!
I'd give you 4 thumbs up for the two videos in this series, 2 for each, if I could. I like that you show so many different ways of testing this from the most sophisticated to the least... SUBSCRIBED!
TY, it's on a 79 GMC that my dad left me. He bought it new in 79. I just lost my mom in Feb. they both loved this truck. It's got about 165,000 miles. I always knew I was gonna rebuilt the engine and so noes the time. I'm gonna go .030 over, cast Pistons, mild hyd cam, double roller chain, high volume oil pump and a three angle valve job . Decked, squared , line honed and balanced. Keep it a daily driver. Mom and pop will be happy and so will I. I just bought a good spray gun from Eastwood and going the satin black on the body.
I really appreciated your demonstrating these tests with a control and distinguishing the limits of what they indicate and prove or disprove. I was skeptical of the chemical CO test you did first, but I feel more confident in that method now.
The chemical test is remarkably accurate. Normally I just do a relative compression test but in applications where I cant do that, the chemical test is my secondary go-to.
im a gal and i wish i had seen this before i bought that used pos..really want to see the steel seller video.. thanks
I have one of those 4.3 chevy's from 2000. The intake manifold leak was obvious. Now rebuilt. the noise's I am hearing sounds like a 'bad' 'blown head gasket'. Lots of that mud sludge creamy. Should be a fun spring fixing. Thanks for sharing your troubleshooting techniques, really helps me wrap my head around the problem.
Really helpful! I’ve had a shop tell me blown gasket but I don’t think so but no sure what it is ... misfire #5 and replaced coil and spark plug but same ... has never overheated but misfires when idle .. I bought the scientific test you showed first and it passed with flying colors ... still testing and using your videos - thank you so much for taking the time
Good information. I never knew there were this many tests. One thing I have learned over the years is if a vehicle starts to overheat due to a suspected blown head gasket, pull over and shut the motor down for two minutes or so and restart. The shut down will allow the hot coolant to bathe the thermostat and it will open. Just a stop gap, of course, but it can give you a chance to get home or to a shop. All of this assumes the driver keeps an eye on the temp gauge... a very big assumption.
Also, cranking the heater to full heat and fan speed will help bring the temp down a bit..might just be enough to limp home or a shop as well
@@jeffreywilsonrubikscubeonb2428 I've had to do that once in the heat of summer. Not fun but saved me!!
I found this on another webpage and I thought that it was interesting:
Hi all. Great Article, but just a bit of a correction. Adding oil makes it a wet compression test. A leak down test is when compressed air via a compressor is used to pressurize the cylinder whilst the piston is at top dead center. At this point the intake and exhaust valves are closed creating a "sealed" chamber. The level of air loss determines the condition of that cylinder and it's associated components. So... if you have a high loss of air you should be able to work out what has failed. If you hear an excess of air venting from the intake.. the inlet valve is damaged. An excess from the exhaust... the exhaust valve is damaged. Pull the dip stick... hear an excess of air from here and your rings are shot, or head gasket leaking into oil gallery. Bubbles in the coolant and you've got a head gasket leak into a coolant gallery. This test is normally done after a compression and wet compression is done. It is the most accurate but much more time consuming to set up.. Hope this helps guys...
One other thing that was missed with the compression test is that typically wihile spinning the engine over you should open the throttle wide open. I also don't think recall that he talked about disabling the fuel system and ignition system . Really don't want a spark around unused fuel being ignited by a sparking spark plug wire or starting up. Of course starting would not have happened with all the plugs out. The wires just laying there does leave the potential for a spark that could ignite fuel vapors being spewed from the open plug holes .
Amazing presentation! Thank you for this. Now I understand how to test head gasket for myself.
Glad it helped!
The best series I have ever watched. Tnx
good mechanic
Great video. Where could I get a Carbon dioxide tester like yours from? It seems like the easiest test for the average joe. I am looking to buy a bmw e46 and where I am from they get driven hard, so I need to be confident head gasket isn't an issue. Thanks so much
+ohze schnitzel Common item you could order online.
I'm a newcomer to your video presentations, I just happened to stumble on the one you did on fuel trims which I found fascinating and illuminating, and now I found this one which further proves that there is a genius behind the videos. Keep it up Matt, I just wish I had discovered you sooner
Better late than never!!! You will be busy catching up I am sure!
Very well done. Very informative, to the point, and no annoying music. You rock.
I'm surprised you don't read plugs though. Plug condition can give you some good info.
"that was more annoying than listening to a liberal"
lol you caught me off guard there
Anyone else want to admit.. You're here because you have a Subaru? 😂😬
Yep 🙄
YUP. Real hot car. Not in a good way.
Volkswagen Passat
Mercedes Benz cargo van here..
BuT TheY'rE GrEaT CaRs.
Very informative. Thank you for this video.
Excellent Information
22:25 to 22:35
Guy checks cap for white sludge, said it looked fine.... Shows to camera and there definitely white sludge in it! lmao.
Um no there wasn't. And if there was why was there no emulsion in the oil despite it being old? Awaiting you answerr
Schrodingers Box I have a gm 3400 that im doing head gaskets on right now, the oil looked fine same as your's. The oil cap and pcv valves are sludged right up. There is clearly white goop inside that cap from 22:25 to 22:35. Just look at the video. Ik that car and know the oil cap is not normally white inside. Proof, its in the vid.
Cootah, FYI, you are completely mistaken here. The oil cap is clean, the white stuff you see deep inside the cap is not white sludge. Just want to through it out there so that readers here don't question Schrodinger's credibility.
cootah420 I'm seeing the goop too lol
@@SchrodingersBox There was definitely emulsification in the cap, you can see it deep in there. That can be caused by daily short journeys where the engine does not get hot enough.
It could also be caused by any other small source of moisture such as an engine rebuild where the engine was open to condensation for some time.
"more annoying than listening to a liberal" I lost it laughing! I knew I liked this guy
Sad but true, I have to change my head gasket. This video is just great, clear explanation and testing. How did you get so good at this? Being a molecular biologist is a handful. I'm trying to do well at this by watching guys like you and I'm a musician.
Awesome fixing to watch part 2 very well explained
In a real blown head gasket situation = engine is toast, car undriveable, check engine light flashing = get a new car or new engine, depending on blue book value. The cost of a HG repair job is outrageously prohibitive and will probably not remedy all additional latent engine damage in domino effect result of a real blown HG. Coolant in the oil = engine totally screwed. A blown HG is bad news. A minor leak where CO2 and coolant are slightly mixing is the red flag indicator that things will just get worse and why it is crucially important to perform a full engine coolant flush per manufacturer schedule with the proper 50/50 coolant. Never allow garages to top up the coolant. Almost all garages just do the drain & fill routine. That's no good. The system has to be completely flushed and replaced with perfect 50/50.
+Jason Bell That's hardly true at all. The determining factors are the bearing condition, not the simple fact there is coolant in oil.
+Schrodingers Box You're right. But most motorists don't recognize the symptoms of a blown HG and continue driving the vehicle as normal in its highly defective state instead of pulling over, shutting down and calling a tow. The cars come in for service only after internal components have been subject to sustained degradation. A mechanic, not the owner, spots the contamination, this after driven hundreds of miles post-HG breach. Most owners don't check fluids or tire pressure, take the vehicle for granted. Once a real HG fails, because the owner didn't regularly change the coolant or the pump failed or whatever, the repair bill is huge. If the bill matches or exceeds the car's value, sell the car to a wrecker and get a new one. For most average cars, except for the fortunate ones who catch the problem quick, the extensive repair bill isn't worth it. Only financially benefits some lucky auto garage.
Test
O.K. "more annoying than listening to a liberal". That's hilarious. Thanks. I needed that.
i knew th man was a genius...heeee
Yup giggle a little at that too.
11
+q++1b
Pa
Fantastic video! I found this to be very informative.
I like the control element of having a test on the second known car to confirm test equipment is working. Nice.
"More annoying than listening to a liberal" LOL Thumbs up!
Great informative video. Like the Liberal comment... Got to find part 2 lol...
best video for engine diagnosis ever seen. Lerned so much Thank u :)
Wow! This guy really knows his stuff! Absolutely no guess-work here; it's all scientific evidence. By a clear country mile, the best head gasket video on RUclips.
"That was more annoying than listening to a liberal." @15:20 -LOL, love that comment.
I just got to that comment - had to pause the video, and have a great LOL. Awesome comment!
Im gonna use that one on my wife
Its funny because he is bitter enough to have that on his mind all the time :)
A milky oil cap can be simply from cold weather condensation.
Fantastic video.
Really Great stuff ! Really the amount of forums I've read for clear answers if my head gasket has blown! Then i found this goes through the lot and you even despell the false readings you can get. You obviously take great care and time in creating these videos, big thank you for sharing your knowledge. I will use to check mine now. Just one thing, if when running the car with the radiator cap off and you rev the engine up if the coolant pumps out of the radiator does this tell you your head / block is blown or it that normal?
I gave you a thumbs up immediately after saying the compressor noise was more annoying than listening to a liberal. Personally I would rather hear a dog barking than a liberal.
more annoying than listening to a liberal? Im subbing! Great source of info, you have.
I'm an auto technician of 35yrs & your video is well done very thorough. Great job!
Thanks man!! Most auto techs hate me lol.
Absolutely fantastic and educational video! Liked and subscribed.
"THAT WAS MORE ANNOYING THAN LISTENING TO A LIBERAL"
ROFL
That's going to get you a ton of dislikes, but it was hilarious!
Lol it gets less hates than you'd think... but only because liberals don't watch my videos. My videos involve using logic and reson to take responsibility for your own situations instead of showing how to depend on the government so your emotions feel happy.
Schrodingers Box "take responsibility" EXACTLY!! Be a fuckin MAN instead of lying pussies who can only do things when the odds are overwhelmingly in your favor and guns..level the playing field and see what biches cryin foul
Why would the TRUTH generate dislikes ? Libtards will be Libtards ..
I am the liberal who commented and I liked the video.
And conversely, a ton of likes too. . .I'm on my 8th page of comments, hitting 'like' on every commenter's positive comment related to that.
"More annoying than listening to a liberal" - lmao.
Ha, yeah that was actually 2 jokes in one because it's also an inside reference to my "diagnosing belt squeal" where I make the original comment.
Not too many liberals on my channel because my videos require the use of rational, logical thinking instead of emotional reaction.
Love it! I am a veteran technician of 20 years, but watch your videos because I always enjoy listening to other peoples perspective and points of views. You and I are very like minded and especially enjoy your scientific approaches on diagnoses. Thank you
This guy is good! Great video, very informative. Like the scientific angle good attention to details keep it ☝!
thank you for great informative video .
more annoying than listening to a liberal. lol damn dude your a winner in my book.
Same here.
Love It! MAGA!
Thank you! Your cartesian methodology and precise sens of details got me subscribed! I really liked the name of the channel, hell the cat is alive'n kicking 👍
Really informative, nice job
"more annoying than listening to a liberal" Subscribed
judging by the comments i can assume liberals dont watch this channel, theyre not interested in car repair because they only drive their mom's car.
great video very well done this guy walks you through step by step . All his videos are exlent .Love it BILL PENN from PHILA PA POSTED 5/10/18
Thanks for putting this up!
Thank you so much.
You provide so much valuable information.
You're a great teacher.
I appreciate that!
thanks for taking the time! I am no scientist but I still enjoyed both of your headgasket diagnostic videos. one thing I ponder is if you have gone out of your way to find out where the air goes in a car with a cracked head or block after performing the compressed air test. what mean is if you have noticed this air flowing out of the pcv valve or oil cap or the like. I would be interested about your findings on that type of scenario. excellent work.
Great video. I learned a lot. Thank you!
Great video man. Thanks!
great video!
my car is well looked after and my gasket is intact (thank god!)
very educational, from London, England, thanks!
Excellent, great teacher, great mechanic.
really great video thanks for the info
Well articulated. I just want ton add that the bock can warp too -particularly aluminium blocks.
Thankyou Dude cause this problem is a pain in the butt , too much money too many directions , I like to one stop , it's hell just working on these things
One stop shop
Very cool video. Lots of options for testing. I was really surprised one of the spark plugs didnt look different.
+Dixon Cider I very seldom see the spark plugs look different because people usually change them before I see the car
This is the first video that I seen of your and love the way you explained things. Now I'm going to watch more of the other videos you have hope there just as good. I'm a fan now.
nice vid..you have let the cat out of the box as so to speak..
am currently changing the head gasket on my 98 BMW Z3 1.9, I wish I had seen this vid at the diagnostic stage and maybe trusted my own logic a bit more before throwing so many hoses at it!
my compression gave 200 psi per cylinder and the block test came up negative so it had us stumped for a bit..but after an improvised coolant system pressure test with a bike pump, pressure gauge and improvised radiator cap we knew the coolant system was not at fault and working to spec..and as the water pump an thermo were both replaced 4k ago they were not suspect and have both since been tested and proven sound.
just to make sure we ran it at fast idle and sure enough the pressure built up to almost 3 bar within 7 mins or so..that cannot be coming from anywhere else but a compromised head and or gasket.
and given that the car suffered an overheat and total coolant loss a week earlier (due to a sloppy hose connector repair by previous owners mechanic) it was obvious from the get go what the issue was.
I would like a word with that previous mechanic in a locked room...
its been a pain but I do enjoy the detective aspect of it..!
once again great vid ,sound approach.
Ealy good video efficient and informative
This was amazing. SOO much information. Thanks! (and thanks for wearing a mic :))
saltthevein You're welcome, but to be honest I only wear the mic when I make videos. But I will consider wearing it all the time if it gets me compliments like this.
Very helpful video, thank you :)
Thanks, very helpful!
Thanks for teaching me !!!
Biiiiiiiiig Respect from the UK
Amazing video like always! :)
Nice & thorough walk thru of the subject. Go back and read your spark plugs. You’ll find #3 shows a ‘washing’ has occured. This corresponds with your positive #3 wet paper test.
Thank you sir for the video.
Very good info!!!
Thanks!
Thanks again man, that was cool
Hey Matt…I have the day off today so I was happy to see these 3 recent uploads! Just finished watching part 1 of your head gasket tests and very good video for sure! I was able to pick out which plug was from the cylinder that was burning coolant just by looking at it by the way. I didn't get a good look as you were moving the plugs around quite a bit but there was a moment where you could see a noticeable white "crusty" looking spot on that one plug that was visibly more pronounced than on any of the other plugs. It was on the underside of the curved electrode (the side that would be furthest downward in the chamber while installed in the car) In my experience in the field I have never seen a plug that was burning coolant that didn't have noticeable white deposits. I wouldn't call a head gasket based on this visual inspection alone, but reading plugs is very useful for helping in what diagnostic direction you want to go in :) There is some good info out there on the net about plug reading, and I think you may come to like it. Just another little weapon for your arsenal to help in finding direction. Great vid!
Great video! Unfortunately, I have torn apart much of the vehicle after diagnosing a bad water pump, due to several overheating episodes and disappearing coolant. (Water pump was diagnosed by no movement of coolant in the radiator when running with cap off and then removing accsy belt and being able to freely spin the pump.) The timing cover is filthy and so is the underside of the vehicle, seems it has been loosing coolant for some time! Then after seeing the amount of coolant everywhere, even in the crevices under the intake manifold, I suspected leaking of the head gasket. At this point I have the intake off, Throttle body off, radiator off, valve covers off, but yet tried the leak down test and not sure what to make of it.
First, I set the Compressor at 75psi but suspiciously only would see 30psi on my tool psi...... once connected the tool to each spark plug (at TDC), I only got one of 6 cylinders to read less than 20% leak. Other cylinders were off the charts, like 90% plus and the tester psi dial 0 and some of those cylinders would make noise, air gushing out mosting from adjacent intake, while others reading 90% would not make any noise. Given the tear down condition, can this test be useful at this point?? Just wish I had used the bulb test BEFORE tearing apart! Now I almost think I should proceed with the water pump/timing chain replacement and reassemble, then do the bulb test and if that is bad another tear down!! Or do you think there is a definitive test I can do with the tear down I have done or just proceed with the cyclinder removal/inspection/gasket replacement since I am already to this point? Worst part is that this is a 2003 Suzuki Grand Vitara and I am learning these are awful to work on!!! Regardless, I am repeating the leak down tests, but think my tool may be bad??? First off I should see same pressure at tool as I set my compressor no? Thanks!
Love your videos. I'm pretty sure I have a blown head gasket on my 1998 F-150, I will do the compression test to confirm. One of the indicator's I have had is I can smell combustion products in the degass bottle (coolant reservoir) when I take the cap off, you may want to add this to your shade tree mechanic inventory of tests, although not as definitive as the bubbly oil, I really like that one.
Bro you are one of the best. Good knowledge about car
YOU HAVE REALLY SHOWN AND EXPLAINED WHAT YOU ARE DOING AND THE RESULTS. I APPRECIATE YOU VIDEO AS I'M HAVING ALMOST THE SAME PROBLEMS. COMMENT BELOW IS RIGHT ON. THANKS A MILLION, I COULD USE A FRIEND LIKE YOU HERE IN MIDDLE GA!!!
That’s a very informative video thank you very much
15:25 lol! Hey was that a WS6? Nice car!
I'm helping a friend with a Firehawk at the moment. Small tiny bumper tap set off his airbags and did a whole lot of damage to the interior and glass. Enough for the insurance company to total it. Sad. It doesn't even need body work.
***** Firehawks are "in" these days! Fix it- it's worth $$!
This I know! lol. It's black on black on black. It's the hardest thing in the world to find interior parts for.
Schrodingers Box Hello! I have a Volvo 940 Turbo from 1997. I understand that your black beauty is you baby. My Volvo is my baby. And I think my baby is hurtin'.
The story goes: I noticed that the temperature went sky-high after a good drive. After I shut off my engine it went down. It was appearant that after I opened the lid for the coolant that there was air in the system. I let her run idle for a while, revving a bit and noticed the water level sunk to the bottom and went over the top, spilling over the tank.
I filled with coolant and this repeated itself a few times before it went dead still at max-level. Most of the air was then removed. I noticed that the coolant (I use blue coolant) was a little kinda.. blue-gray-ish. (I've used different brands of coolant since I'm a student and travel alot. and they sell a different brands of coolant at the city I'm studying in) I took her for a spin, and oh boy she ran great. The coolant kept its level and all seems okay.
The exhaust is not white, or anything, and I haven't noticed any oily water on the dipstick, nor any performance change. She's still kickin' like a mad viking. So my question is: What do think is wrong? Is it the head gasket?
Please answer, I have a feeling this will keep me up all night.
kissmyasssuckers Nothing I can do- all you have is a list of symptoms. I need data to make a diagnosis. What is the compression? What is the fuel trim static vs load? Was a leakdown test done? What is the static vs load coolant pressure?
With just your description it is impossible to make a diagnosis.
I have no clue..sadly we don't own a garage or any of the necessary equipment to do those tests :(
Good work
Thanx for the great video
I appreciated the emphasis on diagnosis. I'm an orthopaedic hand surgeon by trade, and I entertain myself (and save money) by working on cars and boats. I appreciate the scientific approach. I love the "plug and pray" analogy from another video. I see that a lot on youtube and mechanic shops actually. One of my mentors in orthopaedic surgery always taught, "an ounce of diagnosis is worth a pound of cure, so do a pound of diagnosis for every ounce of cure." I think that philosophy applies to this field as well.
That's awesome! I have also heard that quote before as well and couldn't agree more. It is totally applicable to any field since a scientific approach is always the best unless it's for some kind of artistic application lol.
Thank you so much is really cool!
Very informative video...did an awesome job
Glad you liked it!
excellent step by step
This is so great Sir
Awesome video. Very informative!
Thank you!
whats the tool he was using and where can i buy one??