Head gasket is done... options?

[Cobra]

it's just heart breaking. noticed coolant was leaking out from the radiator, i open the cap, and a nightmare is found. car never overheated, the temp went slightly past the mid-way mark. so what now, a rebuild or buy a used engine? getting rid of the car is not an option, because with ~135,000 miles, i think i'd rather fix it, since the car is in good shape besides this major problem. any help would be appreciated in this time of darkness, thanks

[finald8ta]

holly hell is that rust or some sort of additive?
did the car smoke at all?



get a new radiator and flush the motor at well, before u go and rebuild it, personally i dont think ur HG is done just yet form what u posted

also replace ur t-stat

[Cobra]

it's oil, man. i noticed the oil level was low before i did an oil change. there was never any smoke. oil was disappearing very slowly, for awhile. that's why i think it's the head gasket =(

[finald8ta]

o danm
normally its a milkshake looking
that just looks like paste.

[Shadow19]

i dont think thats a head gasket issue.. Have you EVER flushed your coolant? That shit looks like wax which is not what you would get from oil and water lol.

[finald8ta]

i dont think thats a head gasket issue.. Have you EVER flushed your coolant? That shit looks like wax which is not what you would get from oil and water lol.

thats what im saying. get a new radiator and flush the system out,
its cheaper then a new motor or replacing HG and your gona have to get a new radiator anyway since you say its leaking

[Galantman03]

dayum lol ^what he said lol

[Shadow19]

btw. NO way in hell i would put a new radiator in that car and then flush the engine... I would flush flush flush flush, replace radiator, flush and refill

[finald8ta]

its only common sence to flush before u replace it, im sure he knows that

[foxbrand]

btw. NO way in hell i would put a new radiator in that car and then flush the engine... I would flush flush flush flush, replace radiator, flush and refill

my thoughts exactly


from that pic, now I know why my high school autoshop teacher said to flush a car's coolent at the least once every 3 years

[Shadow19]

its only common sence to flush before u replace it, im sure he knows that

Nothing wrong with helpful advice is there?

[Cobra]

thanks fellas. seems you may be right. it does smell like coolant only. and the oil level is normal. so now, can i flush the cooling system myself by pouring in distilled water into the radiator, and then run the car to just before operating temp, and then draining it? how many times should i flush? i don't like the fact that most "radiator flush 'shops' " use hose water.

[finald8ta]

what I did was disconnect both hoses from the block and remove the t/stat.
put the hose in where the t/stat is and watch it flush till the water is coming out clean
replace t/stat
then replace radiator.

don't bother useing that old radiator cuz its all nasty inside and could go into ur block and maybe cause more damage plus u said it was leaking.

I used hose water when I did mine to flush it then used distilled water and antifreeze as a final reault.

[Cobra]

so install the new radiator before doing the flush?

[oakrdrs187]

^No, flush the system with the old one first otherwise that old crap will run through the new one.

[Isaurio]

install after the flush. If you put the radiator before, all the junk will come back to the radiator.

[jacob0530]

...also replace your radiator cap...looks shot!

[Galantfan88]

I believe its a mix of alot of rust, dirt, and that could also mean your tranny fluid could be leaking inside your cooling system which creates that clunky look.