The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk coolant loss

This is an email I sent to my friend regarding some coolant loss;

I have a minor problem which I haven't investigated to much yet.... My truck is losing coolant....So I know it could be a leaky rad,I've looked around and could not find any green fluid, a leaking heater core, same thing nothing....I lose about 2 to 3 liters a month I just top it up every month.
So I say to myself oh no a leaky head gasket.... I find sometime I smell the anti freeze and when I back up I smell it in the exhaust. Also when I take the oil cap off I notice a milky substance indicating water in the oil.... When I check my oil no water is present...Is it time to junk the truck or is this a minor thing meaning its not minor but no big deal..... I hate to try those sealants for I know some times they cause a problem...I use the old bars leak on my olds and it worked like a charm....Any thoughts here....


This is the email i got back from my friend George;


Peter
Well, it seems pretty certain you've got a blown head gasket based on your diagnosis. There are a couple of other things you can do to confirm. One is a compression test where you are looking for low pressure between 2 adjoining cylinders. The limitation with this test is that you may have a leak between a water passage and one cylinder only so, the compression test won't necessarily help. The other test is a Combustion Leak Block Test. This is a NAPA product that tests if combustion residue is getting into your coolant.

I don't have any experience with trying Bars Leak in this situation but, I doubt very much that it would work. Remember, you are talking about a leak into a combustion chamber - rapid and intense changes in air pressure plus all the combustion contaminants. Steel Seal http://steelseal.com/eng/home.html claims to work but, again, I don't have any experience with it. Anyone used Steal Seal Thanks...

Peter

A blown head gasket can be minor enough that you won't get a cumulus cloud behind you. However, I wouldn't use any kind of a stop leak because the leak will only get worse. I would plan on changing your head gasket.

It's really not hard on the straight six. A warning though, make sure you check not only your head for warpage, but also your block. My 235 had both the head AND the block warped, so when I had the head milled, the leak was worse than ever...with a perfect head gasket. I didn't see that coming and was disappointed that I had to yank the 235 out of there.

I,ve used Bar's Leak many times & it usually works on a small leak like that. It has never hurt anything.

Not very likely(I said likely, not impossible)that your block will be warped and need milled. If the head needs milled, and a new head gasket installed, spring for the best gasket available. Fel-Pro makes a good product. It's a pretty straightforwrd job and you sould be able to fix your probelm easy enough.
Good luck.