Blackstone labs say no coolant found in oil

[TheBussman]

in my experience black stone can find the smallest headgasket leaks even with all other mentioned tests test pass. This is provided it was driven a full 5k miles when the sample was taken. I suppose it is possible that the headgasket could leak directly from the cooling system into the combustion chamber and skip the oil. You say it's loosing "some" coolant. In talking with people about cars people tell be that a teaspoon is "some" and to others 2 gallons is "some" do you have a measurement?

 

[landbeast]

Rich fuel mixtures at cold start smell sweet. Sitting for a week will cause some condensation in your exhaust. If there was coolant in the cylinder you may also notice some misfiring at start up. I don't think your HG is bad yet. Now if you have some worm clamps and/or aftermarket radiator hoses I'm more inclined to believe you're losing coolant through that.

in my experience black stone can find the smallest headgasket leaks even with all other mentioned tests test pass. This is provided it was driven a full 5k miles when the sample was taken. I suppose it is possible that the headgasket could leak directly from the cooling system into the combustion chamber and skip the oil. You say it's loosing "some" coolant. In talking with people about cars people tell be that a teaspoon is "some" and to others 2 gallons is "some" do you have a measurement?

First , I spoke with the lady at Blackstone about my sample as I change every 3,000 , the lady ask me how many miles I had on it as it was time for an oil change , so I did and caught my oil in the middle of the stream , she assured me that would be fine , as per the coolant , that’s a tad more difficult, but in my reservoir it was an approximately 1 inch above full line , as I have a new radiator / thermostat. And after driving a week / week and half it sits now on the full line .

 

[TheBussman]

First , I spoke with the lady at Blackstone about my sample as I change every 3,000 , the lady ask me how many miles I had on it as it was time for an oil change , so I did and caught my oil in the middle of the stream , she assured me that would be fine , as per the coolant , that’s a tad more difficult, but in my reservoir it was an approximately 1 inch above full line , as I have a new radiator / thermostat. And after driving a week / week and half it sits now on the full line .

I'm thinking you have a pretty good chance of being OK, if it's easy to have the other tests performed then do those too.

 

[landbeast]

I'm thinking you have a pretty good chance of being OK, if it's easy to have the other tests performed then do those too.

Well thank you for the positive response, I’m sure hoping so . If the other test get out of my wheel house I have a friend who is pretty handy and will give me a hand

 

[petegangies]

Thank you , I’m not the most learned mechanic by no means , but these things you mentioned I’m fairly confident I can do . So I suppose this will be my next step

if you can change your own spark plugs, you can do a compression test! The co2 combustion test is even easier.. you may just need to suck out some coolant from the radiator so you can effectively draw up through the test tube without sucking in coolant at the same time. I wouldnt go jumping to conclusions about your head gasket until after you've done these tests. You can get a Lisle 20250 Compression Tester off Amazon dirt cheap, and a co2 combustion tester pretty cheap too.. most of the kits will do the job just fine.

As @Batameez mentioned, you can get white smoke that smells a little sweet at start up if the truck is running too rich. Mine did this, and I also wrongly assumed headgasket, because I was loosing coolant too. For me, it was a combination of poor mixtures, and I was losing coolant through a leaking heater valve tap and some loose clamps. You couldnt see these leaking until the cooling system pressure test was performed.

 

[Marvelicious]

@landbeast
I think you may be experiencing a phenomenon known as "Mud induced paranoia". You come on here, hear about head gasket repairs and convince yourself that your head gasket is junk.

The pic doesn't look like a whole lot of white smoke for a rig that's been mostly sitting, especially in the winter. The sniff test is slightly more concerning to me, but I definitely know antifreeze when I smell it. Mine smells like oil on startup because I need valve seals. Losing an inch of coolant that was OVER the full line in the overflow bottle is not a concern in my mind, especially right after doing coolant system service. Maybe you had some air bubbles that purged their way out, or maybe the extra coolant overflowed when it warmed up. I'd have a lot more faith in the Blackstone test.

Keep checking that coolant level, maybe every time you fill up, if it continues to disappear, try a compression test next. It's good that you're paying attention since you got some possible warning signs, but you really need more data to be sure of anything.

 

[fjbj40]

Saying it “uses” some coolant AFTER you have done a drain and refill can be misleading.
I’ve been banging on Toyotas for 30 years.
One thing about them is the cooling systems take a little while to burp out air before you see the reservoir stop dropping in level.

My technique for filling involves raising the front as high as possible and using a coolant funnel that seals to the filler neck on the radiator.

Fill it then run it till no more burping in the funnel, the thermostat has to open and close many times for this to occur so it’s not just fill it and go, it takes a while. Even then it seems to take multiple heat cool cycles for the reservoir to stabilize and the engine is rid of any air by then, after several drives with the system closed-up.

It’s now winter, cooler temps make some LC owners paranoid when they see the white exhaust note.

Drive it hard, get it hot, then observe exhaust.

 

[manofthewoods]

Saying it “uses” some coolant AFTER you have done a drain and refill can be misleading.
I’ve been banging on Toyotas for 30 years.
One thing about them is the cooling systems take a little while to burp out air before you see the reservoir stop dropping in level.

My technique for filling involves raising the front as high as possible and using a coolant funnel that seals to the filler neck on the radiator.

Fill it then run it till no more burping in the funnel, the thermostat has to open and close many times for this to occur so it’s not just fill it and go, it takes a while. Even then it seems to take multiple heat cool cycles for the reservoir to stabilize and the engine is rid of any air by then, after several drives with the system closed-up.

It’s now winter, cooler temps make some LC owners paranoid when they see the white exhaust note.

Drive it hard, get it hot, then observe exhaust.

Good stuff it the posts above.
A million years ago I had a hilux that broke a valve and caused a leak of coolant into the combustion chamber.
The fog of coolant behind the vehicle was quite a sight. And the smell!

 

[landbeast]

if you can change your own spark plugs, you can do a compression test! The co2 combustion test is even easier.. you may just need to suck out some coolant from the radiator so you can effectively draw up through the test tube without sucking in coolant at the same time. I wouldnt go jumping to conclusions about your head gasket until after you've done these tests. You can get a Lisle 20250 Compression Tester off Amazon dirt cheap, and a co2 combustion tester pretty cheap too.. most of the kits will do the job just fine.

As @Batameez mentioned, you can get white smoke that smells a little sweet at start up if the truck is running too rich. Mine did this, and I also wrongly assumed headgasket, because I was loosing coolant too. For me, it was a combination of poor mixtures, and I was losing coolant through a leaking heater valve tap and some loose clamps. You couldnt see these leaking until the cooling system pressure test was performed.

Well thank you Petegangies , I’m reading your response going down the road ( wife’s driving ) she’s blown away at all of the awesome advice one can get off here , as all she hears me talking about is that old cruiser . But truly I feel filled pretty confident in performing those test , crossing fingers it needs to burp bubbles
Thanks agsin

 

[Marvelicious]

My technique for filling involves raising the front as high as possible and using a coolant funnel that seals to the filler neck on the radiator.

Fill it then run it till no more burping in the funnel, the thermostat has to open and close many times for this to occur so it’s not just fill it and go, it takes a while. Even then it seems to take multiple heat cool cycles for the reservoir to stabilize and the engine is rid of any air by then, after several drives with the system closed-up.

I've got a few extremely steep roads in my neighborhood, so I just get it warm, drive around the loop, top off the overflow and let it cool. I usually do it a second time, but I've never had a vehicle that didn't fully purge on the first. All these steep hills out here on the west coast occasionally have an upside.

 

[smorkington]

Hold it on limiter for a few minutes and see if the smoke goes away

 

[60 toy ota]

A million years ago I had a hilux that broke a valve and caused a leak of coolant into the combustion chamber.

This makes no sense to me, what failed valve let coolant into the cylinder?

 

[manofthewoods]

This makes no sense to me, what failed valve let coolant into the cylinder?

The valve broke and kinda looked like a coin above the piston. Bouncing around eventually it went sideways as the piston was going TDC. Was enough to put a hairline crack in it the combustion chamber of the head. The crack went deep enough to penetrate the water jacket; hence the coolant "issue."
Crack was so small it wasn't noticeable by the machinist who did the head.
So I ended up doing the job twice.
Fun times for a poor teenager

 

[lumbee1]

In my experience,
Instant smoke on startup - Valve seals are bad. Oil has leaked past the valve seat seals and is sitting on top of the piston. First fire, oil is burnt, and smoke comes out.
Smoke after 1 to 2 seconds - Condensation in the exhaust. Typically.
Smoke under acceleration after warm - Valve seat seals again or coolant steaming. The smell of the exhaust is the determining factor.

Not smoke related but hard start - Coolant sitting on top of the piston which can stop firing or worse cause hydrolocking.

I've had all 4 situations over the last 4 years.

 

[mudgudgeon]

Saying it “uses” some coolant AFTER you have done a drain and refill can be misleading.
I’ve been banging on Toyotas for 30 years.
One thing about them is the cooling systems take a little while to burp out air before you see the reservoir stop dropping in level.

My technique for filling involves raising the front as high as possible and using a coolant funnel that seals to the filler neck on the radiator.

Fill it then run it till no more burping in the funnel, the thermostat has to open and close many times for this to occur so it’s not just fill it and go, it takes a while. Even then it seems to take multiple heat cool cycles for the reservoir to stabilize and the engine is rid of any air by then, after several drives with the system closed-up.

It’s now winter, cooler temps make some LC owners paranoid when they see the white exhaust note.

Drive it hard, get it hot, then observe exhaust.

It.s funny how people's experiences vary so much.
Any time I drop or add coolant, I fill it to the top of the radiator neck, run the engine with no cap on the radiator until the engine is up to operating temp, let it run for 5 minutes more to circulate the coolant a bit, put the rad cap on, and you're good to go for months.

Check coolant level in the overflow when it's cold.

 

[mudgudgeon]

I agree, sniff test is gonna hold aome strong clues.

Coolant in the exhaust has a very distinctive smell.
As does burning oil.

I can't say I'd describe a rich fuel mixture as sweet

 

[landbeast]

Hello to all the awesome help out there for my worry’s about head gasket, first it’s on my 1997 80 series Landcruiser , 270000 or so . These are pictures I took this afternoon as I was doing the compression test , you guys tell me , please do the numbers look good ( correct ) ? The 4th cylinder is obviously the lowest , and that’s what the plugs looked like , I cleaned them up and checked the gap , I sent a picture of the 4th cylinder reading for yall to see and tell me if I’m reading that correct . I also picked up the leak test with the blue fluid but , it’s dark , I’m fine for tonight . Thanks guys yall are the absolute best . What a wealth of information on here . Can’t thank yall enough.

 

[COS80]

Compression pressure: 1,176 kPa (12.0 kgf/cm2, 171 psi) or more
Minimum pressure: 883 kPa (9.0 kgf/cm2, 128 psi)
Difference between each cylinder: 98 kPa (1.0 kgf/cm2, 14 psi) or less
If the cylinder compression in one or more cylinders is low, pour
a small amount of engine oil into the cylinder through the spark
plug hole and repeat steps (a) through (c) for cylinders with low
compression.
If adding oil helps the compression, it is likely that
the piston rings and/or cylinder bore are worn or
damaged.
If pressure stays low, a valve may be sticking or
seating is improper, or there may be leakage past
the gasket.

 

[skateordiet]

Fwiw, oil tends to burn grey-ish/blue in color, coolant will be considerably more white - like, without question white.

 

[petegangies]

Assuming you've done the compression test correctly, this is a healthy engine with one slightly weaker cylinder, not something that alone explains rough running, rich mixtures, or major drivability issues. Generally, within 10% is ideal, so 11–12% down is borderline but not catastrophic, especially on an older motor. Interested to see what your co2 test shows.