Head Gasket (1 Viewer)

[Landschooner]

Possible Blown Head Gasket / Cost to Repair ??
A lot of white smoke is rising up from under air filter. Temp gauge seems normal. Can I assume a blown head gasket? What would be a range of costs for a shop to fix?

 

[John Smith]

Don't assume anything. If you believe it to be a blown head gasket you can buy a test kit that you can test your coolant for exhaust gas. But first. Have you pulled your radiator cap and started the engine looking for bubbles? Checked the dipstick to see if any coolant in the oil? Pull the air filter cover to try and deduce where the white smoke is really coming from? Start with the easy stuff first.

 

[Landschooner]

I will try your suggestions John Smith and let you know.

 

[bj70bc]

bubbles in the coolant overflow jug while running
milkshake under oil cap/ in oil
oil residue in coolant
coolant burning in exhaust, are the easy ones to check,
i havent had much luck with those test kits myself, others have

 

[Landschooner]

I will check those easy checks. But I can’t imagine any other cause for lots of white smoke rising up around that central part of the engine, under the carborator, below the air filter “holder.” I mean coolant is primarily toward the front, the radiator, the hoses to the engine, etc. But I’ll check those suggestions. What else could it be? Since it first started smoking, about 30-40 miles ago, I thought maybe a loose radiator hose clamp was allowing coolant to spray on engine. I finally lifted hood and could not see anything like that. It’s been sitting for a couple weeks now, not used. (I had an ‘84 Nissan PU that suddenly plumed up a massive white cloud in an intersection nearby. I made it home, a mile away, had it towed to a shop, blown head gasket. That was a great little truck. Oh well.)

 

[SteveH]

To be fair to yourself (i.e. not get screwed at a mechanic) you should do a lot more checking and testing - compression test, watching coolant levels, etc. Does this white smoke show up immediately, or only when the engine is hot? Are there coolant stains down the block, coming from the head-block junction? Lots to study here, before assuming a head gasket.

Many shops won't touch a truck that old and some will, and you could pay between $1500-5000 depending on what else they 'find' while they are in there. They will correctly tell you that every gasket they see/touch needs replacing.

 

[Skreddy]

A blown head gasket is pretty unlikely to be blowing white smoke in the engine compartment.
Are you seeing white smoke out the exhaust? Are you desmogged? What year, what engine, does it sound different?

 

[Landschooner]

(I still have not been able to check the things folks have suggested (because of work) but I will)
It is a1984 FJ 60 with 225,000 miles. Original engine. I got it in 1999. In about 2010 I had a new carb put on and the thing has run beautifully. To your question, it’s running fine but I have not used it much since the smoke started a couple weeks ago. Engine does not sound different. There is white exhaust smoke, but not a raging plume. I’m not sure what desmogged is. I mean it’s your basic neglected 60 but still runs. Hopefully I can do some checks tomorrow.

 

[Landschooner]

I just read up on desmogging. No, nothing like that has been. Still has cat converter. It’s in Virginia.

 

[bj70bc]

ya white smoke from the engine bay is not generally a sign of a headgasket, but diagnosis is the only way to tell
dont pay someone else to do that, is all i can say
a couple hours of staring at things and inspecting is essentially all it takes, and a good way to familiarize yourself with ALL its issues....you will find things

 

[Eurasiaoverland]

I think we can also clarify the language being used here. Coolant does not really 'burn' and does not make smoke. Boiling water or coolant will create steam. There is a difference between steam and white smoke/vapour. If it is really white smoke/vapour coming from the engine, it probably has nothing to do with coolant.

 

[Landschooner]

Excellent input. Thanks. I finally found some time Thursday afternoon to o take a look. I warmed up the engine, idling in the drive. I filled the radiator with collect. It did not immediately bubble. However I put the cap back on and definitely some spray and air was popping out around the gasket seal. Maybe from air/bubbles underneath?? The temp gauge stayed “in the middle”, and did not rise to Hot. I didn’t see white exhaust, but then it had only been running maybe 10 minutes. To the point made about smoke vs. steam. Excellent point. I’m obviously no expert but the smoke/steam, to me, does not seem like steam. It seems more heavy like true smoke as it rises sort of slowly, hovers and takes a moment to dissipate. If it were coolant steam from water, it seems like it would rise more quickly and quickly dissipate. The plan it to take it for a drive, get it warmed up good, check exhaust. I’m thinking I want to check the motor it in the dark with a flash light because with the sun shining down it’s hard to see where the smoke/steam is coming from. Thanks for input.

 

[bj70bc]

could be spaying coolant from somewhere onto the exhaust manifold, coolant smells kind of sweet when evaporated

 

[Landschooner]

Yea but. . . forgive my ignorance but are any components that might carry coolant near the exhaust manifold? I think of coolant being radiator, hoses and then deep in the engine. Good point about the sweet smell. It does smell kind of sweet, but heck, there’s all kinds of smells around there / difficult to tell.

 

[majdomo]

bubbles in the coolant overflow jug while running
milkshake under oil cap/ in oil
oil residue in coolant
coolant burning in exhaust, are the easy ones to check,
i havent had much luck with those test kits myself, others have

Check these first plus a compression check if you can. You might also have a coolant leak at the temp sensor in the head or down by the coolant line that branches off to / from the heater core, those are toward the back and kind of behind / under the air filter (my point of reference is the 2F that was in my '77 so YMMV on a 60).

 

[bj70bc]

Yea but. . . forgive my ignorance but are any components that might carry coolant near the exhaust manifold? I think of coolant being radiator, hoses and then deep in the engine. Good point about the sweet smell. It does smell kind of sweet, but heck, there’s all kinds of smells around there / difficult to tell.

dont know on your engine

 

[Landschooner]

Saturday Morning Update - I took on a ten minute drive. Huge plume of white smoke from exhaust. Smoke/steam appears to be rising from around what I think is valve cover and rising from directly under the air filter holder. Motor runs gone, as usual. Temp and oil pressure normal. I could not determine a distinctive smell from the smoke/steam, but my sense of smell is pretty bad. I was definitely surprised by the amount of exhaust smoke. At one point I stopped in the road this morning and a cloud surrounded me.

 

[toy_tek]

You mean coming out of the end of the exhaust pipe or from the manifold area at the engine?

By everything you’re posting here it sounds to me like you could have a significant oil leak that’s burning on your manifold or exhaust pipe.

But if you’re saying the steam is coming out of the exhaust pipe then I wouldn’t be driving it.

Have you checked your oil to see the level and also if it’s milky white?

Also, in the absence of wind, steam typically dissipates much faster than smoke. I’m sure you’ve experienced steam while boiling water on a stove, and smoke from a campfire.

If you’re still not sure, post a video here.

 

[Landschooner]

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Big news - Leave it to the Australian. My Son in-law from Melbourne isolated the source. On the drivers side just behind the carborator , behind a heat shield of some kind, we found a spot where there was some liquid spraying out. It is next to what looks like a spark plug (but obviously not a spark plug) maybe even a temp sensor of some kind. That’s all good news.

 

[bj70bc]

i win i win!
coolant spraying on the manifold