Weeping Coolant

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maxnharry

Joined
Aug 1, 2004
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My 1996 LX-450 with 107K has a very slight coolant leak where the block and the head mate. I had hope that it was the heater hose that is near there but am slowly coming to terms with an impending head gasket replacement.

I was planning to redo the gasket at 120K. Any guesses about how long I can run around with that leak. It loses maybe a tablespoon of coolant over a month.
 
You need to attend to it immediately.....do not wait on it......you might end up with bigger repair bill if you wait....

My $0.02

Al
 
You can probobly drive it on short trips, but I wouldn't let the engine get hot at all, not even warm.

Head gaskets are not something to screw with.
 
Ok, I am guilty of this same problem on my 97LX450 with 78K on it. It started about 5k ago and I took it to my mechanic (who is very honest but does not work on many of these 5 or so of different years but does work on a lot of Mercedies and other Toyota) and he did the pressure testing thing. It came back ok but I know you are supposed to do a leak down test and I did not as he did not recomend it. He says he has seen this before in other veichles and it never returns. He is trying to not take my money but I am still concerned about it as it is not normal at all.

What he did was add a product that evidently comes factory in Chevy and it stopped my leak. 5 tablets he added before I went on a trip. Not another drop. He told me to drive it and see how it does as he did not expect me to have any further problems with it. I am struggling now with having him to the head gasket or wait and see. I do not have any bubbles in the overflow and the truck runs well but I DO HAVE SOME LIGHT PINGING WHICH MAY BE BECAUSE OF THIS??? I have about 6k on it since I noticed the slight seep.

Not sure what to do at this point but I may just bite the bullet and get it done just to not worry about it any more.

Thanks

Andrew
 
I don't have any contamination anywhere. I also don't have any pinging. The car drives as smothly as it always has.

When I do replace the gasket, should I do anything with the head (machine shop, rebuilt head, etc)?
 
Max,

Don't throw money away on a HG you may not need. Go to www.blackstonelab.com and send them a sample of your oil. Have a "sniffer test" done on the radiator (they put the emissions test sensor in the rad to check for hydrocarbons) and now you've spent $70 and will have a DEFINITIVE answer on whether you have any HG issues. I have had a few minor seeps as you describe over the years and all ended up eventually being a hose somewhere. Don't simply drop $1000 because some others have. If you HAVE to spend money, do tests as above and when the HG proves solid simply send me a check for the balance of $930.

DougM
 
Great advise. I just ordered a kit for my truck as I want to be sure.

Thanks

Andrew
 
>> a very slight coolant leak where the block and the head mate. <<

Max,
What are you seeing? Crusties? Pink streaks? Dark spots?

Can you post a pic?

Adding to Doug's suggestions you probably want to do the leak-down test before you pull the head. I don't think you can assume a "missing" tablespoon a month is directly related to the head-to-block seepage. You could be losing that tiny amount for a lot of reasons.

-B-
 
OK, now when the results come back negative you can send the check to my office so my wife won't know where the money for the Slee sliders and ARB came from. Heh.

Actually, it will take near a month to get your sample in and have it returned, and do the HC test so please check back here and post the results. In fact, we have an oil analysis thread in the FAQ section where people have been posting their Blackstone results for comparison so it would be great to add yours. I know there are a few with HG issues, but I believe we're all needlessly jumpy as what you're doing may have saved others a HG job as well.

DougM
 
If you send the oil sample by the cheapest USPS method, it can take as long as 3 weeks for the sample to get there. Blackstone has turned my samples around usually w/in 2-3 days of receiving them. So, for peace of mind, I'd send the oil sample via some very quick method. If you call Blackstone, and ask them if they could please expedite your analysis, they probably will. They seem like great folks in my interactions with them.
 
You guys put alot faith in these tests. What if the leak is just from the water jacket out the side of the head. Why would you expect combustion gasses in the oil and coolant?

You make it sound like HGs only fail one way. Pretty naive if you ask me.
 
I do not have anything that looks that bad. That seems like a lot of rust/buildup around the head/block seem. Mine is very clean but again, it could just be early stages. My seep was from the back of the motor and accumulated a few drips down on the passager side where the block and tranny come together. I never actually found for sure where the coolant came from. It seemed like it must have been the passanger side near the back of the motor. Mine has totally stopped so not sure what caused it but I check it constantly and really watch my coolant level which does not change.

I am concerned about spending $1,000 or more to have a headgasket done if I do not no for sure it needs it.

Thanks

Andrew
 
If you have coolant seeping from the Head/Block seam then the gasket has been compromised. While not as bad as a break between the cylinder and water jacket it is still a failure and in my opinion needs to be addressed.

Here is a scan of my old gasket. Notice at the top the distrotion in it. The upper left corner would be the passenger side rear where you are have the leak. There is no oil passege there so I doubt you will get any contamination there. And if it hasn't breached the combustion chamber consider yourself lucky. If you're sure that it is coming from that seam then I'd replace it.
Head Gasket 72.webp
 
Last edited:
OK-I'm an asshat. Upon closer inspection my leak is between the head and the valve cover. So I guess I'll do a valve cover gasket replace with my next major service. Sorry to unecessarily sound the head gasket alarm.
 
maxnharry said:
no it isnt coolant, its oil.
Click to expand...

Then you should be one happy asshat :D.

Valve cover gasket is a low banana deal. Don't become a major asshat.., and get pumped by the stealer.

:beer:
Rookie2
 
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