Follow up on potential blown head gasket?

Question

thanks Mr Fixit. If the exhaust blows smoke (white) intermittently and only has idling problems after running for say 20 minutes.... do you still think its the head gasket? Also, are there any marine grade head gasket leak fixers like the ones you can buy for autos? taking the head off will lkely cost a fortune!

Thanks in advance

Answer 1

do a compression test before you do anything else.

blown head gasket will show as very low to no compression on one or two cylinders.

there are other causes for low compression, but at that point, you'll have to pull the cylinder head anyway.

what kind of motor is it anyway, pulling a cylinder head off a marine engine is really no big deal.

Answer 2

There is no fix except to replace  the head gasket, if thats the problem.  "mechanic in a tube" doesn't work.  Yeah, it's gonna cost.  You really should have a more detailed, hands on diagnosis done by a qualified tech before you start pulling bolts.

Answer 3

Sorry but no there is really nothing you can use to fix it,other then replacing it with a new one.The first thing you should do is have a qualified marine mechanic check it out to be sure this is the problem.If you find out for sure that it is a blown head gasket and you are mechanically inclined,you could change it yourself.It is really not that hard of a job.If you decide

to do the job yourself,I would be happy to explain everything you need to do and send you my email address.