Whats the best test to do to find out if your head gasket is gone?

Question

Whats the best test to do to find out if your head gasket is gone?

Answer 1

Beg, borrow or steal a compression tester.  It really is the best test for a blown head gasket.

Answer 2

Drain all fluid from the engine, find out why it has failed, correct the fault. fit a new gasket making sure that the cylinder head id fitted properly with the correct tightness of the nuts. How you do this i have no idea    

Answer 3

check your oil if its cloudy it means water has got in or vice versa check your water for oil in that

Answer 4

a sniffer test...it tests the water/vapour in the radiator turning it yellow if exsaust gasses are present..

Answer 5

Pull out your dip stick and see if there's water in your oil.

Answer 6

check water for oil contamination....

Answer 7

Here we go!........

If your gasket has gone between a cylinder and the cooling water jacket you'll have  excessively high pressure in your cooling system with the engine running.

If your gasket has gone between the water jacket and the oil gallery you'll have water in the oil, (oil usually goes a milky cream colour).

Get hold of a compression tester and test each cylinder in turn; If all the readings are the same you're good. If one is lower than the rest suspect either piston rings or valve seats (a squirt of oil into the cylinder will raise the reading if the rings are shot, if they don't change it's the valves). If you get 2 low readings suspect the head gasket has gone between those 2 cylinders.

Good Luck Mate

Answer 8

To prove if there is a problem with the head gasket / cracked head or block, I'd carry out a cylinder leakage test.

A compressed air supply is attached to each cylinder in turn with that cylinder on the compression stroke, in gear handbrake applied.

The attachment is made either via the heater plug hole or the injector hole.

With the rad cap removed and pressure applied observe for bubbles in the head tank / radiator.

30 years ago this test use to be commonplace to diagnose those difficult identify head gasket type problems.

The links below will take you to proprietary units; but it is possible to make your own with an old injector, heater plug and in the case of a petrol engines a spark plug.

Of course you will need a compressed air supply.

Answer 9

Can do the bulls*it ways listed here or simply remove header tank cap and look for bubbles any bubbles means that cylinder gasses are getting into the water jacket.Usually fire ring between 2 cylinders has burnt

Answer 10

one easy test is to fill your radiator or header tank full of water start the engine with cap off and see if ther are any bubbles ,if so then you can say yes the head gasket has gone

good luck h

Answer 11

the best way is to do a complete compression check. the easiest (but not definitive) way is check the oil for creamy/tan water contamination.

Answer 12

The best and most accurate test is carried out at a garage, this test involves testing the oil to see if it have water and coolant in it. Then the coolant is tested to see if there is any engine oil or petrol in it.

As a general rule the home DIYer can do the following:-

1) Check the level of the engine oil on the dip stick. With a failed head gasket you will expect to find the level has risen as the coolant fills up the sump.

2) At the same time check the colour of the oil on the dip stick, if its white or creamy its a good indication that the head gasket has gone.

3) Remove the oil filler cap and check to see if there is any white gunk under the cap. Some times this can happen with out a head gasket failing as moisture can build up inside the engine through start stop driving.

4) Check the colour of the engine coolant, you are looking to see if there is any oil in it.

5) Drive the car, if the head gasket has gone you will expect to see the engine temperature rising very quickly.

Ja.