Confirming a head gasket leak...

APvanMan

APvanMan

New Member
Hi friends! I am in the middle of a cross country trip with my wife and I'm pretty sure I have a blown head gasket. While I dabble with mechanics and have been working on my van whenever it's needed, I wouldn't consider myself a mechanic. So I need some help diagnosing this issue. I'm nearly certain I have a blown head gasket, but wanted to get some other opinions before tearing it apart.

Here are the symptoms I've seen. The engine got pretty hot several times recently, and every time it did, I would check the coolant and it was below the top radiator coils. I would fill it up and it would run cool for the most part, but several days later was low again. This happened several times. I put in over a gallon of coolant over the past week. I checked the oil and it appears to be over filled and definitely looks milky (almost certain there's coolant in the oil). There also appears to be a small bit of fluid leaking out of the head gasket near where the radiator hose comes in. Since I realized all this, I haven't really driven it, but the van still starts up fine. However, there does appear to be extra white smoke that puffs out the exhaust right when I start it up.

I ordered a head gasket repair kit, water pump, thermostat, and oil filter from Delica USA and intend to tear it apart and replace all of these. But I just wanted to get some feedback on here before tearing it apart. Any thoughts, suggestions, or recommendations? Agree that it is likely a head gasket?
 
That sounds like textbook head gasket failure to me.

Does your HG repair kit include new head bolts? If it's been leaking for a while the old ones might be rusty, which isn't great.

It could also be a cracked head. Before you install your new gasket, have the cylinder head crack tested; it's well worth it. If you can't have it crack tested, at least clean the head very thoroughly and inspect the area between the intake and exhaust valves using a magnifying glass. Anything that looks like a line between the valves is a crack.
 
Growlerbearnz said:
That sounds like textbook head gasket failure to me.

Does your HG repair kit include new head bolts? If it's been leaking for a while the old ones might be rusty, which isn't great.

It could also be a cracked head. Before you install your new gasket, have the cylinder head crack tested; it's well worth it. If you can't have it crack tested, at least clean the head very thoroughly and inspect the area between the intake and exhaust valves using a magnifying glass. Anything that looks like a line between the valves is a crack.
Click to expand...

Ok that’s what I figured. I don’t have bolts, but I don’t think it’s been leaking for long, so I’m hoping they’re OK. If not, I guess I’ll have to get some and delay a little longer. And yes I’ll also check for cracks.

Thank you so much. That’s very helpful!
 
Growlerbearnz said:
That sounds like textbook head gasket failure to me.

Does your HG repair kit include new head bolts? If it's been leaking for a while the old ones might be rusty, which isn't great.

It could also be a cracked head. Before you install your new gasket, have the cylinder head crack tested; it's well worth it. If you can't have it crack tested, at least clean the head very thoroughly and inspect the area between the intake and exhaust valves using a magnifying glass. Anything that looks like a line between the valves is a crack.
Click to expand...

I took it all apart and found several cracks in the head. It appears to be non-repairable. Any idea where the best place is to source a new head?
 
Well, crap. Got any photos of the cracks we can share for future reference?

Check out the flush/protruding valve post so you know what kind of head you need. Mainly you want to go off the pistons your engine has, and match the head to those, just in case it has the wrong head already. Unlikely, but better to be safe.

A flush valve head will fit on a protruding valve block, which explains why all the heads I could find on Amazon are flush valve. It won't do any harm, but you'll lose a little compression. If you have to fit a flush valve head to a protruding valve block you can compensate a little by advancing the timing and increasing the boost.
 
32463247

Yes I saw that post and mine has the protruding valve block. I'm considering getting a head from DelicaUSA, but it seems pretty pricey. With shipping it is close to $900. However, I found this one on Aliexpress for much less, and it looks like what I need. But I just don't have much experience with buying cylinder heads and don't know whether it's worth the risk to get something like this. Any recommendations?
 
I couldn't find many mid-level options for a new head. OEM prices are outrageous. The AMC heads from Italy seem to look quite nice, but also aren't cheap. I contacted Quantico Heads, but they never got back to me. Tons of Chinese options, but might be a gamble in terms of quality. I'd be shocked if DelicaUSA sold anything but the same Chinese stuff you can just order directly. I ended up just ordering through Aliexpress. Under $500 shipped for a complete head. Took about 2-3 weeks to get to my door. Looks better than expected, but I am no expert.
 
I got mine from Rising Sun in Canada. Steven Lee is great to work with and had it to me in a couple of days. Also he can get you all the gaskets and head bolts as well. It’s a bit more than you would pay on eBay but it’s not from China. I can tell you if you order it from DelicaUSA you might as well order it off eBay.
 
I second buying from Rising Sun, Steven was super helpful and shipping was super quick to the states when I ordered my new head. I also have had really awesome experiences with Coombs Country, they have a ton of donor engines that they can pull parts off of and ship out quickly.
 
Thanks everyone for your help! I ended up getting a new head from Rising Sun Auto, in BC Canada. They were able to get it to me really quickly, so I decided to go that route. I also replaced the water pump while I as at it.

I got everything in and put back together last weekend and have put a couple hundred miles on since then. Everything seems to be running great! Glad to be back on the road.
 
Jgrant0553 said:
I got mine from Rising Sun in Canada. Steven Lee is great to work with and had it to me in a couple of days. Also he can get you all the gaskets and head bolts as well. It’s a bit more than you would pay on eBay but it’s not from China. I can tell you if you order it from DelicaUSA you might as well order it off eBay.
Click to expand...

Is this a common opinion of DelicaUSA, that they get Chinese parts ? That seems a little black hat/deceptive for a company with "USA" in their name.
 
chuvsta said:
I second buying from Rising Sun, Steven was super helpful and shipping was super quick to the states when I ordered my new head. I also have had really awesome experiences with Coombs Country, they have a ton of donor engines that they can pull parts off of and ship out quickly.
Click to expand...
How much did Steven charge you for the new head?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top