Head Gasket Failure?

[Floydian]

Hi,

A co2 leak test was recently done on my car. (2015 F20 LCI 120i n13 engine)

There are absolutely no issues with the car, no codes, no misfires, nothing.

A compression test was also done and it was perfect.

The fluid in the tester turns slightly green, although in the tests manual it said to pump the tester 5 times the guys doing the test continuesly pumped it for 2 minutes straight.

According to tests manual again green or yellow indicates a HG failure.

Do I have a HG failure? My car has only done 23000 kilometers.

Many thanks

 

[JHZR2]

What problems were you trying to chase if the car runs well? Why would one think the test is valid if they pumped a huge amount more than necessary?

 

[bbhero]

If it is running good... And your coolant looks "normal"... I would not be worried.

If you want a far more accurate test.... Get a Used Oil analysis done. Then you will know for certain.

 

[Kestas]

Do you have any correlating conditions, such as bubbles in the coolant or unusual pressure in the system?

 

[92saturnsl2]

If you want a far more accurate test.... Get a Used Oil analysis done. Then you will know for certain.

No you wont, head gaskets have many modes of failure, some of which will not result in contaminated oil.

OP: If there are absolutely no issues with the car as you say, why is a test being performed? If there's no issues, keep driving it!

 

[bbhero]

Look... If he's worried about oil in the coolant or vice versa... Would a analysis show that ?


Yeah... It would.

We have a member on here who routinely uses UOAs and he found a head gasket leak in his high mileage car. Potassium and Sodium went up and his analysis tested positive for antifreeze. He got the head gasket repaired. This car now has over 530,000+ miles on it.

The original poster used a "fluid tester"...

What do you think that " fluid tester" was testing for??


If it's leaking externally... Yeah that's a different circumstance.

No doubt.

 

[Floydian]

What problems were you trying to chase if the car runs well? Why would one think the test is valid if they pumped a huge amount more than necessary?

I wasn’t chasing any problems. The test was done by a tuner who routinely did these tests to cars he tunes.

 

[Floydian]

No you wont, head gaskets have many modes of failure, some of which will not result in contaminated oil.

OP: If there are absolutely no issues with the car as you say, why is a test being performed? If there's no issues, keep driving it!

I have reached the point of selling my car although I adore it. The test was done routinely by a tuner who does these tests to cars he is going to tune

 

[Floydian]

Do you have any correlating conditions, such as bubbles in the coolant or unusual pressure in the system?

No, none. Touch on wood.

 

[Floydian]

Look... If he's worried about oil in the coolant or vice versa... Would a analysis show that ?


Yeah... It would.

We have a member on here who routinely uses UOAs and he found a head gasket leak in his high mileage car. Potassium and Sodium went up and his analysis tested positive for antifreeze. He got the head gasket repaired. This car now has over 530,000+ miles on it.

The original poster used a "fluid tester"...

What do you think that " fluid tester" was testing for??


If it's leaking externally... Yeah that's a different circumstance.

No doubt.

The fluid tester was testing for CO2. I’ve also had a compression test done and it was perfect I am stunned.

I’ve already ordered the test kit from black stone labs but I reckon it will take some time to get here

 

[zzyzzx]

If you have a head gasket issue eventually it will become obvious.

 

[JHZR2]

I have reached the point of selling my car although I adore it. The test was done routinely by a tuner who does these tests to cars he is going to tune

Selling your car because of a test that was administered in a dubious manner?

You know the saying, one test is no test...

 

[SatinSilver]

The fluid tester was testing for CO2. I’ve also had a compression test done and it was perfect I am stunned.

I’ve already ordered the test kit from black stone labs but I reckon it will take some time to get here

You can put the used oil sample in a glass jar with lid until the sample kit arrives. Yes the kit does take awhile to arrive.

 

[mattd]

If you really want to go overboard looking for a problem, here’s what you can do. Remove the thermostat. apply air into each cylinder via a leak down tester while the piston is at TDC compression, look for air bubbles in the coolant fill. If you have any kind of HG leak it should show up.

better yet, “T” in a 0-20 psi gauge into the cooling system and route the gauge to the windshield of the car so you can watch it while driving. Look for any pressure spikes on acceleration.

 

[zzyzzx]

If you need a new head gasket: