Alright. A question that has interested me. On some vehicles, a Head gasket MAY not be 100 there. Perhaps "Seeping," which is not quite leaking, but the effects and remedy are the same (the beginnings of something getting past, what happened, who knows, but there it is.) If i understand correctly, a Head Gasket mainly separates coolant from Oil (Which is why cars with blown Head Gaskets leak "White smoke" out at ALL TIMES, cold, hot, running for 15 minutes, all the time, etc.) The gray area is when you dont SEE the smoke, but you have certain indications.
When the "Exhaust sniff test" is inconclusive, with a slight slight smell of sweet at start-up that seems to go away..
.. or the coolant disappears, and you are not sure if its a leaky hose or something much worse...
.. What will the Oil, in an application where coolant IS going into the oil, appear like? I have been dealing with a car that is used as a Daily Driver. There is NO Mustard on the coolant cap. NOR is there any "Mayo" on the Oil Fill Cap (I have seen cars where where was on Coolant and/or Oil cap, nice and gloppy Mayo-looking stuff. This one has NEITHER,) and low coolant MAY be attributed to a drip.
I wish i had my camera. I have devised a test. What if i fill Oil int he car, cheap stuff, like SuperTech, and drain it in 500 miles. Nice highway tests, a week or so (This car has also never overheated, leaving me to wonder, and the cooling system maintains the gauge where it should be.) Its symptoms are Hesitation on cold, it takes a while to run smooth, and the dipstick smells like a gas pump, leading me to think of different Oils (no idea whats up with the gas smell. Clean the injectors?)
Back to the question. What should i look for in the Oil? Maybe my head Gasket is Fine, its simply making me wonder, that few second "Sweet" smell if i get back there and sniff it, with no smoke to speak of? I think the Oil will help me solve this mystery. Is my 500 Mile of cheap Conventional a good idea, and if it looks good, check other things that could make it do that?
And yes, I may be buying a car that does these things. Special situation. I want to test it, i can fix what needs fixed, however i do not know what needs fixed, though the Gas smell alarms me slightly more than the "disappearing smell on start up that goes away."
When the "Exhaust sniff test" is inconclusive, with a slight slight smell of sweet at start-up that seems to go away..
.. or the coolant disappears, and you are not sure if its a leaky hose or something much worse...
.. What will the Oil, in an application where coolant IS going into the oil, appear like? I have been dealing with a car that is used as a Daily Driver. There is NO Mustard on the coolant cap. NOR is there any "Mayo" on the Oil Fill Cap (I have seen cars where where was on Coolant and/or Oil cap, nice and gloppy Mayo-looking stuff. This one has NEITHER,) and low coolant MAY be attributed to a drip.
I wish i had my camera. I have devised a test. What if i fill Oil int he car, cheap stuff, like SuperTech, and drain it in 500 miles. Nice highway tests, a week or so (This car has also never overheated, leaving me to wonder, and the cooling system maintains the gauge where it should be.) Its symptoms are Hesitation on cold, it takes a while to run smooth, and the dipstick smells like a gas pump, leading me to think of different Oils (no idea whats up with the gas smell. Clean the injectors?)
Back to the question. What should i look for in the Oil? Maybe my head Gasket is Fine, its simply making me wonder, that few second "Sweet" smell if i get back there and sniff it, with no smoke to speak of? I think the Oil will help me solve this mystery. Is my 500 Mile of cheap Conventional a good idea, and if it looks good, check other things that could make it do that?
And yes, I may be buying a car that does these things. Special situation. I want to test it, i can fix what needs fixed, however i do not know what needs fixed, though the Gas smell alarms me slightly more than the "disappearing smell on start up that goes away."
