1988 Festiva L head gasket fix

[imnotjohnpaul]

After driving my festiva for while I finally decided to change my oil and seen that my oil looked frothy. In my experience that means the head gasket is bad. I’m still very inexperienced when it comes to working on vehicles and I’ve found there’s not a really a thread explaining what needs to happen to remove the head and change the gasket. Can you guys help me out? Thanks in advance!

[zoe60]

The head gasket may be bad but I had an old pickup that did that and it turned out to be that I had a thermostat that was too low of a temperature I gues the engine wouldn't heat up enough to boil away condensation in the crankcase. Pretty easy to check anyway.

[imnotjohnpaul]

So the frothiness can happen because the engine doesn’t get hot enough?

[ryanprins13]

What colour was the oil? What did it smell like? Did you have any oil additives in it?

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[zoe60]

So the frothiness can happen because the engine doesn’t get hot enough?

Sure did on my truck and I know for a fact that's what stopped it. You may have leaking head gasket but the thermostat is easy to do. Any other symptoms?
Does it run ok otherwise?

[imnotjohnpaul]

It’s Light brown but I’m sure it’s supposed to be black. Sorry for the late reply btw. I also noticed the last owner used water instead of actual coolant.

[imnotjohnpaul]

Also it runs okay otherwise. No overheating or misfires.

[WmWatt]

Winter driving up north will do that, short trips, moisture (condensation?) getting into the oil, so yeah, low engine temp may be one cause. Noticable on the underside of the oil filler cap. It goes away in spring after a long drive.

[jimdigs]

I made this video when I re ringed my engine. It will show you what I took off to get down to the head gasket and maybe some other helpful things. Its not very good quality the first few minutes and it was my first time doing it as well. Might help ya. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ao7yCTDr4w&t=28s

[jimdigs]

Plus a compression test will let you know more if its a blown gasket.

[Studebaker]

Are there bubbles in the coolant?

[imnotjohnpaul]

How do I go about checking that?

[Rick the Quick]

What's the inside off your oil filler cap look like? If it looks like a milkshake you probably have a head gasket issues. A compression test would be next on my list. If any of the readings are low I would follow with a cylinder leak down test. If you hear air leaking out of the oil filler cap that indicates ring to cylinder wall or a leak from the combustion chamber past the head gasket into an oil gallery. There are some good videos on You Tube that will show you the procedures. A compression gauge and a leak down tester can usually be borrowed from most major auto parts stores. Diagnosing and repairing is not rocket science but on the other hand if you are inexperienced with mechanical work it is best left to someone that is. There are plenty of guys on the forum in Va. perhaps you could get a member to walk you through the procedure. BTW unless you are driving a diesel your oil should never be black. Normally maintained gasoline engines should have relatively clear oil. If it is dark brown it is probably due for a change.

[ricko1966]

Condensation in engines that aren't run often or never get hot enough can cause milkshake look.If it doesn't miss,doesn't swap fluids,doesn't mysteriously use coolant and doesn't overheat I would not worry a bit about it.

[ricko1966]

In response to this this was just to funny. I was working at a shop with a new inexpierienced service writer I was blowing air in the cylinders of an acura and he came over to investigate. He looked at Dave and asks what is he doing?Dave said He's putting air in the cylinder if air comes out of the exhaust he has a bad exhaust valve,if air comes out of the intake he's got a bad intake if air comes out of the radiator cap he's got a blown headgasket.And if air comes out the oil filler you know what's wrong? No what.he's got bad oilcap. We thought it was hilarious,that service didn't last long.

What's the inside off your oil filler cap look like? If it looks like a milkshake you probably have a head gasket issues. A compression test would be next on my list. If any of the readings are low I would follow with a cylinder leak down test. If you hear air leaking out of the oil filler cap that indicates ring to cylinder wall or a leak from the combustion chamber past the head gasket into an oil gallery. There are some good videos on You Tube that will show you the procedures. A compression gauge and a leak down tester can usually be borrowed from most major auto parts stores. Diagnosing and repairing is not rocket science but on the other hand if you are inexperienced with mechanical work it is best left to someone that is. There are plenty of guys on the forum in Va. perhaps you could get a member to walk you through the procedure. BTW unless you are driving a diesel your oil should never be black. Normally maintained gasoline engines should have relatively clear oil. If it is dark brown it is probably due for a change.