head gasket question

[smokin fastiva]

my 93 is heating up more than my other one and it has a coolant leak that i cant find. (carpets not wet) but i cant see any smoke. could the head gasket be going? if not what other possibilities could there be?

[Fordverde]

Little tinny hole on one house, or may be a loose clamp. Or if your Festi is AT, check the oil to see if it is passing water to the transmission oil. Have you check your thermostat?

[smokin fastiva]

yeah i took the thermostat out to see if that was the problem. and no that wasnt. my festiva is 5 speed also

[FestYboy]

i'm betting on a pinhole as well. if your system can't hold pressure, then it will start to boil internaly and overheat.

[freshtiva]

Any problem with the coolant in the reservoir ?

[smokin fastiva]

not that i know of. it just sits there. the level doesnt seem to change and it doesnt bubble like it used to.

[freshtiva]

It use to bubble ? :shock:

[miami man]

the thermostat if i recalled the little hole has to be at the 12:00 position

[Fordverde]

Change the rediator cap, is not that expensive.

[smokin fastiva]

yeah i re installed the thermostat with the little hole at the 12:00 posistion. and im about to go to advance and get a new cap! it would be nice if thats all it is!!

[smokin fastiva]

okay i just put a new radiator cap on it and that did not help. im thinkin i might swap radiators in my festivas to see if thats the problem. any other ideas?

[freshtiva]

Re: head gasket question

(carpets not wet) but i cant see any smoke. could the head gasket be going? if not what other possibilities could there be?

I don't understand this part of your inquiry. That's not much to go on. Could you elaborate ?

[FestYboy]

OMG stop, just stop..... find the problem, then FIX the problem. your car overheats... is the radiator topped off (or close) after it cools down? if not, then you're loosing fluid and therefore pressure, causing the coolent to boil. Find the leak.

Are there any parts of the engine bay that are stained as if they've been sprayed by water? look for wet spots on the top and bottom of the radiator. is there evidence of water in the oil (or god forbid, oil in the water)? there's no white smoke from the tail pipe... not head gasket. if you can get the system to pressurise, (while the engine is running) squeeze the hoses and look for a stream or mist (use gloves for this, boiling water is HOT). Look for water exiting the firewall on the engine side behind the alt. WITHOUT the a/c running (if there is, you're heater core is bad). look for a waxy substance near the water pump and intake manifold.

report any and all findings and repair.

[freshtiva]

You can do an intake manifold vacuum test to see if your head gasket is blown or if the head to block surface is warped.

[miami man]

this may be off subject but my 91 used the old style anti freeze and i bought some of the new one that will mix with any antifreeze guess what. the anti freeze leak i had i have no more...i do not get it.