sjc2467

Coolant can certainly boil on its own without pressure, but with a functioning cooling system and a 50/50 mixture, it should never get hot enough boil that aggressively for any significant period of time. If the engine is overheating, I suppose it could boil like that, but it should be pretty easy for any shop to tell the difference.

It definitely looks like a blown headgasket to me. To confirm, just make sure it does that (continuously) at normal operating temperature.

Cleanshots

iTrader: (2)

i still call bul****.... look at your oil.. if it looks like coffee creamer then its a blow head gasket..

eknine9

iTrader: (8)

Definitely this, check the oil, also have you been having any coolant disappear? It's kind of weird for that to just happen out of the blue. If all else fails and you're still uncertain you could also get a compression test done just to be sure before you go and have the head-gasket replaced.

jayydm

id go with a compression test to make it 100% sure

Cleanshots

iTrader: (2)

actually a leakdown testester would be best.. that way it pressurizes the cylinder and you can see how much loss there is.. and also if the pressure drops then you know something is up.. and also during a leakdown if there is a blown head then the coolant will have bubbles.. put that funnel on.. fill with coolant so the funnel is half full then do the leakdown and if there is air bubbles comming into the coolant then its a dead give away.. if not a blow head.. then go to that shop and tell them to eat a **** and they will be hearing from the BBB.. bastards taking advantage of a nice guy..

Duck05

The shop is very reputable and I have used them on my other cars. The video was just one of the methods to determine the issue and due to previous problems the head gasket failure is not a big shock.

I hope when the head is pulled the valves are in decent shape but will deal with that as well if needed.

With the holidays it will be a while before the job is complete and will update as appropriate.

sjc2467

Coolant in the oil would help confirm a blown headgasket, but a lack of coolant in the oil doesn't rule it out: a leak between the combustion chamber and the coolant is a different leak than one between the oil and coolant (although they are often seen together). A compression test doesn't mean anything: unless the leak in the headgasket is very bad, compression can be normal. The same goes for the numeric results of a leakdown test, however, that's not to say that a leakdown test isn't a good idea: if there is a leak, you should see bubbles in the coolant during the test (or the coolant level might just rise). To be sure, you have to check all cylinders when cold and when hot (although once you confirm a leak, you can stop). If you get bubbles during the leakdown test, it must be either a blown headgasket or a crack in the block or head. The headgasket is most likely, but while the head is off, it should definitely be checked for cracks (by a machine shop--you can't always see cracks).

You can also attach a pressure tester to the cooling system and check the cylinders for coolant with a boroscope (but this can only rule it in, not out: sometimes the gasket will only leak one way and/or may require higher pressure than you can put in the cooling system).

And last but not least, you can use a "block tester" to check for combustion gasses in the cooling system.

Having used all of the above methods on a number of bad headgaskets, the only method I really trust is the leakdown test (I'm an MB/Smart master diag tech, and I see a lot of Smart cars with blown headgaskets). I've had several vehicles that passed every test except for bubbles in the coolant during a leakdown test, and often with good leakdown numbers (on the most recent, the worst cylinder was 7% leakage, which is considered excellent; compression was spot on, too).

Good luck.

Duck05

The head gasket was blown and coolant leaking into cyl 6. Took several weeks with the holidays but all good now. Several other parts replaced while it was torn apart; new plugs. Replaced the battery as well.

Joey-E

iTrader: (1)

This!!^^^