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The car still runs fine. I drove it 25 miles into the dealer under normal driving condition (not flooring it) with no ill effects. I checked the oil on arrival and nothing had changed and the cooling system was still pressurized.
These are the symptoms I have notice:
1. There is an intermittent coolant leak requiring me to add some coolant periodicaly. The car can go several hundred miles with no coolant loss then loose a quart of coolant over a vary short period of time. Some of the times the coolant level has dropped, it has leaked on the ground. Other times, the coolant has vanished.
2. Last week white smoke started coming out of the tail pipe after the car had been idling for 15 min and was already at full temperature (I had driven it within the last hour). This is the 1st time I have seen this after the new head gasket. Once I started to drive the car, it stopped. I have owned the car for 8 years and know this is not normal, especially on a 75 degree day.
3. After taking the car for a hard 1/2 hour drive with the meth/water system turned on, there were obvious signs of water getting into the oil. When I went to check the oil, there was a grey/peach colored film on the inner surface of the oil dipstick/filler tube. Also there was a small amount on the dipstick itself. I know what oil looks like when it has been mixed with water in a crank case and this was it. The coolant level had not changed from before the dive (I pay vary close attention to the coolant level because I have already payed to have the head gasket replaced once).
4. The coolant tank lid makes a hissing noise after the car has been shut off when the system is under pressure. The car never use to do this and it only dose it intermittently.
5. Sometimes the coolant system will not be under pressure when the car is running and after it has reached full temp.
I doubt it has a hole in a piston. Before the dealer did the head gasket last time, they did a compression check and an inspection of the engine internals. They told me, that everything looked good. The only way they new the head gasket was going was from testing the coolant for traces of combustion particulates and from a vary small amount of slug starting to accumulate in the oil.
I just suspect its the head gasket, it could also be a crack in the head or the block (I hope not). The head gasket seals the combustion chamber, the oil passthroughs and the coolant passthroughs. A bad head gasket could have a breach in any of these.
Brandon
posted by 24.21.11...
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