Quote:
Originally Posted by ian14892
if the oil was changed could you tell for sure if it is the head gasket that needs to be replaced by seeing if there is coolant in the oil?
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Only when it gets to the later stages, when the headgasket is really chewed up. Right way to test it, is to collect some of the used motor oil and send it off to be chemically tested. Usually when you see coolant in the oil, it is generally too late for the bearings and the like - looking at a likely engine rebuild.
If a headgasket leak is definitely suspected - I'd really shorten that oil change interval (maybe 1000 miles or less). The less contact that contaminated oil has spent with your engine, the better the chance that other potential engine damage will be minimized.
Depending on the condition that the engine is - might been a good idea to replace the bearings and clean up the head a bit - assuming that both the block and head are straight/can be straightened.
Yeah, don't take my post literally as this car being a poor candidate for a DD - as long as you have another vehicle you can count on for any downtime your car will see and those unexpected issues that always creep up with this type of project - should be just fine.
Defintely, if you have the chance, post up your progress as you go along. Everyone likes to see pics and it will be a good resource for anyone else looking at a similar situation.
