Re: Where's The Water Going? (Addendum)

Re: Where's The Water Going? (Addendum)

In article <[email protected]>, [email protected]
says...
>
>
>Jerry wrote:
>> In article <ww%[email protected]>,
>> [email protected] says...
>>>
>>>
>>> My '87 22R is guzzling water. It isn't leaking onto the ground and
>>> it doesn't appear to be going into the oil. It will take a quart of
>>> water about every 20-25 miles. I'm absolutely NOT a mechanic but my
>>> guess is that it has a blown head gasket.
>>> Anybody confirm this or should I be looking for some other problem?
>>> Any help will be appreciated.
>>> Thanks.
>>> Jerry
>>>
>>
>>
>> Today, my neighbor told me that if my problem is in fact a blown head
>> gasket, that I would probably find that there is water in one or more
>> of the cylinders so I pulled out the spark plugs and found no trace
>> of water being there or having been there.
>> What test(s) should I perform that would confirm a blown head gasket.
>> Is there a link that I can go to that will explain exactly what I
>> need to do to determine the problem and a step-by-step instruction
>> set that will explain exactly how to R & R the head if that's what I
>> need to do?
>> If it's not a blown head gasket, what else could it be?
>> As said earlier, "Any help will be appreciated."
>> Thanks again.
>> Jerry
>
>Do you have an air compressor?
>davidj92
>
>

Yes. I do have an air compressor.
Jerry

Re: Where's The Water Going? (Addendum)

Jerry wrote:
> Yes. I do have an air compressor.

As Scotty posted for you there is a combution gasses detector that can be
used. It is a liquid that turns color if hydro-carbons are present and last
time I priced one appx 4 yrs ago it was appx $50 US. I've heard of
electronic detectors but, have no experience with them and since they are
new they are probably more expensive. I have tested systems with the liquid
type, not found hydro-carbons in coolant but still had a bad head gasket
that I found with a lead-down test.
Some leaks are hard to find but with a warm engine and a leakdown test they
will usually show up.
If you are going to purchase a tool or pay someone to do the detection then
I would recommend getting a leakdown tester. Cost is appx $50-$70 and
several manufactures make them. Found on eBay and should find at your local
parts store. Another benefit of a leakdown tester is it can be used to check
rings, valves heads and etc.
If you have no experience I found a couple sites with some basic info you
might want to read. You might want to do some other research as well on
this. If you do use leakdown always remember compressed air can cause the
engine to rotate, sometimes violently so keep all extremities in a safe
place.

http://www.type2.com/library/engineg/leaktst.htm

http://www.vclassics.com/archive/leakdown.htm

HTH, davidj92