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Blown Head gasket????

Old 05-22-2009, 07:30 PM
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Default Blown Head gasket????

Hi i own a 99 trans am a4 with 90,000 miles, and i am not sure what is wrong with it. There is oil in the radiator, and the car begins to heat up within 3 days of flushing the radiator. I thought it was a blown head gasket, so I dropped it off with my mechanic. A few days later he told me that it wasn't a blown head gasket. I asked him why he didn't think it was a blown head gasket, and he stated that if it was a blown head gasket, i would have coolant in the engine and that is not happening on my problem. I am completely lost with this, i am taking the car to another mechanic on Monday for a second opinion. If anyone can give me feedback on this, i would greatly appreciate it. I need to get my mind to rest lol. Thanks in Advance.
Old 05-22-2009, 08:13 PM
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sounds like a gasket or cracked block/head.....oil in the coolant is a bad sign. Run the car with the radiator cap off and see if it bubbles significantly. That's another sign of the gasket or a crack. Or you can buy a cooling system pressure tester, if it doesn't hold pressure then that's another indicator...
Old 05-23-2009, 01:28 AM
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theres only a few reasons why you would have oil in the coolant: blown head gasket, cracked head, or a cracked block.

try doing a leak down test and compression test on all cylinders.

my car is currently under the knife as i blew my head gasket last week. had coolant under my oil cap and was running hot. coolant looked fine when i drained it, but ive yet to see what the oil looks like. pair of 243's coming in next week
Old 06-03-2009, 01:39 PM
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If you have a power steearing cooler it could be cracked
Old 06-03-2009, 03:06 PM
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Originally Posted by 9930thramair02
Hi i own a 99 trans am a4 with 90,000 miles, and i am not sure what is wrong with it. There is oil in the radiator, and the car begins to heat up within 3 days of flushing the radiator. I thought it was a blown head gasket, so I dropped it off with my mechanic. A few days later he told me that it wasn't a blown head gasket. I asked him why he didn't think it was a blown head gasket, and he stated that if it was a blown head gasket, i would have coolant in the engine and that is not happening on my problem. I am completely lost with this, i am taking the car to another mechanic on Monday for a second opinion. If anyone can give me feedback on this, i would greatly appreciate it. I need to get my mind to rest lol. Thanks in Advance.
How do you know its oil? Do you have a power steering cooler. Its the metal piece that is attached to the upper radiator hose, about a 10 inch long aluminum pipe between the two rubber hose ends?

A cracked block...you'd be like 1 in a million if it is. These blocks just don't crack.

What test did he do that tells him its not a head gasket? Also, the first mechanic is not that bright really, because a blown head gasket does NOT mean you would have coolant in your engine, its just possible. You could have a blown head gasket where ONLY air gets pushed into the cooling system. Or oil goes into the coolant. But coolant going into the oil, probably the most rare one. It would have to be a seriously destroyed head gasket for that to happen.


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