Any good videos on replacing a head gasket on a 318? Found a brown milky liquid in my 74” RR valve cover and some white smoke from the tailpipes.

[tonyp25]

I need to rebuild the carb this winter and figured now I’m going to replace the head gasket now too. Possible valve cover seals too. Would love to watch a good video on it to refresh some old skills.

I’m not positive yet it’s the head gasket seal…but fairly sure. Hard to see in the picture but I wiped it out. Some of the milky substance is still on the top of my finger.

 

[pnora]

I seriously doubt you have a head gasket problem. Looks like normal condensation/oil buildup to me.

 

[tonyp25]

I seriously doubt you have a head gasket problem. Looks like normal condensation/oil buildup to me.

I didn’t get a good picture of it. The entire bottom of the cap was covered in the brown liquid. The car has been sitting, there is a small oil leak somewhere and the exhaust pipes have some connection issues….also it’s been raining a ton here lately. So I at first just chalked it up to that.

But it was smoking white smoke from both tailpipes (a lot) well after it had been warmed up. Something It’s never done before…It was worse when idling and barely smoking when driving. maybe it’s condensation. I guess the best thing for me to do is possibly pull the plugs and do a compression test.

Also trying to monitor the coolant level and it doesn’t seem to drop but just started paying close attention.

 

[pnora]

Are you adding coolant? Does it overheat? I bet the answers are no. You are not running the car hard and long enough to burn up the condensation in the motor and exhaust. To me you are making a big deal out of nothing.

 

[WileERobby]

Hello ? Head Gasket ? Diagnosis 101. Did you observe the coolant in the radiator with the cap off after it's reached operating temperature. What do you see ?

 

[1STMP]

I didn’t get a good picture of it. The entire bottom of the cap was covered in the brown liquid. The car has been sitting, there is a small oil leak somewhere and the exhaust pipes have some connection issues….also it’s been raining a ton here lately. So I at first just chalked it up to that.

But it was smoking white smoke from both tailpipes (a lot) well after it had been warmed up. Something It’s never done before…It was worse when idling and barely smoking when driving. maybe it’s condensation. I guess the best thing for me to do is possibly pull the plugs and do a compression test.

Also trying to monitor the coolant level and it doesn’t seem to drop but just started paying close attention.

Though a compression test may be a
good idea to decern the overall health
of your engine, as others have stated,
it's not necessarily a blown gasket.
Engine oil gets contaminated with
water (condensation) due the engine
not being run long enough to dissipate any moisture in the oil.
I'd first do an oil and filter change,
and take it for an extended cruise.
Then check your cap again.

 

[tonyp25]

Though a compression test may be a
good idea to decern the overall health
of your engine, as others have stated,
it's not necessarily a blown gasket.
Engine oil gets contaminated with
water (condensation) due the engine
not being run long enough to dissipate any moisture in the oil.
I'd first do an oil and filter change,
and take it for an extended cruise.
Then check your cap again.

So I changed the oil and filter about a month and half ago but it has mainly sat during that time. Though changing it again is a much easier job than a head gasket.

 

[tonyp25]

Hello ? Head Gasket ? Diagnosis 101. Did you observe the coolant in the radiator with the cap off after it's reached operating temperature. What do you see ?

So after I noticed it smoking more than usual I took it home and let cool down. The next day I took the radiator cap off (looked fine) and started the car with the cap off. About 8 minutes into it idling it started smoking out of both exhaust pipes.

I don’t believe the thermostat had even opened up yet at this point and I noticed no bubbling (maybe a single bubble as the engine kicked out of high idle). I got nervous and shut off the engine at this point, pulled the oil cap off and saw brown milky build up and assumed the worst.

I took it for a long drive a few weeks ago (total of 40 minutes) and noticed zero issues before and after. Since it’s summer it has spent most of the time sitting in my driveway and not in the garage.

 

[tonyp25]

Are you adding coolant? Does it overheat? I bet the answers are no. You are not running the car hard and long enough to burn up the condensation in the motor and exhaust. To me you are making a big deal out of nothing.

I really hope this is the case. Anything you recommend to rule it out? Or should I just keep driving it and monitor the radiator fluid?

A piece of me thought this is the sign I need to switch out the 318 with a 440 but then I started looking at prices of used 440s and quickly wanted this to not be a blown head gasket.

 

[pnora]

I really hope this is the case. Anything you recommend to rule it out? Or should I just keep driving it and monitor the radiator fluid?

A piece of me thought this is the sign I need to switch out the 318 with a 440 but then I started looking at prices of used 440s and quickly wanted this to not be a blown head gasket.

Monitor it and drive it. What you describe is normal.

 

[WileERobby]

I don’t believe the thermostat had even opened up yet at this point and I noticed no bubbling

Then it was all for naught. You observe the coolant AFTER the thermostat opens, to see if any bubbles. What the other poster says is probably going on.

 

[Ron H]

Agree could be condensation build up and not enough run time for the car. I change the oil in spring before I start driving it. Warm ups idling is different than running it on the road with engine under load. Check oil pressure and motor temp? Assume it is fine since not mentioning it. How old is the coolant? Take a quart of so of coolant out and see what it looks like. Having sat for extended times, could be time for a change. Could do a system back-flush using a cleaner for flushing it. See what the fluid looks like. A lot of crud? Flush it again. Do the same for the radiator. Something to do before taking head gaskets off.

 

[Fran Blacker]

If you have a PCV check an see if it's clogged. No PCV get one, think that could solve your problem.

 

[eldubb440]

you'd better listen to him, Flounder........ he's pre-med

 

[Don Frelier]

you'd better listen to him, Flounder........ he's pre-med

 

[tonyp25]

If you have a PCV check an see if it's clogged. No PCV get one, think that could solve your problem.

PCV and breather were both caked with oil. Could’ve been on there for decades. Replaced both of them and made sure the hoses were clean too before hooking it back up.

Not sure if it could’ve made this large of an impact but the car started stronger than it ever had and idled perfectly. No smoke. Watched the radiator get to temp and didn’t see any bubbling/froth. Took it for a 40 minute drive and it ran perfect. Parked it again and still no smoke.

Appreciate your suggestion (and everyone else’s advice to not jump at it being a blown head gasket). Very thankful for this forums knowledge.

 

[64fury74charger]

Just another relatively easy test is to put the cooling system under about 15 psi with a Pressure tester as they are inexpensive. Pump it up and let it sit under pressure and you can find out fairly quickly if there’s anything you need to address.

 

[Fran Blacker]

Like to hear if it solves the problem over 200 more miles. Had that problem and it came out and ran on a chrome valve cover. Chrome job paid good money for a lousy job. Look below front spark 3"+down.