What's the procedure for testing for blown/leaking head gaskets?

[MNBoxster]

Hi,

As mentioned, there are several ways to pinpoint your issue. A Leakdown Test and Coolant Pressure Test are essential to determining a Headgasket leak with any certainty. Also, looking for emulsified Coolant/Oil on the Dipstick (if you have one, draining the Oil if you don't), it'll look like someone threw a Latte' in your Crankcase. And, you can fairly easily perform these tests yourself for under $100 worth of equipment (even less if eBaying the stuff used).

Throwing fixes willy-nilly at the issue can run several hundreds of $$ and may not even solve the malfunction. But certainly, living with a Coolant leak (no matter how small) without correcting it will only compound your problems.

Pinpointing the cause and then applying that specific solution is the best (and perhaps the cheapest in the long-run) way to go. Hope this helps...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

[Paul]

If your mechanic thinks replacing an AOS is difficult, wait until he reads the procedure to replace a head gasket!!! Not to mention the "special" tools.

Although I agree with the leakdown and pressure tests, sometimes a simple compression check is enough to id a blown head gasket. In any case, they rarely blow in pairs.