my coolant level keeps needing to be topped up. its as if its losing a small amount of coolant. no obvious leaks.
93 3.0 with 173,000
head gasket job was was done at 150,something by previous owner.
only symptom is sweet coolant smell in cab and slight coolant loss.
no steam or milky oil
HEAD GASKET or HEATER CORE

please say heater core.

short of tearing it down how do i check for a head gasket problem

 

Milky oil will pretty much be the dead give away. That plus white smoke. Just happened to me Wednesday...

 

You can always do a Compression Test as well. It will help determine if the gasket maybe going out. A blown gasket will have lower than average compression. Good Luck

-=Morphine=-

 

Check under the oil fill cap. The milky oil is what i'd say also.

 

If you can smell it in the cab then my guess would be heater core..get a pressure test done on your coolant system.

 

Easy to check the heater core itself, if it leaks you will probably see green on the fins or around the inlet/outlet pipes. No reason to smell antifreeze in the cab from a head gasket leak. If there is no coolant present on the heater core, try pulling the spark plugs out one-by-one and look for one that is white, or has clean white spots on it. This indicates coolant is passing into the cylinder or the exhaust port. Hope this helps.

 

think ill pull the plugs tomorrow
find a compression tester and find out where i stand
wher is the heater core at?
it must be behind the glove box
thanks for the good advice

 

I wouldn't bother with the compression test; I did one and it showed nothing different. Do the coolant system pressure test. You will know FOR SURE that way.

 

alumaseal

 

smell inside, heater core .......keep driving without replacing the core and there will be noi doubt because the water will be inside the truck

 

im convinced its the heater core
i looked under the hood while it was warming up and there was aa puff of coolant steam at the back of the engine bay.
i then turned the heater on full blast and that filled the truck with coolant fumes.
any ideas on how much labor is involved in heater core replacement.
my guess would be 3 plus hours
plus parts

 

labor is probally alot ......way more than the core it self i havent changed one on that vehicle but uim sure its like most the whole dash has to come off

 

Hmm.. how could a leaking heater core leak into the engine bay area? On my '93 truck, the heater hoses goes through the firewall to the heater core.

Could the leak be in the engine area and the smell be simply the steam getting drawn into your outside air intake?

Can you determine exactly where the coolant came from that made the steam? I'd say inspect around your water bypass manifold area in the rear center of the engine and also inspect around the head gasket perimeter, especially near cylinders #6 and #1.

 

fortunately its leaking real good now so im sure my mechanic can find it.
seems more like a heater core or a split hose.
ill know by end of day
thanks to all who helped me through this stressfull event.
imagine being happy about a heater core

 

turned out to be a u shaped heater hose on the firewall.
$105 total
thanks for the prompt honest work by
CLARKS RADIATOR
solana beach,ca
thanks to all YOTATECH members who helped with good advice
cheers, chris

 

good for you dude, you lucked out.

 

Can You Convert A A Arm 86 Truck To A Straight Axel And Is Worth It

 

Random?

and yes, it is very possible, there are kits available.
Go to the "sas" forum on here and check it out.

And if you want to rockcrawl and trailride yes, its worth it (so everyone says...)