Combustion emission seepage caused the erosion of the cast iron. An easy way to test for a leaky head gasket is to wave the exhaust smog wand over the radiator fill spout and watch for an emission spike, you can also test the coolant for hydrocarbons .
Lol. If you give up your day job , you can always go to rapping for a living. Your little rapping session was over the top funny. It's good to see a ACE mechanic tell it like it really is. Keep on keeping on.
Just wanted to say a few things. I dont own a Ford. Never have. I have always been a GM guy. The info you provide in these videos is very interesting. I like seeing the damage some people do and what could have been done to prevent it. Please keep posting videos I enjoy each one you post.
When I had bad head gaskets I used to add about 1/2 a gallon every 1000 miles. I drove about 6,000 miles on my bad head gaskets until my EGR hose let go and dumped coolant everywhere, so I finally had it fixed. I always used red ELC
If you run an Edge Evolution or similar system that reads Engine coolant temps and Engine oil temps while you drive the truck loaded then you can see if your oil cooler is working correctly.
Bill, I love your videos. I've watched almost all of them, at least the ones here on RU-vid. Always something to be learned. You are a walking library of knowledge. I would love to come work for you. Too bad your shop is so far south of me and I'm an auto tech, not a diesel tech. Either way, love your videos. Keep em comin. You're doing a great service to anyone who owns a powerstroke. If I ever come across someone with a powerstroke having issues, I'll send em your way. Even if it's a 2000 mile drive, it'd be worth the journey to have a real pro like yourself do the work.
As always it's best to get the problem fixed right away, that's if you care about keeping the car of course as it's pretty expensive to fix. But again if you care about the car, the expense is worth it. Just make sure the shop you take it to will do the repair properly, ask them what steps do they do.. there's some youtube videos on how to properly change head gaskets. If it's not done correctly, the engine will not function the same. Replacing coolant regularly and changing the oil before it goes bad will help prevent head gasket failures. Also driving it like a racecar all the time will probably cause a head gasket but it depends on the vehicle, whether it can handle the WOT.
I have been watching your videos for years and I always find it amusing that the trucks that have the worst mechanical failures always have lift kits, bigger tires, etc. most of which are people who just hot-rod their trucks instead of using them for work purposes like they were designed for
Bredda yuh got madd wicked humor lol. I enjoyed the personality as well as the informative, detailed info...Yuh know your Issssh. Can't believe anybody disliked this. SUBSCRIBED!
You are correct. But when the water is flowing in an engine that basically got started cold it is not a problem. It is when the engine is hot hot after running then you will hurt the engine.
it looked like EVERY jacket had that issue, thes gaskets must have be 100% screwed! but that is a very intresting one, i bet when your tech pulled off the heads he was like what hell? nice vid man!
another Q? My turn to learn about 6.0's showed-up with a temp-soaring gauge, when I was pulling a light camper trailer home from Illinois. That's when I discovered the dugas empty. Just like you said: 1 & 1\2 gallons low. Filled it up. Got home. Forgot all about it, thinking that was all that was wrong, a little coolant loss. Happened again. Soaring temp gauge with pulling the light trailer. Recovered quick, when I got off 25#s boost & down-shifted two gears. test: blown head gasket
Just make sure you dont run out of coolant AND you do not put cold water into a hot engine. If you have to install coolant you can use up to a 50/50 mix of coolant and water to pour into a warm engine.
8 years down the track ... the most gangsta mechanic of all time. I just put Rislone (bar's leak) head gasket fix in my 6 cylinder 2001 holden commodore acclaim. I don't know shit about cars and all I had for tools is a flat head screwdriver. Watched some youtube videos and managed to flush out the radiator it was clean no oil in there, oil is clean, a tiny amount of white smoke from the exhaust but only when I first start it up. Have driven it 58.4kms (36miles) over quite steep hills, didn't use any water and had to fill it up daily. I live in New Zealand my mechanic gave me this (I'm writing it out coz it might be interesting for some people) 21 Dec 2020 I asked for Pressure test on the cooling system, check if thermostat was opening properly and check head gasket Vehicle brought in for assessment - suspected cracked head. Technician tested vehicle on TK tester - found the head had blown Priced up repair costs as follows: Engineering $350nzd ($248.94 usd) Head gasket bolt set $113nzd ($80.37usd) Head gasket x2 $642ndz for both ($456.63usd) Oil filter $24ndz ($17.07usd) Oil $81nzd ($57.61usd) - this is obviously oil made of gold...smh Coolant $94.43nzd ($67.16usd) - another gold made item Radiator flush $15nzd ($10.67usd) Thermostat $73nzd ($51.92usd) Tolls and freight $30nzd ($21.34usd) Cleaning materials/consumables $20nzd ($14.23usd) Labour $855nzd ($608.13usd) GST (NZ tax) $344.70nzd ($245.17usd) Total $3642.70nzd ($1879.24usd) Can someone please tell me a rough estimate of how long my car will last?
Awsome man great effin instructions. I live in oregon i have a 94 lt1 caprice and ive only been working on cars for the last 2 years honestly this video sumed out every question and doubt ive had thanks for the tips man i would love to come out to you some time in the future once im off parole
It's never good to have flames on your driveshaft hahaha! Good video Bill! You're exactly right, people think you can just beat the living piss out of these trucks and be fine. Powerstrokes aren't meant to be babied, but they aren't supposed to be abused either. Good work.
Bill, Love the videos, in fact you're the reason I've decided to take a chance on the 6.0. I just purchased a 2006 6.0 Powerstroke with 96,000 miles on it. It was always serviced at a dealership by the previous owner who used it to drive highway mileage mostly. My question is, what type of things should i be looking at under the hood at this point, that could be beginning to fail. Thanks a lot, you've been a great help already!
There's been some big progress in additive manufacturing in the last few years. Certain systems build up complex parts one layer at a time by applying micron sized metal powder under vacuum and melting it together with a laser or electron beam. It's called electron beam sintering (EBS) and can make complex custom parts out of pretty much any metal. I have no doubt such a system could fix blocks like this, but unfortunately they run over $1 million at the moment.
The cloud of white smoke randomly usually is the stiction of a fuel injector. If you are not losing coolant, it can't be coolant running down your block..
If you run an engine with a blown head gasket at all, you are risking cracked heads and/or a cracked block. I have a friend who learned this the hard way. To his credit, he thought he had a small coolant leak somewhere and didn't realize it was the head gasket. One night, one of the cylinders filled with coolant. When he went to start it in the morning, it hydro-locked and cracked the block. Also, in gasoline engines and newer diesels with cats, coolant will destroy your catalytic converter, so if the head gasket blows on your car and you drive it anyway, chances are you'll be replacing both the gasket and your catalytic system. Ouch.
Anyways yeah i think i might have blown my head gasket while driving my car with a cracked radiator. I hate the lt1 but i love the way my car rides. Thanks again buddy youtube needs more ACTUAL helpers like you
Learned yesterday that I have a blown head gasket. 6.0 with studs and EGR delete. Ton of money trying to make it reliable. Do you have a ball park on what the shop's going to charge? Tired of spending money on it. Thanks.
Bill love your veidos to bad you stop working on 6.4 ' s but that's the way it goes . Found someone not to far from me does work on them . I'll keep it forever but had to do a lot to it .
i had a 4l falcon motor eat the water passages away on the aluminium head and i got a bloke to weld them up and then shave it and i had no problems after that. still running today.
Here in Europe we have a car that's indestructible Skoda Felicia lol 😂 seriously I had a 1.3 litre version head gasket totally blown but each day as long as I topped the water up it always got me from A to B ,managed to last 1 year like that before the engine seized and never started again lol
That failure mode is fairly common in cars (assuming neglect) Quite a few years ago I got a late model camaro in (2000 something) with a blown head gasket. (or so I was told) This kid had ignored the head gasket so long that it not only notched the block but punched through the water jacket and exited the head to the atmosphere (alum head). The kid ran it so hot that it melted the composite intake mani. (I suspect that why he stopped). Freaking thing stunk to high heaven just walking up to it.
Hey bill, got a 99 7.3 with 298,000 miles and is very clean. I have a ts6 chip, mbrp exhaust, autometer boost,pyro,trans temp gauges. The rear end is built as well. What can i do to make the truck more powerful while keeping LOW egts. Aftermarket turbos or anything? Thank you for your help
My truck (v6 ford) will blow heat, THEN cold air>>>the temp gauge will go to hot for approx 30sec, THEN go back to normal! I will then have more heat....All this will push antifreeze from radiator to the overflow storage...Is this a blown headgasket scenario? (I really dont use a lot of fluid..I have changed thermostat twice)
I can't believe the things people do to these trucks considering the cost of replacement!! If it were my truck having a head gasket problem this bad would keep me up at night
Bill as always your videos are very educational. You said not to put cold water into your engine that it would do damage to your block. but, in your coolant flush video after you drained the radiator a second time you stuck a hose in the degass bottle (warm engine) and let the water flow to flush the system. I live in the north can I still flush my coolant the way you describe in your coolant video or do I need to wait until summer when the ground is warmer therefore the water is warmer?
I have lost two Ford Motors, due to turbo chargers, a 2006 at 30,000 mile the and a 2011 at 103,000 What is a great turbo system to use for stock power
I blew my heads, started with coolant leak. 2-3 weeks after I was getting a lot of air build up in coolant system and my truck would want to overheat but no steam or anything I would turn it off and wait for it to cool. Until it got to the point I couldn’t drive 3 minutes without it trying to over heat but no steam or anything just leaking coolant out reservoir
I have considered BUT if the installation is not done correctly the outcome can be catastrophic. I like to have the tech trained by me under my supervision. THEN the outcome will be be correct.
Bill, i hit a deer had to replace radiator and intercooler! Didn't add antifreeze took the truck home and freezes my wife drives the truck without antifreeze for like 10minutes! Notice oil leak on the back of engine clean that! And no more leaks! But NOW the coolant will over heat in a 5mile drive!!!!!!! Its a 2008 f350 6.4.. Please help!! Thanks in advance!
In one of your videos I saw you guys unhook the upper radiator hose on one side only then kink the hose and bend it out of the way. I always thought you should never kink a hose. Is it ok to kink a radiotor hose on a 6.0?
another Q? So I've done the "Hero Test" (dugas bottle test) with a new cap. Yeah, I've got a blown head gasket. :-/ I'm not sure how long it's been this way, because there was no symptoms before. If I can maintain coolant, do you really think my 6.0 can run from KC to Buford without causing a bunch more damage? I saw those block coolant passages and I don't want to do that to my block.
I am fairly sure that it's standard practice to replace coolant every 2-3 years or every 30,000 so just as a matter of prevention I would at the very least replace it.
well i think I rode on mine for about 6 months and all it did was blow coolant out the exhaust. Then I lost all my compression in the middle of the highway in a traffic jam. But it never overheated. And I railed on it hard all the time.
We call them the chrome wheel crowd. This guy knew that he had a problem when he bought it, but most times these guys dont have the money to fix the issues. So the joke is that he spent all the money on the wheels, tires and lift with none left to take care of later problems.
My 05 powerstoke Gaskets just started giving out on me. I didnt play no games at all i added some coolant to it and took it to the shop and having them Bulletproof my truck. My question is I have a Edge Evolution CTS. Do you have any bad or good insight on that programmer for a 2005 Ford Powerstoke?
Not a diesel but have audi a5. Coolant is being pushed out the purge hole on expansion tank..never overheats..but every 100 miles I'm adding coolant to resevoir..head gasket or something else?
I have a question , I have 2014 accord , every time I accelerated it vibrated and today when I stepped on the gas it went nowhere same with reverse like it literally revs but won’t move. Do you think it’s the head gasket and if so around how much for repair??
SO for a first time diesel owner which engine would be best (in terms of reliability)? Just looking for something to haul cattle and do chores around the farm. OBS 7.3? 7.3? bulletproofed 6.0? or 6.4?
Bill, 2 quick questions.. 1st, Rev-x or ProLong oil additive for sticky injectors? Last question, a shop here in Bloomington, Indiana quoted a total head gasket repair for my 04 6.0 Powerstroke ( the right way ) at around $5,800.. Does this sound like a fair deal? Thanks Bill.
Hey, I have an 87 Ranger with a 2.9 and I have oil leaking out from either the vale cover or the head itself, it is hidden by the exhaust manifold and leaks onto it on drivers side, and leaks enough to make a nasty smoke. from visually I cant tell, but is there another way you can tell without taking everything off or having an expensive mechanic?
@powerstrokehelp : Hey Bill, that SD truck with the flames is what we here called a "polished-turd". She looks great and turns heads sitting still, but it's really a total useless piece of shit. Dying to know, how much did that guy end up spending with you for a total replacement powertrain fully installed? At least he did the right thing and brought it to you for the repair work.
Thanks for the great video, I have a 2002 ford taurus and I found a lot of rusty coolant in the oil, my engine idles rough on idle and shakes. On higher rpm it sounds ok. The oil light blinks and comes on when its idling bellow 1000 rpm. It doesnt smoke alot but I found there has been black debits on the floor bellow the exhaust. Does anyone know what could be wrong? whats the chances that I have got a blown head gasket?
R MZ It sounds like your car is missing and not firing on all calendars. My 99 Taurus has a blown head gasket. We found out by taking out the spark plugs and the mechanic found water on one of them.
My head gasket is blown, my oil and coolant made a chocolate slushy. Its an Odyssey with 145K miles. Should i replace the gasket? Replace the engine? Sell it? Thanks. It also needs a water pump and timing belt
Sell it brother.. You can get a better car with the money you will spend to fix it.. I. Had to get rid of my mustang GT 2007 Because it used to make chocolate slushy too.. They charged me 1565 dollars so I sold it and got a 2011 GT for down payment at least
im driving my 93 toyota corolla with a blown head gasket i dont put much coolant but the car has started to shake i dont know if it its for the bad head gasket or something else im replacing the head gasket myself im getting all the info i can get before i start taking shit apart the torque specs i find it the difficult part of the whole job
2 weeks ago I was driving home and my truck spat out a huge cloud of white smoke and sounded kind of weird upon light acceleration. I did not gun it. After that incident the truck ran completely normal. On Wednesday this week, I got home from work (6mi) truck was up to temp and noticed it was leaking coolant from the block near the front cover on the pass side and my degas bottle was almost full. Someone on a forum said it could be head gaskets. Any ideas for me to think of or look into?
