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Interpreting head gasket marks

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Old 12-21-2020, 01:22 PM
clkinaz's Avatar
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Location: Sonoran Desert
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Default Interpreting head gasket marks

My Gen 1 has been overheating. It would run 30 - 50 miles with no problem but it was slowly losing coolant.
We've gone through nearly "everything" before finally pulling the head.
I've posted several pics below of the block, gasket, and head I've only seen 3 bad gaskets in my life and each had an obvious identifiable point of failure.
If there's a failure on this one, it appears to be a little more subtle - if at all.
Maybe someone who's seen more of these than I have, could take a look and tell me what you think.
I would really appreciate it.
The pic of the head and gasket are L-R 1,2,3,4 showing the side of the gasket against the head.
The pic of the block and gasket are L-R 4,3,2,1 showing the side of the gasket that lays on the block.
Charles

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  #2  
Old 12-21-2020, 06:39 PM
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looking at the bottom picture it appears to be some leak into the far right cylinder. blown gaskets are not always between 2 cylinders. have you taken a compression check prior to pulling the head off. also did you do a radiator pressure check to try to detect where the fluid leak was going to did you notice any bubbles in the radiator while running, did you find any creamy engine oil,
 
  #3  
Old 12-21-2020, 11:08 PM
clkinaz's Avatar
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There were a couple of little things that could have contributed and they were addressed.
(Overflow hose was loose, Radiator inlet tube was out of round)
In approximate order, I have tested or replaced:
Radiator (AutoZone)
Fan switch
Temp gauge sender
ECT sensor
Compression test: 170 x4
Cooling sys Leakdown ~17 lbs for >15 min.
Coolant hydrocarbon test: Negative (confirmed on exhaust)
Thermostat (Honda) which correlated with fan switch operation
Radiator cap (Honda / ND)
Water pump flow visually verified - which correlated with fan operation
Water pump (like new)
I hope I've not missed anything...
So, I pulled the head.
 
  #4  
Old 12-23-2020, 07:37 PM
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that is a good list and looks like you've covered almost everthing. forgot to ask, have you smelled any anti freeze smell in your cabin while driving, have you checked under your front floor mats for dampness (drivers feet and passengers feet area, have you checked under your car for fluid dripping (other than a/c water) have you checked your cabin heater hoses at the fire wall for leaks.
 
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