Burning/Losing Coolant

[Twister]

So i bought an 87 B2 the other day, it runs strong plenty of power, and starts great. I noticed i am losing coolant. So i changed the plugs and they were all slightly white. I noticed the oil cap has some goo on it, but the oil dipstick doesn't. There is nothing coming out of the exhaust.

So how long can i drive the car this way? Like i said it has lots of power and no issues running.

Also, is there anything else besides the head gaskets that could cause some coolant in the oil?

 

[jhammel85]

How fast is the coolant disappearing? I would fix any leaks that you have. For instance, I have one tiny leak from my Thermostat Housing. That little dribble adds up over a month or so and I always have to top it off.

Frankly, I would fix any leaks that you find and just drive it until you find actual milky oil / white exhaust. The snot on the cap could just be condensation.

 

[Twister]

Well it seems to be loosing a good amount. It doesn't overheat. I put in a new pcv valve because the old one seemed to not be doing anything.

 

[88ranger89camaro]

if its all ready leaking and you cant find the leak screw it and put some bars leak in it

 

[Ryannn]

if its all ready leaking and you cant find the leak screw it and put some bars leak in it

Bars leak eventually fails and then it's created more work if you break the engine down to do the heads. 99% likely you have the infamous cracked head in the 2.9.

 

[Twister]

Bars leak eventually fails and then it's created more work if you break the engine down to do the heads. 99% likely you have the infamous cracked head in the 2.9.

Great, just what i need. How long can i drive it with the cracked head, if that is what it is?

 

[jhammel85]

Like I said, I'd drive it until i saw something in the oil or the exhaust. Then worry about it.

If you do find that then yeah, the head is probably cracked. If so, stop driving it right away and either do the heads yourself or have someone else do it.

 

[Twister]

Like I said, I'd drive it until i saw something in the oil or the exhaust. Then worry about it.

If you do find that then yeah, the head is probably cracked. If so, stop driving it right away and either do the heads yourself or have someone else do it.

There is some white smoke from the exhaust pipe, but you have to look for it, the dipstick looks normal so i will drive it till it changes. I guess i will just keep an eye on the oil and coolant level and try to find a new engine in the mean time.

 

[jhammel85]

Yeah if you are seeing a tiny bit then it might just be starting. The only way to know is to have the heads checked for cracks at a shop.

For what it's worth, I think it would be worth just doing the heads instead of a whole motor. . The internals might be OK since it sounds like there isn't much of a crack yet.

Then again, you can't go wrong with a whole new motor! Hopefully you can find one that was made after the 1st half of '89. It'll have the better heads.

 

[Twister]

Maybe ill just replace the heads. How difficult is it to replace them and what is a good price for a set of heads?

 

[Twister]

Well i now have milky oil on the dipstick. I guess i will stop driving it and decide weather or not to do the heads.

 

[clvanhorn]

i drove my 2.9 losing coolant but nothing in the oil for 9 months... lost about a water bottle worth of coolant every 2 weeks, and there was no water in the oil, and no smoke from the exhaust. then one day it decided to crack more and i just swapped motors before it blew up on me

 

[jhammel85]

I hate hearing about the heads cracking. That sucks....

I'm sorry to hear it. It sounds like you caught it in time. Let us know how you make out with the head swapping! Make sure to flush it out with some cheap oil after you are done.

 

[Twister]

Ok so I have started tearing down my engine to assess the damage. All the guide I found for taking them off says I need to remove the dizzy. Do I really need to remove the dizze to get the heads off or is that just for ease of working.

 

[Psychopete]

Did the lower intake clear it ??