How to know if a car has a blown head gasket
Spotting a blown head gasket is difficult when symptoms like long cranks, radiator leaks, and sweet exhaust smoke overlap. This leaves owners unsure how to test the engine and hesitant to pursue repairs on a car that isn't worth much.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1paying diagnostic fees to mechanics
- 2cleaning camshaft position sensors and solenoids
- 3using a radiator filler funnel to check for bubbles
- 4Checking for milky or frothy oil from the oil cap or dipstick
- 5Looking for white smoke from the exhaust that smells sweet
- 6Trying to top up the coolant
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.