OCD head gasket protocol

[Mr.Lin]

I have a vehicle that has a blown head gasket. In the past (from what I’ve seen guys dye coming up (I’m older) I drained coolant, drained oil. Put a gallon of wd40 in along with 2 quarts of 20/50, cranked, let idle 10 min then shut down fir storage until I address the problem..
In the past I’ve seen guys do this on their higher end builds instead of letting things sit contaminated then requiring full disassemblyWith this method, I’ve seen them do this, drain when they fix, fill with light oil, then change to their preference and go on their merry way…
Just a random thought/topic.
(Long time reader/new member)
Cheers..!

 

[Mr.Lin]

 

[Mr.Lin]

 

[Mr.Lin]

(Results of my described method)
Have a few more cores treated awaiting disassembly as we speak…
(Just in case anyone wondered)

 

[Mr.Lin]

(This was a 150k pt cruiser turbo that had blown head gasket)

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

View attachment 188829

Roloc or Scotchbrite will clean that right up. @Astro14 can provide some tips and suggestions.

 

[Bottom_Feeder]

(Results of my described method)

Unless you have before pics, then 'results' pics don't mean much.

 

[Mr.Lin]

Unless you have before pics, then 'results' pics don't mean much.

Ok.
I’m sorry I didn’t disassemble my project to take pics of my blown head gasket, mud infested engine and then put it back together to actually use the method.
I’m personally happy with the outcome tho.

 

[Graham Piccinini]

Garage 54 on YouTube did a "test" once, just for "Let's see what happens" purposes. They had an engine where oil was mixing with coolant, due to head gasket. So they filled both the crankcase and the cooling system with motor oil. And it ran and cooled just fine. Obviously it's not a long term solution. But if a head gasket blows between oil/coolant passages - that could be a bandaid solution to keep the car drivable, without wiping out the bearings with coolant. Just to get the car to a shop, or finish a long road trip, or take it to the junkyard.... Unorthodox concept, but it works to some extend.

 

[Mr.Lin]

Roloc or Scotchbrite will clean that right up. @Astro14 can provide some tips and suggestions.

Distilled vinegar and a synthetic dish rag worked wonders. Just dab and rub.. (then wipe & spray)

 

[kschachn]

Ok.
I’m sorry I didn’t disassemble my project to take pics of my blown head gasket, mud infested engine and then put it back together to actually use the method.
I’m personally happy with the outcome tho.

Which, if you were honest means that you have no idea whether or not your method did anything at all.

 

[Mr.Lin]

Which, if you were honest means that you have no idea whether or not your method did anything at all.

lol, if u want to think so, that’s cool..
My experience tells me otherwise,
but,
I was just putting my follow up out there in case anyone was curious/interested….
(No guarantees or warranties expressed or implied…lol)
Enjoy your day…!

 

[JohnnyG]

Garage 54 on YouTube did a "test" once, just for "Let's see what happens" purposes. They had an engine where oil was mixing with coolant, due to head gasket. So they filled both the crankcase and the cooling system with motor oil. And it ran and cooled just fine. Obviously it's not a long term solution. But if a head gasket blows between oil/coolant passages - that could be a bandaid solution to keep the car drivable, without wiping out the bearings with coolant. Just to get the car to a shop, or finish a long road trip, or take it to the junkyard.... Unorthodox concept, but it works to some extend.

Monsanto also makes a special "Heat Transfer Oil" that is used in hot oil boilers. It is heat stable over 500 degrees F.
It transfers heat just fine and has low flammability. It's not used in cars though, most likely due to environmental concerns, both in use, and in accidents.

 

[emmett442]

Wow. OCD is right.

If I really wanted to give an engine the best chance during LONG term storage, I would:

-Leave cooling system full.
-pull valve covers
-disconnect rockers to close all valves
-Replace valve covers
-remove spark plugs
-fog cylinders
-replace plugs
-walk away


Realistically, I'd simply park the vehicle and get to the job in a timely manner where this isn't an issue.

 

[nthach]

If I had to deal with a BHG on a personal car and did the work, the cooling system would get a through bath with Cascade or similar(don’t need the super-duper phosphated version, just a pod or two for every 2.5 gallons of coolant capacity) and every hose that’s swollen is replaced. Seafoam in the oil, since water has an affinity for alcohol(IsoOH).

 

[Mr.Lin]

If I had to deal with a BHG on a personal car and did the work, the cooling system would get a through bath with Cascade or similar(don’t need the super-duper phosphated version, just a pod or two for every 2.5 gallons of coolant capacity) and every hose that’s swollen is replaced. Seafoam in the oil, since water has an affinity for alcohol(IsoOH).

(Agree on that as well..)

 

[Mr.Lin]

Wow. OCD is right.

If I really wanted to give an engine the best chance during LONG term storage, I would:

-Leave cooling system full.
-pull valve covers
-disconnect rockers to close all valves
-Replace valve covers
-remove spark plugs
-fog cylinders
-replace plugs
-walk away


Realistically, I'd simply park the vehicle and get to the job in a timely manner where this isn't an issue.

All good steps (done I’ve done in the past)
I’m luckily Getting it done quicker than I had expected..
I’ve just never liked the idea of internals having been wet and sitting for any amount of time..
I mean, flash rush is bad enough, but I let life get in the way of a build and it will be a year+ before u know it…(how it works for me anyway.. lol)

I think more than my hopes for what it would prevent while bring stored, the level of cleaning it seems to have provided is the most impressive part..(to me anyway)

Tear downs are generally dirty enough on well maintained engines, much less abused or those with failure…

I have a couple more projects that I’m about to hi thru/build and will be employing this same procedure on them as well…

Just posting about it as I thought it might be of Interest/thought it was cool…

Hope everyone has a great upcoming Holiday season…!

 

[dumkid]

The only problem I can see is the long idle time, I'll only run an engine 5 minutes without coolant