Head gasket leak?

[Cooter143]

I noticed while mowing this fall that my radiator fluid (8n side mount 6-volt) was bubbling up into a froth. I"ve let it sit until now but just took it for a little drive, it didn"t bubble over but it is still frothy. (I think it was also overfilled before.) What would most likely be the cause, and is this something I need to fix now? I"d rather wait unless it could cause damage elsewhere. Thanks.
 

[souNdguy]

adjust the level so it is not overfull.. then re check.

any water inthe oil?

any oily sheen in the water?

post back
 

[Cooter143]

The coolant is down to about the right level, and no water in oil. Radiator fluid looks clean, if there is any oil in it I can't see it.
 

[pconnie]

check for trash in rad. fins ..blow it out from engine side..phil
 

[souNdguy]

if you thing there is a combustion chamber leak.. do a leakdown test and a compression test.
 

[Jimps]

I had a head gasket leak or so I thought until I investigated further. Here are links to 3 videos I posted on my problem and the eventual fix. Simple test first, look for combustion gases in the radiator neck. Warm up the engine good (about 10-15 minutes) and look down in the radiator neck for bubbles. That is compression gases entering the cooling system. That is symptomatic of a blown head gasket, warped head or crack in either the head or block. Mine was a cracked AND warped head with a sprinkling of rotted bolt holes. I didn't have froth, merely bubbling. But that doesn't mean that froth isn't indicative of a leak.

Part 1:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11rK9PdWnEQ

Part 2:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBoSDb9QyNY

Part 3:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUc8DAJxv94

Hope this helps,

Jimps in GA.
 

[Dell (WA)]

cooter........FIRST thing you do is do the dreaded compression test....NO ARGUE!!!.... Ford specs: 90psi min (dry). Surprizingly enuff, a compression test will also locate a BLOWN head gasket cylinder. NO need for leak down test. Compression gauges are cheap, leak down tests are complicated and take special external pressure source.

The ONLY time the cylinder head gasket leaks is when the cylinder gas pressure exceeds the 4psi pressure of the radiator. Wannna guess when that is???

Bottom line, yer NOT gonnna muck-up yer engine iff'n you don't change the head gasket right away. .......Dell
 

[ZANE]

Quit looking in the radiator and run it.

Zane
 

[Cooter143]

Ok, thanks to all. I'll pull it in the garage this winter test the compression but until then I'll just ignore it. Mostly I didn't want to make a small problem worse. Thanks.