Cracked Head? What do you think?

2001 39,500 miles

had some overheating probs this summer. nothing bad. noticed in late may while sitting in parking lot at work smoking a cigarette at break time with car running and A/C on that car would almost overheat in 15 mins. this is 1st year no workplace smoking laws in effect here. it sucks. it never got that hot while driving. i attributed it to the 90 degree weather. noticed again while in traffic after the F1 race in june. hot day air conditioning on and stopped and stopped more traffic. it concerned me some but but didn't happen again. i went from indy to DC and virginia coast and back in early july. no problems. took car in for oil change tonight and told dealer about overheating and to look into it. guy said they took off radiator cap and it was bubbling, which he said was a sign of a blown head gasket or a cracked head. he said i'd be fine thru the winter but next year could be real bad.

what do you think? fix it now or fix it later? and does this sound correct?

Check the oil for water - it will be gray. Bubbling could be head gasket or even a problem with a leaking coolant line. What does the coolant look like? When was the last time (if ever) that it was flushed and changed? I've got an extra set of heads if they are cracked. Have someone perform a compression test on each cylinder. If it is cracked/leaking you'll want to address it as soon as possible.

As Tone mentioned could likely be head gasket, as if someone looked at it and there was oil in the water it would be pretty obvious (looks like creamered coffee). Most shops have "sniffers" that can detect exhaust gasses in the coolant, providing a positive ID of your issue. They can also perform a leak-down test which is also simple and inexpensive (you can do it yourself even for less than $50) providing additional info.

http://www.eastwoodco.com/images/us/...etail/p745.jpg

You should take a look at your fan thermo-clutch to make sure it's activating properly as well, since you need to address the cause of the overheating or else any repairs will be moot.

Hope that helps, keep us informed of your progress! ;)

A member on the site once had his radiator caked in mud and that caused it to overheat quickly... Paul in Moab, Tone helped take the radiator out and clean it.. and the reinstall, fixed the problem

I've gone to the H quickly in 90 degree weather in the sun just sitting with the air on (went into the store with, left the dog in the A/c) it was close.. got out there just in time to drive and drop the temp... have to be moving for the car to cool itself.

Just some thoughts

thanks guys

i'm going to take it back in next week and have them look into it deeper with your suggestions. but sounds like its at least a head gasket.

I meant to mention that but also, if a car is overheating and or low on coolant it is going to bubble as well. Did you at least look at the oil and coolant to see their color? We give you these suggestions to better help you determine the real cause of the problem but if don't give us any feedback, it is a waste of our time. :(

Quote:

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Originally Posted by driver3

A member on the site once had his radiator caked in mud and that caused it to overheat quickly.

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Ah, good suggestion! We had a similar issue here after an Ocala Forest meet and several had mud packed in between the radiator and evaporator, which you'd never see unless you lifted the rubber flap that covers the gap between the two. Of course, unless you've been wheeling there shouldn't be anything in there but in never hurts to check. ;)

i called dealership and they said the oil had looked fine. and the coolant looked fine. mud on radiator not a prob.

i mean with the weather being cooler now it doesn't overheat at all.