Head gasket failure has several symptoms.
Increased Pressure in the cooling system.
- Causing fluid to blow past the cap on the expansion tank.
- Causing hoses to prematurely fail.
- Causing heater core to blow. The tank is plastic unless it's been repaired.
Coolant contains hydrocarbons and can be detected from a hydrocarbon test.
- Coolant smells vaguely like exhaust.
- Bubbles may be evident when watching inside coolant tank.
And then it blows and you have coolant in the oil.
- evident as foam on the oil dip stick
- or residue on the oil fill cap.
Did I miss any? Over embellish?
