Rock damage is covered by my insurance
Rock damage is covered by my insurance
A head gasket can have a slight leak without being blown. One thing I do to quickly check for a leaking (not blown) head gasket is taste the condensation in the exhaust pipe when the engine is running.
If it tastes slightly sweet then there may be a problem. If it just tastes like slightly 'exhausty' tap water, then the leak is somewhere else.
It is important to keep in mind that a very small external leak on the engine itself may not show up as a spot on your driveway, as the heat from the engine will evaporate the water long before it has a chance to trickle down to the ground. It will appear simply as a damp spot, or you will only see the crusty residue of the antifreeze.
Holy smokes this is great. You just opened a door I never knew existed.
This reminds me of some other advice I got years ago: If you pick up a skunk by it's tail it can't spray you.
Still haven't tested the theory. I haven't found out and hopefully never will.
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View my fuel log 2015 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 49.6 mpg (US) ... 21.1 km/L ... 4.7 L/100 km ... 59.5 mpg (Imp)
A mechanic will often call this a 'pinhole leak'...because that is exactly what it is. A head gasket leak which is roughly the size of a pinhole...literally. The car appears to run fine, but uses a small amount of coolant. There isn't enough coolant getting into the combustion chamber to cause a misfire, and not enough pressure is being drawn off the cooling system to cause overheating. On some newer OBDII cars these kinds of leaks can trigger fault codes related to the oxygen sensors, as the burning coolant can contaminate them and cause false readings.
Dirk Diggler (11-13-2019)
Yeah I think its a pinhole leak somewhere on the radiator. I filled the coolant tank 1/2 way and it took like 10 days to drain off. This is a brand new engine, cant be a headgasket I pray!
Zero, 2014 ES Plus 5MT, written off but not forgotten.
Zero II, 2014 SE, 5MT, climate She's HOME now!
Shelby AKA "Cute", 2017 ES 5MT, A/C.
Mirage owners look at the world differently than everyone else, but in a better way
We're driving the Beetle of the 21st century, the greatest small car now available!
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View my fuel log 2017 Mirage ES PLus 1.2 manual: 39.0 mpg (US) ... 16.6 km/L ... 6.0 L/100 km ... 46.8 mpg (Imp)
And I have no plans to start tasting exhaust.
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View my fuel log 2015 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 49.6 mpg (US) ... 21.1 km/L ... 4.7 L/100 km ... 59.5 mpg (Imp)
Dirk Diggler (11-13-2019),Eggman (11-13-2019),poorman1 (11-14-2019)
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View my fuel log 2015 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 49.6 mpg (US) ... 21.1 km/L ... 4.7 L/100 km ... 59.5 mpg (Imp)
Here's a nice video on testing for blown head gasket.
https://youtu.be/yfMKvWGQRAA
Dirk Diggler (11-13-2019)