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Howdy all, I’m in the process of putting in a new radiator, water pump, thermostat. I am wondering though how to do the head gasket, and if anyone has experience with this job. It’s for a 2004 Ford Ranger 3.0L XLT. I’ve searched all over the web, and have not really got a clear enough picture on what/ how to go about it. Any info is greatly appreciated!
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unless there is a visable leak, or coolant getting into the engine,there would be no benefit to changing the head gasket. at the very least, I would perform a combustion test on the cooling system. before changing it. a tester with the proper chemicals to test with may cost twenty bucks or so. however it would be money well spent before i would change a head gasket.
Thanks for the replies, I guess I’ll just stay away from it. I’m assuming its leaking, but that assumption is only based on the ever growing white smoke out the tail pipe. I guess I’ll try to hit it with the blue devil. I’m not one for using deal rants and what not, but the blue devil, well it seems to be a pretty sure thing. Thanks again everyone!
[quote=”Alfred2189″ post=54700]Thanks for the replies, I guess I’ll just stay away from it. I’m assuming its leaking, but that assumption is only based on the ever growing white smoke out the tail pipe. I guess I’ll try to hit it with the blue devil. I’m not one for using deal rants and what not, but the blue devil, well it seems to be a pretty sure thing. Thanks again everyone![/quote]
The only “sure thing” about blue devil is that it’s not a sure thing that it’ll work. I would NOT put anything in until you do more testing. While white smoke can indicate a blown head gasket it isn’t a for sure diagnoses. You need to do some tests to see if you actually have a blown gasket before throwing chemicals into your system that can cause more problems then good. A block test is a good test to see if you have a blown head gasket and doesn’t cost much. Also a leak down tester can help find a blown head gasket. Before putting any chemicals in do some more testing. If you do have a head gasket leak I would strongly suggest not using any fast fix including blue devil. Fix it right.
A block tester is an awesome way to check for a HG leak, but you can also use a compression tester. If you see that two adjacent cylinders are low in compression, then it’s very likely you have a busted HG. To verify that, you can perform a leak down test. If it’s the HG then you’ll hear bubbles coming from the radiator once you remove the cap. If you don’t have a leak down tester then you can remove the schrader valve from your compression tester and do the test that way.
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