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Blown head gasket?

1475 Views 13 Replies 6 Participants Last post by  ShortySmalls
So i finally got around to seafoaming my 99 mustang today and when i was filling the vacuum line with the stuff, i noticed it was smoking alot around the front of the engine on the side with the oil fill (left side) i coun't exactly see where it was coming from, somewhere below the header i think, which would be the place where the head meets the block i would assume. Im not that mechanically inclined, but from what ive read about having my anti freeze get brown on me after only 3k miles i had it flushed when i bought the car, the oil still looks fine no milky look or anything. But if it is the head gasket how would i know for sure without having a mechanic charge me an arm and leg to check? about how much would it cost to get them replaced?
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You can do a compression test, all cylinders should be within about 10PSI of each other. If one is much lower than the rest then you probably have a bad gasket.

To have a mechanic replace a head gasket your probably looking at about $700, 95% of that is labor
yes ive known labor would be alot, cause ive seen the gasket itself go for like $30 new online all over.
To have a mechanic replace a head gasket your probably looking at about $700, 95% of that is labor


Performance Chips
nice job copy and pasting from the other guy's post above you
shorty, meet spambot. spambot, DIAF.
The single head gasket is cheap, but the rest of the gaskets needed to complete the job run for about $150(autozone).

You need to discribe your issue more clearly, also... I read your first post and it sounds like you've got white smoke coming out of the driver's side of the engine block? Is it still coming out? What year is your Mustang?
Oops, sorry. I see now that it is a 99.
I also had some smoke coming out of the driver side engine compartment when I sea foamed and didn't think anything of it... damn, looks like I should have!

[email protected], I think he just meant it was smoking when he used sea foam, at least that's what happened in my case, it is NOT smoking during normal use/driving.

[email protected] else talking about replacing a head gasket... Driver-side smoking during sea foaming DOES in fact sound like a bad gasket? Is there anything else it could be? How do we confirm besides a compression test and how much will that cost? If compression is all normal, can you rule out a bad gasket?

Thanks!
yes only smoke when using the sea foam, never notice any other smoke when im not seafoaming.
If you car doesn't feel like it's going to shake itself loose and explode under heavy acceleration, its head gaskets are likely very intact.

The seafoam smoke often comes out of the intake, which can be alarming at first, but it's perfectly normal. I guess it could work its way back into the engine bay... How much of the can did you use in the intake?

I'd say if it doesn't smoke after you're done, don't worry about it after you're done.
Ok, good - There is absolutely no shaking at all with heavy acceleration in my case at least. Ha, thanks for the help!
Ok, good - There is absolutely no shaking at all with heavy acceleration in my case at least. Ha, thanks for the help!
mine either woot :gringreen
ummm well something you should also consider, smoke from seafoam comes out the exhaust, maybe a bad manifold gasket? if you're having smoke come out from the head like that your car would have MAJOR problems...........
ummm well something you should also consider, smoke from seafoam comes out the exhaust, maybe a bad manifold gasket? if you're having smoke come out from the head like that your car would have MAJOR problems...........
ya it might have been the exhaust too... it was coming from down below the pipes though maybe the bottom half i couldn't see really where.
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