Please help. I am stumped

Thanks for your help. I think I have a bad head gasket. After I burped the system I am now getting water leaking from my mufflers:(. Not sure what to do as funds are not available right now for a new engine, and I heard replacing a head gasket on these is a waste
 
Condensation in the exhaust is common, don't assume the worst.
as I posted earlier get your coolant checked for Carbon monoxide.
 
ford nut said:
Go to O'reilly.s and use the Cooling System And Pressure Tester... it's free to rent, also get the cap adapter for the over flow tank.
Pressurize the system to 16lbs and watch it, it took a hour for my slow leak to show up.....lower radiator hose.
I believe most box stores have them free to rent, just make sure to get the adapter set so it will fit on the overflow tank.

Amazon.com: Stant 12270 30 Pound Cooling System And Pressure Cap Tester: Automotive

http://www.toolsource.com/radiator-...08I_4wK8CFQYZQgodQngCyg&sourceid=googleps
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I can tell you right now - my system holds pressure for DAYS. I went out yesterday and opened the reservoir cap and it hissed out pressure. Car hasn't been run in over a week.

If your cooling system holds pressure like that - it ain't leaking.
 
Is puddles normal? When I start the car I am having a drip coming from both mufflers. I never saw this before I burped the system. There was a decent amount of air in the system when I did this.
 
markviii96 said:
Is puddles normal? When I start the car I am having a drip coming from both mufflers. I never saw this before I burped the system. There was a decent amount of air in the system when I did this.
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That sounds like EXCESS moisture (like a problem)...

This may sound gross, but if you have anti-freeze in your cooling system, wipe your finger through the puddle and see if it tastes sweet.

If it does, it's anti-freeze, if it doesn't - may just be a lot of moisture.
 
markviii96 said:
Thanks for your help. I think I have a bad head gasket. After I burped the system I am now getting water leaking from my mufflers:(. Not sure what to do as funds are not available right now for a new engine, and I heard replacing a head gasket on these is a waste
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Quit worrying lol, like ford nut said, it's common.I can go crank mine right now and my mufflers will also leak a little water Let me show you something. The first pic is of my car after it had been ran for maybe 20 seconds.

Next pic is after it has ran for about 5 minutes. Look on the concrete under my drivers side muffler.

LoweredRightRear.jpg


This is perfectly normal.

NormalHeight-2.jpg
 
NoLimit95 said:
Quit worrying lol, like ford nut said, it's common.I can go crank mine right now and my mufflers will also leak a little water Let me show you something. The first pic is of my car after it had been ran for maybe 20 seconds.
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HA, ya I am worrying a little bit. Its in my blood to worry about my cars :p
 
markviii96 said:
HA, ya I am worrying a little bit. Its in my blood to worry about my cars :p
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See this? Normal! Mine does this, my 94 done it and the 93 done it. All with stock mufflers. I chopped the mufflers on the 94and this stopped. Our mufflers hold more moisture than they should and this is why they are rusted up next to the front of them.

attachment.jpg
 
Thanks. That make me breath a little easier. I guess I was just worried because this car is very fun to drive, and I didn't want it out of commission.
 
I have not seen it mentioned, but you might have a slow water pump leak. Very common and very easy to replace. If it continues to leak slowly, I would swap it out.
 
markviii96 said:
Thanks. That make me breath a little easier. I guess I was just worried because this car is very fun to drive, and I didn't want it out of commission.
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No, you're fine with what you have there. You'll see this a lot in the winter too, "as long as you have those stock mufflers"

The only reason you don't see a puddle under my right side is because I didn't let it run long enough and plus, it had more of a lean in the other direction. If I had let it set there for another 5 min, I would have had two puddles under the rear. I never loose coolant and neither were you. Yours was getting mixed up with air in the system(making it look lost) and you now have that out.

What kind of oil are you running in it? What kind of plugs are in it?
 
I am unsure of the plugs as I haven't changed them out yet, and I am running full synthetic oil in her because of the high miles. I also only run premium fuel and have ran 2 ithink, maybe 3 cans of seafoam through the tank.

Also this car will probably be put away for most of the winter as we have a ford explorer to replace it with on bad days.
 
NetKeym said:
I can tell you right now - my system holds pressure for DAYS. I went out yesterday and opened the reservoir cap and it hissed out pressure. Car hasn't been run in over a week.

If your cooling system holds pressure like that - it ain't leaking.
Click to expand...

Mine also held pressure, but still had a leak.
There is only one way to know for sure...use the tool.
 
markviii96 said:
I am unsure of the plugs as I haven't changed them out yet, and I am running full synthetic oil in her because of the high miles. I also only run premium fuel and have ran 2 ithink, maybe 3 cans of seafoam through the tank.

Also this car will probably be put away for most of the winter as we have a ford explorer to replace it with on bad days.
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Ok, slow down on the seafoam lol. Keep running that 93 through it and I would say you got yourself a good deal. If I were you, I would try to find another VCRM for a 96 for "just in case purposes" because they are hard to find and if it ever goes out, you're stuck. It's mounted up in front, opposite side of the horns I believe and it just looks like a box with heat sinks in it. Someone on here had one they were selling I thought but it would be a good thing for you to have as a back up. That and the computer will only run for 1996, unlike 93-95. The 1996 is all on it's own with those two pieces that I know of. They can be hard to find.
 
ford nut said:
Mine also held pressure, but still had a leak.
There is only one way to know for sure...use the tool.
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Kirk, I found something for you on CL yesterday. I'll have to look for it again but if I find it, I'll PM you the link. You might want it and you might not. btw, quit abusing, I mean using "the tool" :p
 
Ya, the only reason i ran so much seafoam in it was because it sat for a year without being drove at all. So i put it in my 1st 2 tanks just to make sure the gas was fine. I know a bit overkill
 
NoLimit95 said:
Ok, slow down on the seafoam lol. Keep running that 93 through it and I would say you got yourself a good deal. If I were you, I would try to find another VCRM for a 96 for "just in case purposes" because they are hard to find and if it ever goes out, you're stuck. It's mounted up in front, opposite side of the horns I believe and it just looks like a box with heat sinks in it. Someone on here had one they were selling I thought but it would be a good thing for you to have as a back up. That and the computer will only run for 1996, unlike 93-95. The 1996 is all on it's own with those two pieces that I know of. They can be hard to find.
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+1000000000 on the VRCM. Mine crapped out on my old '96 and she sat for over a month until I could find a good one that I could afford. They're scarce and expensive. If you can find one (or even 2 or 3) get it and put it up for a rainy day.
 
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