Hey guys..my 95 d16z6 has 270k with everything stock and plenty of paperwork, but nothing on head gasket-related fixes. My resevoir level doesnt change and likewise with the cold rad...why do I still smell alittle coolant, or something sweet from the exhaust? Am I paranoid or does this stench have some merit considering there may be no mechanical issues before an actual leaky head-gasket? (Thanks for your Honda-wisdom..I love this place)

 

ive never smelt sweet coolant............or exhuast fumes........can i borrow your exhuast?

 

hahaha its got "tru-quiet" stamped on the bottom....Im sure it'd do better as a place to test a hammer on...but seriously..Ive always been told if you can smell something sweet coming from the pipe, its usually coolant leaking somewhere in the combustion chamber..it could be the next Mythbuster episode tho. Im at a standstill. Ill keep checking the overflow and radiator level I guess..until I can do a leakdown and test the coolant for combustion particles.

 

Oh ya, and when I backed up the car yesterday, I could smell coolant (had the windows/roof all open) but there isnt anything wet under the car or in the bay..?

 

go to a parts store and buy or borrow a radiator comp. tester throw it on, pump it up (jack up the car )and check for leaks if you cant find any .....stop snorting pixi sticks the sweet smell will go away lol

 

cute, but that won't rule out headgasket.

a better test to do would be a leakdown test. if you pressurize the cylinders and you find air bubbles coming out of the radiator then you'll have your answer.

 

this is what i am talking about. that is the only way you can tell for sure if its a head gasket or something eles. Air bubbles in radiator = head gasket, Air coming from the exhaust = Exhaust valve not seating right, Air coming from thottle body = Intake valve not seating right, Air coming from the dipstick hole = piston rings. but remember that honda does have a spec for the leakdown test. on every motor you should see 5-15% leakdown anything more should be a performace problem.

 

this

 

BUMP

 

bump. I wanna see more responses on this. I mean Im still smelling some fumes when I back up. I need a valve adj but it doesnt smell like fuel. Im still lost lol