Blown Head Gasket or Cracked Block

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prostreet68

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OK...I need some instructions please.
My daughter came home with her 225 /6 64 Dart yesterday with it not running very well. When they left the house...it was running just fine. When we bought the car...we found the points had came loose causing it to run about the same as what it was doing yesterday. I checked the points yesterday and the points were just fine. Pulled the radiator cap off and found oil in the cooling system. Check the oil and it was right where it was before they left.
Pulled the plugs and they didnt look contaminated.
How would I check to see if its a blown head gasket of a cracked block? I dont want to just start pulling it apart and find it wasnt either one...

Thanks
Rick
 
I guess if you don't have a pressure tester handy you could try a coolant flush first, and see if oil show's up again.
How long have you owned the car, It could have been there before and is just showing up now in the cooling system
 
It could have been there before and I didnt notice it. One thing I did notice is that the oil in the radiator is real dark but the oil in the crankcase looks nice and clean. It looks like it was just changed. I didnt see any water spots on the dip stick...

Rick
 
Found something strange... I find old looking dark oil in the top of the radiator and when I pull the coolant flush cap off...I get pretty green clean coolant!
I have seen this before on engines that have had blown head gaskets and once they were replaced...the cooling system still needed flushing!

Rick
 
Could be, or the radiator was changed out and it was there to begin with.
I hope all works out for you prostreet68
 
Me too....

You getting all settled in now... Didnt you just move to Arkansas not too long ago??

Rick
 
drop the lower hose and flush it out 4 or 5 times and refill with water only.
drive and check it
this will tell the story
 
Planning on doing that with liquid dishwasher soap. I have used it on a Cummins diesel when it blew the gasket. I also used a water hose connected to our hot water heater.
I made a T so that as hot water ran it would pull the soap out of a container. It took a few times but it cleaned right up...

Rick
 
cool, poor man's pressure tester:
1 bike tire tube
1 hose clamp big enough to go around the filler neck
1 pressurized air source
1 tire pressure gage

~cut the tube at the center opposite the valve
~seal one end shut...fold the end of the tube like a flag and clamp it
~attach the other end to the filler neck with a hose clamp
~pressurize to 20 psi and check for leaks
~if no leaks are evident, recheck the pressure every 10 minutes and see if you are losing pressure
 
Blown head gasket or warped heads is easy to find these days on newer vehicles with a anti-freeze return or overflow container...if you see bubbles blowing back in the water then you have exhaust gas's entering your cooling system...
 
Did the coolant pressure test and it held pressure! I havent started it yet until I replace the valve cover gasket. When I pull the cover off the gasket was in need of replacing.
Had to order it from a local parts store...

Rick
 
OK...got the valve cover gasket on and everything hooked back up. It was time to see if the points replacement would cure the idle issue. Well it didnt! The pressure test come in good... It still sounds like a miss....
Any more suggestions please.
 
Is it an automatic?

Could it be transmission fluid in the coolant?

Maybe the transmission cooler is leaking inside the radiator.
 
Check your rotor, cap, wires and plugs. It doesn't take much for something to be amiss (pun intended) here. You also might want to pull the distributor and take a real long hard look at the lobes. One might be worn. Still not running right -- you might do a compression check. As long as you had the valve cover off did you check valve lash?? You might have a sunken exhaust valve from running unleaded.
 
It is an automatic trans but has a seperate cooler out front.

I did a compression test when we first got the car and all cylinders were right up where the book says they should be.
I will do a complete turn up just to see if that does it.
It seems strange that it was running great before they left and when it comes back...the idle is nasty...

thank you

rick
 
Will double check that too... I thought I had run the hose but maybe not...
 
Checked the vacuum lines this morning and also did a compression check. This is a 74 225 motor so I used that to refer. what the book says that each cylinder should be. Each cylinder was within 2 lbs of each other. The compression was in and around 120lbs on each one. This has not changed from when I tested it when we got the car.
Would a bad condensor cause this kind of idle issue?

Thank you
Rick
 
No...they are a little brown but ...all 6 look the same. No oil or signs of coolant on any of them...
 
pull the dizzy and check the gear...I don't know what years got what but some were nylon and wear out
 
I remember something that happened when we first got the car. I reached down to turn the dist. and it bit me. Never touched coil wire or anything else. I had my hands on the base and lower part of the cap..
Any ideas.....
 
yup, check everything...lol

that juice came from somewhere and it was easier (path of least resistance) to go through you than where it should have gone...I would guess wires


I recommend a dark evening, a spray bottle of water and a lil light show!

If you power brake it it should break up a bit if the wires are bad
 
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