How quick can the Head Gasket be compromised? - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

ah-kay · #1 05-03-2014, 12:12 AM

Latigo Canyon did my car in? We drove 'Light Blue' to the SoCal meet and went up Latigo Canyon, no problem. Spent a night in San Bernardino and returned home, a round trip of 400 miles. All was well. It is wife's DD. She took it to LA yesterday and all was well, round trip 250 miles.

Fast forwards to today. She went to work and on the way back, the temperature gauge shot to 120C about 5 miles from home. She stopped the car and called. I asked her to turn on the heat and blow air inside the cabin. It cooled down a bit but after restarting, it shot up to 120C again, the Aux Fan kicked in. I tried to rescue her and hard-wired the Aux Fan to on but could not drive the car more than 1 mile. Temperature hit the roof real quick. Long story short, I stopped, waited and started again with the Aux Fan on and managed to limp home.

Went out to the garage and started the car. Car temp is at ambient and the top radiator hose hardened within 1 minute. Remove the cap and see smoke/exhaust fume coming out from the expansion tank. It is obvious that the HG or head took a crap.

How could the HG went so quickly? 2 long trips this weeks without issues. Lucky that it did not happen in LA, need to thank my lucky stars. I hate doing HG !@#$%.

jt20 · #2 05-03-2014, 12:41 AM

'Quick' is a relative term.

'Quick' from the onset of symptoms? Or 'quick' since the last repair?

When was this head gasket installed?

Was the head resurfaced? If not, how flat was it?

If you gamble with items like a headgasket, it seems to be based on how many heat cycles it can endure before failure. - not a time based response.

When you do the head this time, make sure to inspect it properly, if you can't... then pay a shop and have it surfaced if the head is not compromised.

jt20 · #3 05-03-2014, 12:45 AM

simply put:

It can be a matter of minutes or less if the mating surfaces are not compressing the gasket properly and evenly.

Weak head bolts could also cause this.

ah-kay · #4 05-03-2014, 01:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jt20

simply put:

It can be a matter of minutes or less if the mating surfaces are not compressing the gasket properly and evenly.

Weak head bolts could also cause this.

I am ranting on why a car drove flawlessly for a week then suddenly the HG gave up. I have done about 10K miles on the car since I bought it. I think the HG had been replaced prior. The engine hook was missing and the hard line not tied down etc. But I did not do the HG. It may be a botch job but the car drove very well, no loss of coolant. So it is a big surprise that it craps out.

GregMN · #5 05-03-2014, 10:43 AM

In my experience, on a 603, about 10 minutes.

CarpeDiem51392 · #6 05-05-2014, 08:33 AM

Sorry to hear that, how hot was it out? Is it a #14? Mines still going strong with the original head and HG despite previous neglect. Green coolant, clogged cat, freewheeling fan clutch, aux switch inop, fan shroud broken. Of course it's 41deg out right now lol. If my head did crack I'd just replace it with another 14 in a heartbeat.

ah-kay · #7 09-15-2014, 03:05 PM

Managed to change the HG and button up everything. The car started fine and ran great but it still overheat in no time. So basically all my effort comed to nothing. So it was a crack head afterall, the infamous #14 head. The head probably was damaged by the previous owner but it was pushed over the edge somehow by the long climb up the canyon. Now what next? I decided to use snake oil. I poured a bottle of 'Blue Devel', the HG sealant, into the radiator and it seems to have done wonder. I followed the instructions to the letter, of course. I have used it before with good result and it seems that it sealed the cracked head. My theory is that the quicker the engine overheats, the better the sealant will work. The sealant is made of Sodium silicate or liquid glass but it turns into glass when it receives a gush of heat. The hot combustion gas seals the crack head with glass so to speak. I have done about 400 miles, mostly freeway at 75mph, on the car without overheating, while it couldn't even be driven for 1 mile in the past without reaching 120C. The top radiator hose is soft to touch every morning. So far so good. However, the proof is in the pudding. I will report back after 5K, if it gets that far. Stay tune.

Will change out the head in case it is a short-lived euphoria.

scottmcphee · #8 09-15-2014, 03:43 PM

Additives won't cure a cracked head.

The question is "how quick can you sell a car?"

Now is the time when unscrupulous sellers sell the car and claim to know nothing about any issues.

We could place wagers here... I say you can go 2K miles before euphoria gives out to cylinder pressures again.

Repeat this exercise, and you are coating the radiator passages and whole coolant system with internal coatings, and making the heat exchange less effective every step of they way. What was once a head-only issue will become a total engine write-off visa vis cooling system cloggage.

Get a new #14 head (cheap! I threw one out last week with a car) on it if you plan on keeping the car.

GregMN · #9 09-15-2014, 04:04 PM

I also tried the blue devil before changing the HG. Mine was a failed HG not a cracked head.
My understanding is that the product crystallizes on contact with air and heat.
I do not believe there will be any long term repercussions to the cooling system.
I received a refund because it did not work.
Take the time to look for a replacement head (with or without a car attached to it) at a reasonable price.

barry12345 · #10 09-15-2014, 04:55 PM

Water glass by any name can seal cracks better than failed head gaskets I believe. There is no way to estimate how long it will last though.

Some engines have never developed a similar problem again. It is in my opinion for engines not worth spending money on. I think the silica fuses to glas in the presence of combustion temperatures.

I would not trust a car going long distances with this fix myself. On the road issues are too expensive now to chance. It could easily cost you the car is one risk if it let go far from home. For the same reason I would try to locate a number 17 head or higher if a number 14 failed.. .

krwsenior · #11 09-15-2014, 05:15 PM

Also, make sure to disconnect your heater hoses first and loop or block them. It can plug up the heater core - don't ask me how I know.

ah-kay · #12 09-15-2014, 05:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by krwsenior

Also, make sure to disconnect your heater hoses first and loop or block them. It can plug up the heater core - don't ask me how I know.

I don't need to ask. You made a mistake. It wouldn't happen if you flush the anti freeze first.

The car is running and will report back.

ah-kay · #13 01-04-2015, 03:13 AM

Happy to report that the crack head had done 5k miles so far without issues. It is amazing on how well it works. Car was over-heating big time and cannot be driven for more than 1 mile. Now it can be driven for long distances, > 300 miles at times. I think 'water glass' would seal any crack #14 head if applied correctly. Will report back at 10K.