leaking head gasket, which side?

[Docfranco]

Hi All
I have found that the PO who sold me the engine lied on several accounts. So, i am now trying to clean up the mess...I am going to be changing out the IP, as i have already done the remote mount FSD and keep getting the 1216 and 0251 codes.Stalling ect... My other more troublesome problem is i am convinced i have a head gasket problem. My symptoms are noticed when the radiator cap blows fluid when the guage is reading only 180 and i found black soot under the radiator cap. I read here to try and find which side is leaking by taking off the crossover tube and run the engine without the belt to see which side bubbles on the heads...nothing..the passenger side flowed some water out but no bubbles, did not want to run it very much with out the water pump. I do not yet have a compression tester & hate to buy it for the one time use...but may have to. Anyone have any ideas to tell which side may be my problem?
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[DmaxMaverick]

Since you already have the cross over off, it is simple.

Use an old glow plug, break off the glow end and hollow it out. Braise an air hose fitting to the former spade connector side. If you don't have the means to do this, a local welding shop can help you out for a couple bux. Use this adapter to apply shop air to the cylinder (make sure both valves are closed). If you have a blown head gasket, the air will find its way out, and you will know which cylinder, and where it is blown. This is also good for testing blowby and leaky valves. With air supply off to the cylinder, run compressor up to cutoff, or a specific pressure, then turn off the compressor. Open the supply to the cylinder and time the leak down to a given pressure. A faster leak down indicates a more leaky cylinder. During the test, the piston may try to rotate the engine. This can skew the test, as at BDC, there is valve overlap. Before applying the air, lock the crank in place by holding it with a breaker bar/socket on the balancer nut, or other suitable means. The force won't be that great, but watch your knuckles.

[twaddle]

Hi Docfranco,
The easiest way and quickest,, with the cross over piece off disconnect the fan and water pump drive belt.

Make sure that the coolant level is as high in the head as it can be.

Fire up the engine, the leaking gases should appear as bubbles at the water port on the defective side.

When refitting the head I would recommend that you tap/clean out all the bolt hole threads as well.

Good luck

Jim Twaddle
Biggar, Scotland