Head or head gasket ?

[bobafatass]

Doe's anyone know if there is a sure fire way of telling if the head has gone of if the gasket is mullerd ?
The reason I ask is because I've seen a truck that's very very cheap.
There is some white smoke from the rear but it's not that bad.
It's cheap enough to do either and still have a very cheap truck, but I don't want the hassle of getting the head done.It's even cheap enough to buy as a breaker.

Andy.

[BUSHWHACKER]

Have you unscrewed the oil filler cap and had a look for the mayonaise/milky residue, normally a sign of head gsket failure.

[marky]

Head Gaskets dont seam to go Just The HEADS.

[bobafatass]

Have you unscrewed the oil filler cap and had a look for the mayonaise/milky residue, normally a sign of head gsket failure.

Yeah I had a look at the oil filler cap, nothing there, clean as a whistle , no sign of anything.

Andy.

[marky]

You need to take it for a good run on the Motorway to get it really warmed up then turn it off & see if water starts coming from the expansion bottle.
Ensure water in the rad is full first though.

[da SLUG man]

buy a pressure testing kit and take it with you when looking at the car... could save money in the long run

[Koi]

not 100% sure way but pretty good is to
from a cold engine start engine and take off rad cap, if the coolant flows out then its being pressurised and could point ot head.
Also if you have a mate whos a mechanic, whilst on a test drive stop at his garage and put the exhaust emissions kit near the coolant and see if it detects any emissions in the coolant.

[JimSuperSix]

not 100% sure way but pretty good is to
from a cold engine start engine and take off rad cap, if the coolant flows out then its being pressurised and could point ot head.
Also if you have a mate whos a mechanic, whilst on a test drive stop at his garage and put the exhaust emissions kit near the coolant and see if it detects any emissions in the coolant.

No mayo in the oil on my Surf, but the head was shot. Take it for a nice uphill run when it's hot, then stop and wait for the flood of coolant out of the overflow pipe on the expansion bottle.

Alternatively, just assume that the head WILL be shot unless they have evidence of the new style head having been fitted, and budget for a new one at some point... Mine cost about £800 from Stevo, and we fitted it ourselves, and (touching lots of wood here) we have had few problems putting it back together so far. Not started it yet...but hey ho...fingers, toes etc.. crossed...