Possible head gasket leak.. 05

[martinbril]

Hey guys,

So my truck has been losing tiny amounts of coolant since I bought it.
The first time I checked the coolant reservoir, there was only a couple drips in it. I had the slushing sound behind the dash on startup.
I spotted what could be a radiator leak on the driver side bottom corner (apparently common on these). So haven't thought a thing of it since I wasn't losing much. I got a new radiator with hoses that I'm planning to put in.
A few days ago I talked to a buddy of mine about the strange smell I've been getting from the exhaust on startup. This has been going on since I bought it as well, about 13k miles ago last Feb. I'm at 153k right now, which seems to correspond with most head gasket failure for those infamous 03-05 models.
The smell was strong and sweet, disappearing after 30 seconds or so.
He suspected head gasket right away.
So now I'm going from a simple radiator leak to a potential expensive head gasket replacement. I'm not mechanically inclined, so won't be able to do it myself if it is the case.
I've done a block test which came out negative, but I've also heard it's not always accurate depending on how it is leaking.
My oil looks great, no rough start or misfire. I would have never known there was something wrong if not for the smell on startup.

I'm going in on Thursday to get a compression test done and hopefully get a final verdict.

I was just wondering if anybody has been dealing with a similar problem and if it indeed ended up being a leaky gasket.

 

[mijbr90190]

Mine had a little rumble on cold starts for about 15s. Barely noticeable. The way I found out was by filling the coolant in the radiator and overflow. Drove it around for a while then came back home and popped the hood. You could here bubbling after I shut it off. I pulled the overflow cap and saw bubbles coming out and a faint exhaust smell. When I turned the truck on the bubbling became steady and increased with rpms. The guys I bought it from scoped the cylinders after letting it cool down and that's when they found the coolant. Very small details that when caught early can prevent catastrophic failure, I.e warped block and/or heads.

 

[CookieRoe]

Mine had a little rumble on cold starts for about 15s. Barely noticeable. The way I found out was by filling the coolant in the radiator and overflow. Drove it around for a while then came back home and popped the hood. You could here bubbling after I shut it off. I pulled the overflow cap and saw bubbles coming out and a faint exhaust smell. When I turned the truck on the bubbling became steady and increased with rpms. The guys I bought it from scoped the cylinders after letting it cool down and that's when they found the coolant. Very small details that when caught early can prevent catastrophic failure, I.e warped block and/or heads.

So what did you do? Did the guys you bought it from fix the HG?

 

[mijbr90190]

So what did you do? Did the guys you bought it from fix the HG?

Luckily they fixed it. I caught it the week after purchasing it. Small mom and pop used car lot/auto garage. It was like 2700 in work which included resurfacing both heads. It was at 139k miles.

 

[Trent]

These posts make me nervous. Does anyone have an early 1GR with 250,000 miles? Please answer, I hear of the failures but just wondering if they all fail?

I have an 04 with 141,000 miles. It’s holding so far. Using OEM coolant, new radiator and hoses, new thermostat. If mine starts to seep, I HATE to say it, but I may consider a “stop leak” option. There’s a couple YouTube videos on some products, they are making interesting claims and they appear to not Be paid advertisers. Skip to the 4:30 mark in the video- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nban6dVkYGM&app=desktop

Yes I said it and yes I’m capable of doing the head gasket job, or paying to have it done. It just doesn’t make good economic sense, if a $100 bottle of some proven remedy would give me another 100,000 miles.

Trent

 

[CookieRoe]

if a $100 bottle of some proven remedy would give me another 100,000 miles.

Trent

From what I've read over the years, it won't. It may buy you a few months.

Makes me nervous too. However, $2700 (or similar) to have it fixed is still better than another car of that amount. These rigs are capable of going 300-400K miles.

 

[gaber6]

I had to fix mine at 155k. 2005v6.
Very similar symptoms. Check that the tube in the overflow is going from the lid to the bottom of the tank. If not, the fluid spills out when driving and won't suck back into the radiator when cool. Mine fell off after my HG repair and I thought I had bigger problems.

 

[martinbril]

Tube in overflow looks fine.
This thing is really puzzling me so far. Won't be able to get a compression test before tomorrow.
I have been wondering if there isn't something else. Maybe an intake manifold gasket leak that would end up dumping a little bit of coolant at startup.
Much cheaper repair, so maybe overlooked by mechanics who are in for the money..