93 4runner head gasket how to tell if its blown

Hi there:
Pay attention. here is the most common symptoms a Blown Head Gasket are:
- Your car is overheating. You know it's not the Fan or Thermostat.
- White Smoke is coming out of the tail-pipe and it smells like Anti-Freeze being cooked.
- The car won't start:
* You have already verified it's not an Ignition System problem because you have Spark coming out at all of the Spark Plug Wires.
* You know it's not a Lack of Fuel, because you have verified that the Fuel Pump is delivering Fuel to the Fuel Injectors.
- The Engine Oil is thick and tan to off-white color.



Hope this helps.

The only way to know for sure is to pull the heads and check the head gaskets.
Oil in the cooling system or coolant in the crankcase is usually a sign of a gasket failure.

You can pull the oil dip stick and check to see if antifreeze has entered oil it will be muddy looking. Engine may run rough or sluggish, excessive white smoke out of the exhaust. Engine may overheat. These are commen signs of a blown head gasket. Hope this helps.

head gasket water getting into cylinders

The signs for a blown head gasket are:
1 - The car oveheats above 195F.
2 - The cooling system is loosing coolant, low coolant level.
3 - The coolant start boiling and owerfloing from the coolant bootle.
4 - Mixture of coolant in oil, or oil in coolant.
5 - White smoke from the tail pipe.
The diagnoses to reveal a blown gasket are.
1 - Radiator compression test. Can be done at any car reapair shop for $30.
2 - Static cylinder compression test. Can reveal at which cylinder is the blown gasket (pression low, or zero). This is very important at V6 or V8 engines.

you need to take it into a shop and have them locate either leaks or what it sounds like to me a blown head gasket , im sorry but there is little you can do other then to have someone look at it.

You can do a compression test on each cylinder, if one or two cylinders are lower than the others, that could be a sign of a blown head gasket. Also, do a pressure test on the cooling system to see if the cooling system holds pressure. Check your oil for anti-freeze, and vise-versa. Any white foam around the oil cap? Or oil around the radiator cap?

a cracked head or blown head gasket,will cause your vehicle to have a miss in the cylander where the crack is or where the gasket is blown. you can also see coolant leaking if the gasket is blown. you can also see water in the oil,and white smoke come from the exhaust.
to tell for sure that the head is cracked,and not just a blown gasket is to remove the head. you will instantly see if the gasket is blown. if its not,then turn the head upside down and look at the small space between the valves,as this is where 99% of cracks occur.

this sounds like a blown head gasket its poped across the oil way thats why water is in the oil best get it fixed fast as the water in the oil will wreck the engines bearings very fast,,,

Often (but not always), a blown head gasket will also cause deposit of water on a piece of cardboard held an inch from the tailpipe output while the engine is running (when this is happening, it is likely that the catalytic converter has been ruined and the muffler will corrode in short order as well).

Sometimes drops of water will be seen dropping from the end of the tailpipe. Another clue: turn on the heater; often when the head gasket is blown an odor of antifreeze and synthetic rubber will emanate from the heater vents.
Many of the symptoms of blown head gasket can be caused by some other problem in the cooling system, without the head gasket being damaged. Conversely, other problems with the cooling system can cause a blown head gasket and/or warped head.

When checking for a blown head gasket, one of the most common tell-tale signs is a milky-gray ring around your oil cap. When coolant enters the engine oil through a crack in the head or through a blown gasket, it evaporates and leaves a milky ring around the oil cap. Another easy way to tell is to check your oil dipstick. Change your oil and pull out the dipstick. Make sure that you take note of how far up the dipstick the oil is. Top off your cooling system and fill your cooling reservoir to the top. Screw radiator cap back on and start engine. Run engine for about 20-30 mins. or until it reaches normal operating temperature. Allow engine to cool (engine must cool completely to get accurate oil reading!!). Check oil dipstick again. If the oil has a watery appearance and has risen noticeably up the dipstick, the you probably have a blown head gasket or a warped head. Also look for a dripping, sweet-smelling liquid coming out of your tailpipe. Any of the above symptoms could be the result of a blown head gasket. The easiest way to tell is with a compression meter. This replaces the spark plug and lets you know what compression each cylinder is running at. If your compression is abnormally low, then you have a blown head gasket or a warped head. (note: consult repair manual for appropriate compression of each cylinder.)