After four years and 40,000 miles of living with a "blown" gasket, I feel like offering some comforting words for those who could not afford $1500 to $2000 for a head gasket job or have no adequate tools and skills to do the gasket job themselves, "Kids, it is not too bad.", as Greg Gutfeld put it after Trump's victory to the weeping college kids.
First, it is really not a blown gasket. It is a leak from oil channel to coolant but not the other way around. The reason is that the pressure needed to push the oil into coolant at the location at the back of the engine where the coolant channel is too close to the oil channel is at least 3 bars. Yes, it leaks oil into coolant but it could be a small amount and it accumulates, manifesting itself as oil goo in the coolant reservoir tank. It is not a blown gasket but an annoying oil leak problem. You don't get coolant in engine oil, making it a milk.
I have lived with this symptom for four years with a 1994 E320 which otherwise runs so smoothly that makes us love W124 so much.
The answer is that it is not all that bad, and it is not the end of the world, if you are willing to put up with it.
This is how I put up with it. I only run water, not coolant, with some dishwasher detergent for cooling. This obvious won't work for folks living in cold area, but fine with me in North Carolina. I drain the coolant and flush my cooling system with my DIY suction tank once a few months. I replace, as often as needed, any bloated hoses. I have plenty water packed in my trunk for any emergencies with a few incidents when the hose leaked. Otherwise, the engine temperature runs at 87C or lower, all year round. No, no stop leak or gasket repair liquid worked, in my case. Yes, I have wasted some money, not much, on those Snake fluids.
No, it is not easy but I simply cannot justify spending $1500 for a car I paid $1500. And yes, I have not the skill, the tools, and the courage to do the head gasket myself.
So, what's the purpose of this post? First, I am bored after not posting for a long while to the forum. Second, I want to offer some glimpse of hope for those who are unfortunate to have this leaking problem (not blown gasket). Third, it is nice to get some rants from purists who spare no cost and tolerate nothing but factory specifications. Last, but not the least, I am actually rooting for real failure of the head gasket so that I can justify the purchase of a cabriolet for replacement. Unfortunately, the head gasket is still defying my wish after four years.
Jftu105
First, it is really not a blown gasket. It is a leak from oil channel to coolant but not the other way around. The reason is that the pressure needed to push the oil into coolant at the location at the back of the engine where the coolant channel is too close to the oil channel is at least 3 bars. Yes, it leaks oil into coolant but it could be a small amount and it accumulates, manifesting itself as oil goo in the coolant reservoir tank. It is not a blown gasket but an annoying oil leak problem. You don't get coolant in engine oil, making it a milk.
I have lived with this symptom for four years with a 1994 E320 which otherwise runs so smoothly that makes us love W124 so much.
The answer is that it is not all that bad, and it is not the end of the world, if you are willing to put up with it.
This is how I put up with it. I only run water, not coolant, with some dishwasher detergent for cooling. This obvious won't work for folks living in cold area, but fine with me in North Carolina. I drain the coolant and flush my cooling system with my DIY suction tank once a few months. I replace, as often as needed, any bloated hoses. I have plenty water packed in my trunk for any emergencies with a few incidents when the hose leaked. Otherwise, the engine temperature runs at 87C or lower, all year round. No, no stop leak or gasket repair liquid worked, in my case. Yes, I have wasted some money, not much, on those Snake fluids.
No, it is not easy but I simply cannot justify spending $1500 for a car I paid $1500. And yes, I have not the skill, the tools, and the courage to do the head gasket myself.
So, what's the purpose of this post? First, I am bored after not posting for a long while to the forum. Second, I want to offer some glimpse of hope for those who are unfortunate to have this leaking problem (not blown gasket). Third, it is nice to get some rants from purists who spare no cost and tolerate nothing but factory specifications. Last, but not the least, I am actually rooting for real failure of the head gasket so that I can justify the purchase of a cabriolet for replacement. Unfortunately, the head gasket is still defying my wish after four years.
Jftu105