Torrent Head Gasket Diagnosis
I just went through the issues that many people here are posting about. To make a long story short, the first symptom was not getting any heat in the cabin (fan blowing cold air only, even if the engine was warmed up). This would usually happen when stopped at a red light, and then the heat would kick back in once the vehicle was moving.
The next symptom was that the car would occasionally overheat - usually when it had it idle for a while.
The other major symptom was that fluid levels would all be fine, and then suddenly after days or weeks of being normal, the coolant level would be very low.
It would also occasionally rough idle when starting, and I could sometimes faintly detect a sweet smell to the exhaust.
I replaced the thermostat with no change in symptoms. Then I replaced the water pump, which seemed to solve things, but only temporarily. Next I flushed the heater core, which again temporarily solved things. All the while I was afraid the problem was the head gasket but didn't want to admit it.
Also all the while I would read threads like this where other people went through the exact same process, and in most cases I never saw the final outcome.
Well, here's my final outcome. It was in fact the head gasket, which I just had repaired to the tune of about $1,500.
Diagnosis was incredibly tricky. I've had other cars where the head gasket completely blew, making the car totally inoperable. That wasn't the case here. Instead it seemed to be a small leak - but one that would make the car overheat enough that it became totally unreliable.
How I was finally able to diagnose the issue with certainty was that I got a combustion leak testing kit, which costs around $50 and was super easy to use. It is basically a tube that you fill with a blue liquid and place over the open coolant tank with the engine running. If the liquid turns yellow then there are combustion/exhaust gasses present in the coolant, which indicates there is a leak.
I tried this and the liquid turned yellow right away.
So essentially what was happening was that exhaust was leaking into the coolant, creating air bubbles which prevented the coolant from flowing properly, and allowing it to heat up in some parts of the system while remaining cold in others. This is why the engine would overheat while I would only get cold air in the cabin. This is also why the previous repair attempts would work temporarily - it was letting all of the built up air bubbles escape. But the problems would start again once new air bubbles formed.
At any rate, my suggestion for anyone experiencing this problem is to go get a combustion leak test kit, or find someone who has one, and run a quick test on your car. Do this before you waste your time and money replacing the thermostat, water pump, fans, or anything else. No, it is not fun to learn that you need a $1,500 or more head gasket repair, but at least you'll know the truth and not have to waste money on other repairs that ultimately don't solve your problem.
I just went through the issues that many people here are posting about. To make a long story short, the first symptom was not getting any heat in the cabin (fan blowing cold air only, even if the engine was warmed up). This would usually happen when stopped at a red light, and then the heat would kick back in once the vehicle was moving.
The next symptom was that the car would occasionally overheat - usually when it had it idle for a while.
The other major symptom was that fluid levels would all be fine, and then suddenly after days or weeks of being normal, the coolant level would be very low.
It would also occasionally rough idle when starting, and I could sometimes faintly detect a sweet smell to the exhaust.
I replaced the thermostat with no change in symptoms. Then I replaced the water pump, which seemed to solve things, but only temporarily. Next I flushed the heater core, which again temporarily solved things. All the while I was afraid the problem was the head gasket but didn't want to admit it.
Also all the while I would read threads like this where other people went through the exact same process, and in most cases I never saw the final outcome.
Well, here's my final outcome. It was in fact the head gasket, which I just had repaired to the tune of about $1,500.
Diagnosis was incredibly tricky. I've had other cars where the head gasket completely blew, making the car totally inoperable. That wasn't the case here. Instead it seemed to be a small leak - but one that would make the car overheat enough that it became totally unreliable.
How I was finally able to diagnose the issue with certainty was that I got a combustion leak testing kit, which costs around $50 and was super easy to use. It is basically a tube that you fill with a blue liquid and place over the open coolant tank with the engine running. If the liquid turns yellow then there are combustion/exhaust gasses present in the coolant, which indicates there is a leak.
I tried this and the liquid turned yellow right away.
So essentially what was happening was that exhaust was leaking into the coolant, creating air bubbles which prevented the coolant from flowing properly, and allowing it to heat up in some parts of the system while remaining cold in others. This is why the engine would overheat while I would only get cold air in the cabin. This is also why the previous repair attempts would work temporarily - it was letting all of the built up air bubbles escape. But the problems would start again once new air bubbles formed.
At any rate, my suggestion for anyone experiencing this problem is to go get a combustion leak test kit, or find someone who has one, and run a quick test on your car. Do this before you waste your time and money replacing the thermostat, water pump, fans, or anything else. No, it is not fun to learn that you need a $1,500 or more head gasket repair, but at least you'll know the truth and not have to waste money on other repairs that ultimately don't solve your problem.
