What will happen is that the breech will grow from erosion until the heat being pumped into the coolant becomes too great for the cooling system to dissiate, the engine will overheat, the overheating will exascerbate the bad headgasket problem, oil channels will become involved, coolant will get into the oil, and eventually your main bearings will seize and your engine will die. Since you’re not even overheating yet, and you’re monitoring the temp and the fluids, that may be years into the future. There’s really no way to guess.
Yes, the engine performance will get worse as the breech grows. It won’t just die with one big clunk. When you begin to have cooling problems, that’s a good time to start the serious worrying.
"as for the heater core I can live without heat as I am not even using it now and the “vent” warms the car enough"
The “vent” won’t heat if the heater core plugs up. (this winter).
Whichever it is, the head needs to come off to fix the problem.
Fix it or run it until it croaks.
Greetings to all from warm, sunny Jamaica!
A quarter sized drip that turns to a doughnut shape? The only way I could envision this happening is if a drop of coolant dripped onto the oil spot. Since oil floats on water and the coolant would move radially out from the ceneter of the drip, that would cause the oil to float into a ring on the outside edge of the coolant drop.
Perhaps I missed it, but how old is this car?
The car is a 1998 Ford Taurus. It presently has about 129000 miles on it. Bought it at a Goodwill auction for $450. From what I can tell at somepoing in the car’s history it overheated real bad. It also looks like to have sat undriven from say Oct of 2008 until I bought it in July (2009). My guess is with the lack of heat they didn’t like driving it. It starts right up, runs well and such, just get the air out the radiator.
I have: Put in new plugs and wires, a new radiator, new air filter, and changed out the oil.
$450? Cool!
From what I can tell it sounds like the air in the radiator is actually combustion chamber gasses being blown into the water jacket and bubbling out the radiator fill. Air in coolant will migrate to the highest point…and that’s the fill hole. Bubbles float.
If it has been overheated badly it probabbly has a warped head also. You could try the steelseal additive and see if it’ll extend the life, you could use it for local use and watch the temp gage and fluids, or you you repair the headgasket and hope the head isn’t warped. Having only spent $450 you can’t lose.
My guess is that they passed the car on when they got the bad news. If they were considering paying to have it repaired the estimate probably drive the decision. Having to pay for having that work done, knowing that it may have a warped head, would cause me to make the same decisiion they did.
Sincere best.
What is sad is that the car overall is in great shape given it’s age and milage. I found 1 local shop in town that will do the steel seal procedure. They charge $150 total to do it. The product alone is $80 so about $70 in labor. I am keeping a close eye on temps, but it runs fine. This morning with temps below freezing I was concerned that it might have issues starting, it didn’t. I plan on giving the steel seal a try and see what I can get out of a $450 car.
Good luck. Worst that can happen is that it doesn’t work and you eventually end up looking for a boneyard motor. Considering what you paid for the car you’d still have a heck of a good deal.
Wow what a shocker,glad your still with us. I am on the same path,my Doc said I should pick which one of my children I want to feed me BEFORE I have my stroke. Kinda rude of him don’t you think?