Water leak sign of head gasket leak in NA engine?

[ez at nova]

My dad's 1998 Suburban has been leaking coolant and the dealer said it was a leak in the head gasket. Hearing "head gasket" I immediately thought of what I know with the Buicks...too much boost or timing causes it to go, resulting in poor running car with smoke and bubbles in the coolant. But, the truck runs just fine, and there are no bubbles in the coolant overflow tank. Could the problem really be a leaky head gasket? I don't know what are the causes and negative results of a HG problem on a NA engine.

Thanks,
Jeff

 

[Black Car]

There doesn't have to be bubbles in the tank and the engine can run great with a bad HG.

Is he losing level in the radiator? He now has water injection on his engine if it is leaking into the engine. It will actually make it run better if it is a very small leak.
One sure way to determine if the HG is leaking into the combustion area is to use an emission tester probe on the open neck of the radiator while the engine is running.

 

[ez at nova]

He notices it because the reserve overflow tank level drops. I guess he is debating whether it is worth the near $2,000 price tag the dealer gave to replace the gasket....

 

[PNYKLR]

My 94 Suburb was leaking Anti-Freeze found out it was a rusty Freeze plug I've never seen anything like that before was bugged out!

 

[ez at nova]

Yes, that actually already happened with that coolant plug leaking! Supposedly, the dealer replaced that plug already!

 

[Red Regal T]

Just put a can of metallic block seal in it. Follow the directions. It works. Your choice..............donate $2000 to the mechanic or $6 to the parts store.