i just noticed some bubbling in the overflow reservoir and took a look. turns out there's white milky suds on top of the water in the tank, but so far there seems to be no water in my oil. sound like a head gasket problem? if it is can anyone tell me what i need to know to replace the gaskets?

thanks,
-jim

 

Could also be cracked heads. Changing the head gaskets is a somewhat involved process, depending upon your engine and car (which you didn't mention), but can be done with basic hand and tune-up tools and a torque wrench. Accessories such as AC complicate it, but not too much.

Most likely, there is something that either needs replacing (like a cracked head), or something that caused the problem (like a warped head or block that caused the gasket to blow). In any case, while the heads are off, they should be checked out/rebuilt. I would count on needing a weekend to get it apart, putting the heads into the shop on Monday for the week, cleaning stuff up during evenings getting ready to reassemble, and putting it back together the next weekend.

Get a shop manual if you don't have one that is specific for 3rd gens at least, your year even better. It should have the info you need to guide you through the process.

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57 Bel Air, my 1st car. Currently 396 .030 over, Weiand Action+, Edelbrock 1901 Q-Jet, Jacobs Omnipack, 1-3/4" headers, TH400 w/TCI Sat Night Special conv & shift kit, 3.08 10-bolt, AMSOIL syn lubes bumper-to-bumper. Best 15.1 @ 5800' Bandimere. Daily driver while Camaro was being put together.

 

thanks for the info. btw, it's a 5.0L TBI with A/C and the center bolt valve covers.
i doubt it's warped or cracked heads. it's never over heated and if that were the case then wouldn't there be a bigger spillover than just a little oil in the water?
-jim

 

How old is your coolant and when was the last time it was changed? If the coolant is old (or just water), IT MAY be just impurities in the coolant that have "frothed" (if you are referring to the resevoir tank).

It may still be more serious problems (such as a headgasket, etc) but I was curious how old your coolant is. Fresh coolant and white sudsy bubbles points at the heads/headgaskets.

 

I wouldn't get too excited just yet...

Drain and flush the cooling system first. There's about 15 or 18 psi in your cooling system, and vacuum in the crankcase, so if you have a leak between those 2, it virtually always puts water into the oil and not the other way. If your oil is OK you don't have that kind of leak. Try a clean system and new coolant, and see if the bubbles go away.

On the other hand, a head gasket can easily fail on a high-mileage motor for no apparent reason. So you could have a bad one of those. If so, it will get worse fast: combustion gas leaking past it will scour it away rapidly, and within a short time there will be absolutely no doubt that there is a problem. Let's hope it's not that.

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"So many Mustangs, so little time..."