Crank not start and spark plugs all had light brown liquid on them

Tiny
TONYB121088
  • MEMBER
  • 2004 HYUNDAI ELANTRA
  • 125,000 MILES
I just got a diagnostic on my car listed above earlier today. I was told that I my head gasket either was blown or had a crack in it. Thing is it was running perfectly fine the day before it stopped starting up. It tries to turn over but never starts, I initially thought it was the starter. Also he pointed out that the coolant is some how leaking into the gasket (he showed me how the spark plugs all had light brown liquid on them from the radiator ). After doing some research I found out about something called "Rislone Head Gasket and Cooling Sealant". This product is said to prevent leaks from the coolant into the head gasket. Should I try this or just consider a new car (don't really have the funds for option b, lol) please advise! Thanks
Saturday, November 16th, 2013 AT 4:54 PM

2 Replies

Tiny
MADMIKE1735
  • MECHANIC
  • 951 POSTS
Dont ever put a sealant in the cooling system! It will clog up more than leaks. Headgaskets do fail. If the plugs are brown, and he showed you this. I would have to agree with the tech. Sounds like he is honest, and the headgasket is bad. Its fairly common. I would fix it rather than trade for a new car. But this is your choice. Again, dont put that little bottle that says it fixes stuff into your cooling system. You will regret it. Im sure every tech here will agree. That stuff is BAD!
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Saturday, November 16th, 2013 AT 5:30 PM
Tiny
KASEKENNY
  • MECHANIC
  • 18,907 POSTS
Based on this info, I would agree that the head gasket is the issue. However, I would not recommend using that sealant chemical. It does work in theory but unfortunately I have not had much luck with it. It works best when the leak first presents itself however, it is rare that you catch it at this point. It is normally when some other issue happens then find the gasket caused it like an overheat.

I would suggest running this test and if it is failed, then it needs to be replaced.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/head-gasket-blown-test

Please let us know if there are questions. Thanks
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Friday, April 17th, 2020 AT 3:45 PM

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