Went to change my alternator today and found this nice surprise.

Car shows no symptoms of a blown/seeping headgasket but that is the telltale sign, could this be anything other than a bad headgasket or should I get out of denial city and pull the heads.

Bottom of the coolant reservoir doesnt look too promising either!

 

Any oil/coolant mixture visible on the dipstick?

 

No, not even slightly

 

that bottom of the reservoir tank looks like corrosion, maybe your coolant is old? when was last time you got a coolant flush?

 

Never been flushed. Last drain and replace was done by me @ 89,600. Car has 109k on it. The coolant reservoir is on my desk right now. I'll see if I can get a pic of the inside.

 

is coolant being pushed out of the reservoir?
are you overheating at idle?
was the engine cold or warm when you took these pix?
have you had an engine oil analysis recently?

 

No overheating, reservoir levels are solid between min and max and never exceed max. Never did engine oil analysis before. I stumbled upon this problem entirely by accident. If I didn't have to drain the radiator to remove the alternator, I would have been none the wiser!

 

: with none of he signs BigC listed I doubt you have a blown head gasket. I have had a few and they always pushed coolant out of the reservoir.

Is your exhaust white?
Does it smell sweet?
Does the car over heat?
Does it push coolant out of the reservoir?

If you said no to all of those I doubt the head gasket is the culprit, those are the check list for blown head gaskets.

If in doubt get a kit to pressure test the coolant system if it holds pressure your head gasket is most likely fine. With no adverse effects I would refill the coolant and keep driving the car. They can be done with the engine in the car but it would not be pleasant.

A head gasket job on these cars is a nightmare, I would buy a used long block from a wrecker and swap that in before I messed around with another head gasket job.

 

Thats the game plan. Updates on thursday!

 

You can get a milky residue near the oil fill cap simply as a result of just condensation collecting there. Do a coolant system pressure test and check your oil out to be sure.

 

i had the same issue recently too...car is blowing white smoke out of the exhaust..i did take a look at the dip stick today to make sure i still had oil...didn't think to see if there was any coolant residue on it or not..i'll check the reservoir tank tomorrow to see...i won't be driving this anywhere till monday...was gonna bring the car to Infiniti to have them check it out too..luckily, i still have my extended warranty...hope it covers this issue...so stressful