kept getting air in my coolany system.. so i bought the napa block tester kit.. says it will turn yellow from blue when exhaust gases are present.. after a while it turned green when a bunch of air bubbles came flying through it.. idk if thats what they consider yellow but yeah im not sure.. also i have no coolant in my oil or anything.
Bhg?
- Thread starter s7mgte
- Start date
well air in your cooling system could be other things than a bhg. Did you check for other leaks first before going to assume the worst? And usually you will know when you have a bhg.
did tester come with extra fluid ? retest but dont let any aintifrezze get in it JUST the gasses/ air green/yellow is a bad sign...
There is a fluid level mark on the tester. You should have filled the tester to that level. After the test, if the level stayed the same, and turned green, a combustion leak is present. If the level raised, and it turned green, antifreeze contaminated the test sample.
Mine turned green when I correctly tested mine and I had a BHG. I had no coolant in the sump or any other symptoms except random overheating. Well, that and my overflow bottle never worked properly while it had a BHG.
Mine turned green when I correctly tested mine and I had a BHG. I had no coolant in the sump or any other symptoms except random overheating. Well, that and my overflow bottle never worked properly while it had a BHG.
Frank Rizzo;988965 said:
yea thats the same exact problem i have.. random over heating with air in system and the overfill thing is wierd..a few times it got contaminated.. but they dont mix the colors stay separated so its obvious.. but the last time the fluid level stayed the same with air coming through it a few times.. and it turned a dark green right away.. so looks like i got a bhg huh?
I do not know these things. As much as we try, none of us do. We can just share our experiences, and you can draw your own conclusions.
The fluid contains bromothymol blue, a narrow range PH indicator:
http://tinyurl.com/2h7b6b
Greens means coolant PH is right around 7. It won't be that with a BHG, at least not one that's failed into the cooling system, because there's no CO2 derived carbonic acid in the coolant. That's how the kit works. Since antifreeze starts out base and typically falls all it means is your coolant is tired.
http://tinyurl.com/2h7b6b
Greens means coolant PH is right around 7. It won't be that with a BHG, at least not one that's failed into the cooling system, because there's no CO2 derived carbonic acid in the coolant. That's how the kit works. Since antifreeze starts out base and typically falls all it means is your coolant is tired.
^I do know some coolants are adjusted to ph7 via additives. One coolant called Glacelf is a ph7 coolant that uses a neutral ph as a reserve of alkalinity(which neutralise the acids caused by combustion gases), and resistance to foaming, and a compatibility to hard water. Now what they use to get it to a ph of 7 is distilled water since it is neutral. Thats why you hear of people using 50/50 half water half antifreeze. That would be my explanation anyway I could be wrong.
Last edited:
If you know your cooling system holds pressure than you can just get a cooling system pressure tester and see if it will hold 15psi for 25+ min. Also You can start your car with the pressure tester hooked up and if you start building pressure instantly, then you have a blown head gasket.
Well jet must hate me or something. Or if he doesn't, he will after this post.
The only reason I ask that is because, I got a green test solution on fresh Prestone manually mixed with Poland Spring distilled water. And I am not just talking about 1 flush. Multiple flushes over the course of a couple years. I did all of this before I replaced my head gasket. Bought car in Aug 2005, replaced head gasket in Jan 2007. I flush my coolant a minimum of twice a year. And before I get any, You're anal remarks, I work in the field and I know what bad coolant will do to an entire cooling system, period.
The only thing I replaced was a head gasket and all the coolant hoses, that's it. And, yep, filled it with prestone and distilled for about the 14th time. Now my test fluid comes out dark blue, just like it did when I poured it in the tester. So, it was just a coincidence that I happen to replace my head gasket, and all I had to do was replace coolant 14 times to get a negative test result? Wow, I wasted my money.
So if jet is saying, my head gasket was not leaking combustion gases into my cooling system, then how did I test green?
Wanna see my old head gasket? I can prove I had a BHG.
2 times a year, 1 time for HG, 1 time for gauge, 1 time for water bypass pipe plug, 4 times for thermostat, at least once for when hoses just mysteriously start leaking. Oh, can't forget the 2 times for testing, once before and once after. I've only opened my cooling system after the head gasket change: 3 times for a flush, 1 time for a test, and 1 time for a water pump. So I've done most of my flushing before the head gasket. At $15 a gallon, prestone is not cheap, and I have every single dated receipt to prove that as well.
The only reason I ask that is because, I got a green test solution on fresh Prestone manually mixed with Poland Spring distilled water. And I am not just talking about 1 flush. Multiple flushes over the course of a couple years. I did all of this before I replaced my head gasket. Bought car in Aug 2005, replaced head gasket in Jan 2007. I flush my coolant a minimum of twice a year. And before I get any, You're anal remarks, I work in the field and I know what bad coolant will do to an entire cooling system, period.
The only thing I replaced was a head gasket and all the coolant hoses, that's it. And, yep, filled it with prestone and distilled for about the 14th time. Now my test fluid comes out dark blue, just like it did when I poured it in the tester. So, it was just a coincidence that I happen to replace my head gasket, and all I had to do was replace coolant 14 times to get a negative test result? Wow, I wasted my money.
So if jet is saying, my head gasket was not leaking combustion gases into my cooling system, then how did I test green?
Wanna see my old head gasket? I can prove I had a BHG.
2 times a year, 1 time for HG, 1 time for gauge, 1 time for water bypass pipe plug, 4 times for thermostat, at least once for when hoses just mysteriously start leaking. Oh, can't forget the 2 times for testing, once before and once after. I've only opened my cooling system after the head gasket change: 3 times for a flush, 1 time for a test, and 1 time for a water pump. So I've done most of my flushing before the head gasket. At $15 a gallon, prestone is not cheap, and I have every single dated receipt to prove that as well.
Block Tester Instructions said:
Last edited:
I have no idea what you're talking about Frank. My comment was directed at the OP. I also have nothing to do with how halochromic PH indicators work. They do what they do. I've tested lots of engines that came out green and not one had a BHG.
I should have said coolant instead of antifreeze. PH out of the bottle depends on the anti-corrosion chemistry but every EG based OAT/HOAT formulation I've seen ends up base as coolant. One flavor (there are several) of Glacelf is an example of near neutral but base when diluted. Some inorganic formulations like Prestone come out close to neutral too. Hell, the Glysantin formulation I use pours out at 6.5 but is over 10 in the engine. That's why you ended up testing blue. which indicates a PH over 7. If coolant was supposed to stay 7 or below why do the kit makers choose the indicator they do and say blue means good? Duh
When using the kit "green" can be subjective. Anyway, if your coolant tested out neutral (since BB is a narrow range indicator there can be varying shades of green) I suppose it could've meant you had a very *tiny* combustion leak that shifted the coolant slightly acidic, down towards neutral, but riddle me this: if your gasket was so obviously blown why didn't the fluid turn yellow? Maybe you should have tested the coolant before it went into the engine. Maybe it was that Polish water.
I thought you worked on diesels? I dunno which kit you were using but the better ones employ a different indicator for testing diesel coolant and, as you must know, the demands on coolant in a diesel are far different than in gas engines. Cavitation erosion of the liners for example, the reason diesel coolant requires SCAs.
That said the kit Napa sells is one of the biggest scams out there. Not only does it cost twice as much as some others but it's an antiquated single chamber design known to give false results. As for Prestone ask anyone familiar with coolants where it falls on the quality scale. For the same money you could get better chemistry. Considering the problems you seem to have with your system you might want to consider changing.
Btw I normally stay out of these threads because each HG failure mode has a very specific set of symptoms that do not match anything else and are easy to test for, yet many here treat diagnosing them as pure ooga-booga. It's a never-ending source of amusement.
I should have said coolant instead of antifreeze. PH out of the bottle depends on the anti-corrosion chemistry but every EG based OAT/HOAT formulation I've seen ends up base as coolant. One flavor (there are several) of Glacelf is an example of near neutral but base when diluted. Some inorganic formulations like Prestone come out close to neutral too. Hell, the Glysantin formulation I use pours out at 6.5 but is over 10 in the engine. That's why you ended up testing blue. which indicates a PH over 7. If coolant was supposed to stay 7 or below why do the kit makers choose the indicator they do and say blue means good? Duh
When using the kit "green" can be subjective. Anyway, if your coolant tested out neutral (since BB is a narrow range indicator there can be varying shades of green) I suppose it could've meant you had a very *tiny* combustion leak that shifted the coolant slightly acidic, down towards neutral, but riddle me this: if your gasket was so obviously blown why didn't the fluid turn yellow? Maybe you should have tested the coolant before it went into the engine. Maybe it was that Polish water.
I thought you worked on diesels? I dunno which kit you were using but the better ones employ a different indicator for testing diesel coolant and, as you must know, the demands on coolant in a diesel are far different than in gas engines. Cavitation erosion of the liners for example, the reason diesel coolant requires SCAs.
That said the kit Napa sells is one of the biggest scams out there. Not only does it cost twice as much as some others but it's an antiquated single chamber design known to give false results. As for Prestone ask anyone familiar with coolants where it falls on the quality scale. For the same money you could get better chemistry. Considering the problems you seem to have with your system you might want to consider changing.
Btw I normally stay out of these threads because each HG failure mode has a very specific set of symptoms that do not match anything else and are easy to test for, yet many here treat diagnosing them as pure ooga-booga. It's a never-ending source of amusement.
It wasn't obviously blown. But there was something obviously wrong with my cooling system.
I just said all that crap because I thought you meant, "if the test turns green, you are good to go".
I really don't have the money to spend on a quality kit, like one from Snap-on. The NAPA kit works just fine for my applications.
Thanks jet for not hating me. I think it's the polish driver aka ME.
As far as prestone, my car is not worthy of higher quality coolant.....yet. I exaggerated, I only pay 11.88 for prestone.
I just said all that crap because I thought you meant, "if the test turns green, you are good to go".
I really don't have the money to spend on a quality kit, like one from Snap-on. The NAPA kit works just fine for my applications.
Thanks jet for not hating me. I think it's the polish driver aka ME.
As far as prestone, my car is not worthy of higher quality coolant.....yet. I exaggerated, I only pay 11.88 for prestone.
Well, I *am* basically saying that. However, as with diagnosing any problem, it's always best to have multiple correlations. In this case that means doing other tests. Besides, a HG can fail in different ways.
A quality kit will cost the same as Napa. A Napa kit (it's a relabed Blok Chek) can be had for half the money.
And no, I don't hate. I think some of the stuff you do is nuts though. The buying a new AFM from the dealer thing for example
A quality kit will cost the same as Napa. A Napa kit (it's a relabed Blok Chek) can be had for half the money.
And no, I don't hate. I think some of the stuff you do is nuts though. The buying a new AFM from the dealer thing for example
I was joking. I'd have to sift your previous posts to answer the question but since I only do that to those who post truly stupid stuff you're off the hook
ok well i got the napa kit although you say its crappy.. anyways in your opinion do you think i likely have BHG or no? the blue liquid changed into a dark green. and i was testing it for a while with the air coming through about 15 minutes with the car running.. i squeezed the little thing ti comes with to pull air thorugh it and the color wasnt changing at all. it wasnt until a air pocket came flying through the thing that turned it into a darkish green and the fluid level stayed the same..jetjock;989481 said:I have no idea what you're talking about Frank. My comment was directed at the OP. I also have nothing to do with how halochromic PH indicators work. They do what they do. I've tested lots of engines that came out green and not one had a BHG.
I should have said coolant instead of antifreeze. PH out of the bottle depends on the anti-corrosion chemistry but every EG based OAT/HOAT formulation I've seen ends up base as coolant. One flavor (there are several) of Glacelf is an example of near neutral but base when diluted. Some inorganic formulations like Prestone come out close to neutral too. Hell, the Glysantin formulation I use pours out at 6.5 but is over 10 in the engine. That's why you ended up testing blue. which indicates a PH over 7. If coolant was supposed to stay 7 or below why do the kit makers choose the indicator they do and say blue means good? Duh
When using the kit "green" can be subjective. Anyway, if your coolant tested out neutral (since BB is a narrow range indicator there can be varying shades of green) I suppose it could've meant you had a very *tiny* combustion leak that shifted the coolant slightly acidic, down towards neutral, but riddle me this: if your gasket was so obviously blown why didn't the fluid turn yellow? Maybe you should have tested the coolant before into went in the engine. Maybe it was that Polish water.
I thought you worked on diesels? I dunno which kit you were using but the better ones employ a different indicator for testing diesel coolant and, as you must know, the demands on coolant in a diesel are far different than in gas engines. Cavitation erosion of the liners for example, the reason diesel coolant requires SCAs.
That said the kit Napa sells is one of the biggest scams out there. Not only does it cost twice as much as some others but it's an antiquated single chamber design known to give false results. As for Prestone ask anyone familiar with coolants where it falls on the quality scale. For the same money you could get better chemistry. Considering the problems you seem to have with your system you might want to consider changing.
Btw I normally stay out of these threads because each HG failure mode has a very specific set of symptoms that do not match anything else and are easy to test for, yet many here treat diagnosing them as pure ooga-booga. It's a never-ending source of amusement.
As previously mentioned, over heats are easily caused by problems with the cooling system.
- Have the cooling system pressure tested
- Is the radiator cap working correctly
- Check the thermostat for proper operation
- The radiator may be partially clogged
- Check the fan clutch for proper operation
- Is the shroud in good shape
- Have the cooling system pressure tested
- Is the radiator cap working correctly
- Check the thermostat for proper operation
- The radiator may be partially clogged
- Check the fan clutch for proper operation
- Is the shroud in good shape
wow anyways heres my opinion. Usually you will know you have a bhg. Now if you really dont know and you've excacerbated all other options and you haven't replaced the hg in along time then perhaps you can do that anyway seeing youve ran out of options and its going to need replacement anyways. Its really difficult for people to diagnose exactly what the cars problems are over the internet sometimes. So this is my take on it.
^^^ And here's my opinion...don't post unless you know what you're talking about :3d_frown:
And you obviously don't...all you're doing is posting nonsense.
And you obviously don't...all you're doing is posting nonsense.