Headgasket question

[camaro_speedemon]

My friend has an CO2 detector test he did on my car, and it's showing an exhaust leak into my cooling system. But I'm not loosing water, however I'm loosing about 2 quarts of oil per 3k. How can I tell if I have a cracked block, or just a blown head gasket without tearing it down? I was gonna get another motor, but the deal fell through and I don't want to end up having it screw me at an in bad time and start leaking worse. I'm thinking about taking the heads off and replacing the head gasket which I'm hoping it is, but if that's not the problem, I don't want tear apart my motor just and find out I have a cracked head or block. I don't really have the money for another motor right now, I'm gonna have to save up for it.

[Bliggida]

And exhaust leak in your coolant? Why is that not making sense to me?

Anyway. A compression and leak down test will give you a good indication if your heads or block is cracked. The gauges and tools are relatively inexpensive. And you check the compression in each cylinder by removing the spark plug and inserting the tool. So it takes a little longer than a spark plug change. But the info is priceless and vital about engine stats.

A sign of a cracked block might be coolant in your oil - it will appear brown like chocolate milk.

My reccomendation for headgaskets is Fel-Pro for soft gaskets. But if you only want to do your heads once and never have that problem again, pop a little more coin for a set of copper gaskets. Last ones you'll ever buy.