How To Test For A Blown Head Gasket (1997-2003 2.0L Ford Escort, Mercury Tracer)

Checking for a blown head gasket isn't difficult. As a matter of fact, there are four tests that you can do to find out if the head gasket on your Ford Escort or Mercury Tracer has failed.

In this tutorial, I'm going to explain how to do all four of them. Two of them require no tools and can be done in minutes.

The other two are a compression test, which requires a compression tester. And the fourth test is a block test done with a combustion leak detector.

I'm hoping that you don't have a blown head gasket on your hands. But if you do, one of these four tests will confirm it for you.

APPLIES TO: This tutorial applies to the following vehicles:

• 2.0L SOHC (P) Ford Escort: 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002.
• 2.0L DOHC (3) Ford Escort ZX-2: 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002.
• 2.0L SOHC Mercury Tracer: 1997, 1998, 1999.

Symptoms Of A Blown Head Gasket

This isn't every single symptom a blown head gasket can be showing, but it does give you the most common ones you're likely to run into:

1. The engine starts but overheats for no apparent reason.
2. Oil mixed with coolant.
3. White smoke (from anti-freeze burning in the cylinders) coming out of the tail-pipe.
4. Engine cranks, but does not start.
5. No compression on two side by side cylinders.

TEST 1: Engine Oil Mixed With Coolant

The head gasket on your 2.0L Ford Escort (or Mercury Tracer) is responsible for keeping three critical elements of the engine from crossing paths: the engine coolant, the engine oil, and the compression/combustion gases inside the cylinders.

To be a bit more specific:

• Keeping coolant contained and flowing only where it's supposed to.
• Keeping engine oil in its own passages and out of the combustion chambers.
• Keeping the combustion pressures sealed tight inside each cylinder.

Once the engine overheats badly enough, the aluminum cylinder head warps or the gasket itself burns through, and those three things start mixing.

And I can tell you from experience, on a four-cylinder engine, one of the most common end results of a blown head gasket is coolant mixing with the engine oil, which makes the oil look like coffee with too much creamer. So to get our head gasket diagnostic started, we'll check if this has happened.

These are the test steps:

1. 1

   Open the hood.

2. 2

   Pull out the engine oil dipstick.

3. 3

   Check the color of the oil sticking to the dipstick.

4. 4

   You'll see one of two things:
   
   1.) The color of the oil will be a milky white color (like coffee with too much creamer).
   
   2.) The color of the oil will be its normal color.

Let's take a look at your test result:

CASE 1: The engine oil is a milky-white color (looks like coffee with too much creamer). This is telling you coolant is getting into the oil and a clear sign the head gasket on your 2.0L Ford Escort (or Mercury Tracer) has failed.

CASE 2: The engine oil is its normal old/dirty color. So far so good, but we still can't confirm or rule out a blown head gasket just yet.

The next step is: TEST 2: Coolant Shooting Out Of Radiator.

TEST 2: Coolant Shooting Out Of Radiator

So far, TEST 1 has confirmed the engine oil isn't mixing with coolant (it hasn't turned a milky-white color).

Now, we're gonna check if the head gasket is doing its job of keeping all the compression, combustion, and exhaust gases sealed inside the cylinders.

The way to do this is by watching for coolant being pushed out of the radiator (with the cap off) while you or a helper are cranking the engine.

If coolant shoots out of the radiator neck as the engine is cranking, then the head gasket on your 2.0L Ford Escort (or Mercury Tracer) has failed.

IMPORTANT: Never perform this test on a hot engine! Coolant under pressure can spray out and cause severe burns. Always make sure the engine is completely cold before removing the radiator cap.

This is what you need to do:

1. 1

   Remove the radiator cap from the radiator.
   
   IMPORTANT: The engine should be completely cold before you open the radiator cap.

2. 2

   Check the coolant level.
   
   If the coolant level is low, top it off with water before going on to the next step.

3. 3

   Stand at a safe distance (from the engine) but within eye-view of the radiator.

4. 4

   Have your helper crank the engine.

5. 5

   You'll see one of two results:
   
   1.) The coolant shoots out violently when the engine was cranked.
   
   2.) The coolant was not disturbed at all.

Let's examine your test result:

CASE 1: Coolant is shooting out of the open radiator. If you're seeing that, the head gasket is blown on your 2.0L Ford Escort (or Mercury Tracer).

CASE 2: Coolant is staying put and not shooting out of the radiator. This is the correct test result, so far so good.

Now, depending on what the engine is doing, here's where you head next:

• If the engine isn't starting, move on to: TEST 3: Engine Compression Test.
• If the engine is starting but running hot, continue with: TEST 4: Using A Chemical Block Tester (Combustion Leak Tester).

TEST 3: Engine Compression Test

Over the years, I've run into more than a few vehicles with a blown head gasket that weren't showing the usual signs. The engine oil wasn't mixed with coolant, and cranking the engine with the radiator cap off wasn't sending coolant shooting out either.

Even without those symptoms, the head gasket had still failed (causing the engine to not start), and it was a compression test that finally revealed what was happening.

The gasket had burned through between two side-by-side cylinders, leaving both of their compression readings at zero.

The photo of the burned head gasket at the beginning of this tutorial shows you exactly that kind of failure.

In this test section, we'll check engine compression and see if this has happened to your Ford Escort or Mercury Tracer.

NOTE: You can find the compression test —and how to read the results— explained in more detail here: How To Test Engine Compression (1997-2003 2.0L Ford Escort, Mercury Tracer).

Here's what you need to do:

1. 1

   Disable the fuel system by removing the fuel pump relay.

2. 2

   Disable the ignition system by disconnecting the ignition coil pack from its connector.

3. 3

   Disconnect the spark plug wires from the spark plugs. I strong recommend you use a spark plug wire puller for this (to avoid having the wire's metal terminal stay stuck on the spark plug).
   
   NOTE: Label the spark plug wires so that you can reconnect them back to the correct spark plug when you're done.

4. 4

   Remove the spark plugs.

5. 5

   Install the compression tester (hand tight only) on the first cylinder you're gonna test.

6. 6

   Have a helper crank the engine while you observe the compression tester.

7. 7

   Have your helper stop cranking the engine once the needle on the gauge stops climbing.

8. 8

   Write down the compression readings.

9. 9

   Repeat steps 5 through 8 on the remaining cylinders.

Let's take a look at your test results mean:

CASE 1: You've got two side-by-side cylinders showing 0 PSI compression. When that happens, the head gasket has failed and is letting those two cylinders' compression bleed into each other.

CASE 2: All cylinders holding good, solid compression. This is the correct and expected test result.

If the engine does not start, this result confirms the head gasket on your 2.0L Ford Escort (or Mercury Tracer) isn't the source of the problem.

TEST 4: Using A Chemical Block Tester (Combustion Leak Tester)

In some cases, the head gasket is in the early stages of failure. The engine starts and runs but doesn't show any of the symptoms the previous 3 tests are checking for.

Yet, the engine is overheating within minutes and for no obvious reason. In these hard-to-pin-down cases, the only reliable way of confirming or ruling out a blown head gasket is by doing a block test with a combustion leak detector.

This combustion leak tester is the same tool repair shops everywhere use when they need to be certain a head gasket has failed.

Here's how it works:

• A blue liquid chemical, which is blue in color, is placed in the tester (see photo above).
• The tester assembly is then placed on the open radiator neck (you may have to drain some of the coolant in the radiator since this tool needs to 'gulp' some of the air inside the radiator).
• The engine is started.
• The rubber bellow is then squeezed to suck in the air up through the two fluid-filled chambers. As the air bubbles up through the fluid, it will cause a chemical reaction.
• If the blue chemical turns yellow (for gasoline engines), then combustion gases are entering the radiator. This result confirms a blown head gasket, a cracked block, or a cracked cylinder head issue.
• If the blue chemical doesn't change color, then you can conclude that you don't have a blown head gasket, a cracked block, or a cracked cylinder head issue.

Where can you get the chemical and block tester? Here:

Frequently Asked Questions

1.) How can I tell if the cylinder head is cracked?

This can only be done with the cylinder head off the engine block and either visually checking it or having it pressure-tested.

When the crack on the head is large enough, you'll spot it right away without special equipment. But if nothing obvious is showing up, then you'll need to let a machine shop pressure test it and confirm or rule out if it's cracked.

2.) How can I find out if the cylinder head is warped?

Checking for warpage is also done with the cylinder head off the block. Once you've got it off, you'll need to first cleaning the head gasket surface completely.

Next, you'll need to lay a precision straight-edge across cylinder head's gasket-facing side and slide feeler gauges under it to see where it's no longer perfectly flat.

This is the only accurate way of knowing whether the cylinder head is warped or not.

Now, if the engine overheated (and the cause of the blown head gasket), you can count on the cylinder head being warped. At that point, resurfacing it at a machine shop isn't optional —it's required.

3.) Do I need to resurface the cylinder head?

Yes, you'll need to have the cylinder head pressure-tested and resurfaced before reinstalling it.

Skipping these two steps is asking for trouble, especially if the engine overheated.

More 2.0L Ford Escort And Mercury Tracer Diagnostic Tutorials

You can find a complete list of 2.0L Ford Escort and Mercury Tracer tutorials in this index:

• 2.0L Ford Escort Index Of Articles.

Here's a small sample of the tutorials you'll find in the index:

• How To Test Engine Compression (1997-2003 2.0L Ford Escort, Mercury Tracer).
• Common Causes Of Spark Plug Failure (1997-2003 2.0L Ford Escort, Mercury Tracer).
• How To Test The MAF Sensor (1997-2003 2.0L Ford Escort).
• How To Test The Throttle Position Sensor (1998-2003 2.0L Ford Escort ZX2).