head gasket or what?

[Paladin]

I took Paladin in to get the engine checked before power tour, just to make sure everything is o.k. Lately when you pop the hood there is the distinct smell of anti-freeze, but there is not a drop under the car. Can't find any leaks anywhere. We ran the car on the dyno, no white smoke at all, but I am down about 60 RWHP. Part of that is because the boost was only 9 psi, instead of the usual 10 psi, so the blower belt is slipping a bit, but that still leaves about 35hp unaccounted for and the timing and air-fuel are fine. The engine is running really hot and we just changed to synthetic oil. There was no anti-freeze in the oil. In normal stop and go traffic the car does not over heat and is usally at about 190, my electric fans come on at 210 to cool it down. My tuner thinks I may have a blown head gasket because tehy are the stock crappy crate motor ones, but we are going to pressurize the cooling system and do a leak down test. Anyone have any ideas???
Much Appreciated.

Ian

Has your coolant level gone down? The gasket could also be blown in an area that wouldnt cause a leak, ie between cylinders.Have you examined the spark plugs?

[camcojb]

there is a simple inexpensive kit you can buy at most auto parts stores that will detect if there's exhaust gases in the coolant. That'd be my first step.

Jody

[Paladin]

coolant level is fine, spark plugs also show nothing.

[aany001]

Ian if you want I can come by your place and bring my kit that detects if u have combustion vapours in your cooling system.This thing is like 99.99999% accurate in detecting cooling system problems.let me know
Steve