Check engine light came on and vehicle stopped accelerating

PRICELIL

MEMBER
2012 INFINITI FX35
3.5L
V6
AUTOMATIC
132,540 MILES

I pulled over and noticed a coolant leak. Took it took a mechanic and they said I blew the radiator. Then they said I needed a new motor because the head cover gasket was blown. They told me I could drive it home. When I drove it home it never overheated or shut down and it accelerated fine. Only thing I noticed when I parked it was the radiator fluid leaking from the bottom of the radiator. The vehicle never overheated, smoked, locked up or shut down initially or when I drove it from the auto repair shop. The engine oil is not milky it's still brown. They said it failed a block test. Can you perform a block test with a blown and leaking radiator?

1 Reply

SQM

MECHANIC
6,383 POSTS

Hello,

The purpose of the block test is to check for blown head gasket. It check for combustion gases in your coolant. So yes, you can do block test on your vehicle to determine if you have a blown head gasket.

Check out this article, it goes over how to check for a blown head gasket:

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/head-gasket-blown-test

Here is a video showing how to check for blown head gasket:

https://youtu.be/5zpNjYmmiYY

You mentioned your check engine light came on. Do you know what are the codes?

https://youtu.be/vMwTzURWXmk
https://www.2carpros.com/articles/checking-a-service-engine-soon-or-check-engine-light-on-or-flashing

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Thank you.