head gasket vs cylinder head crack

[bderrick]

I replaced a headgasket on my '90 325i about 6 months ago - had the head checked for warpage etc. Recently have started loosing coolant again. Car is not running hat at all. about 1-2 quarts in 100 miles. no obvious leaks at hoses etc. Question: what could this be? What is best way to diagnose problem? thanks

bderrick

[BMWJNKY]

Did you replace the headgasket or did you have a shop do it? If a shop did it take it back to them and have your cooling system pressure tested. If you did it yourself get a pressure tester and test your car. If nothing leaks onto the ground after 5-10 min of having pressure in the system and you only loose 2-3 psi take out your spark plugs and see if the pressure drops. If the pressure drops you either have a cracked head or another bad headgasket.

[bderrick]

AJ - thanks for the info, I will follow up on this. Also, is there anyway to determine between head gasket or cracked head without pulling the head?

[BMWJNKY]

Usually there is no way to tell.