Help-- Kind of non audi

[Melissaml <Melissaml@aol.com>]

Looking for advice....   I guess it could apply to an Audi.  It will also
prevent my 90 quattro from turning into my wife’s daily driver.

I’ve got a 95 Windstar 3.8 V6 that goes through a gallon of anti freeze a
week.  There is no trace of a leak.  when I shut the engine off there is a
stream of bubbles coming from the radiator in the coolant reserve tank.  There
doesn’t appear to be any water in the oil, no milky white substance on the
dipstick.  I suspect a head gasket or a crack in either the cylinder head or
block.  The car has never frozen or overheated.

I can handle a head gasket or the cylinder head but I think I lack the lifting
equipment to remove the engine-transaxel from below.  

Now the questions.  Talking to several buddies I’m told a crack may not be
visible to the naked eye.  It may open up when it gets hot.  Are there any
reliable crack detection methods available?  Does the fact there is no water
in the oil say it is possibly a crack in the intake passage in the head.  How
would I find that.  If it was just a bad head gasket wouldn’t water run past
the rings into the oil on shutdown?  

I’ve been told Sears sells a compression gauge that has a coupler that has a
spark plug thread on one end and a fitting for compressed air on the other.
This allows you to pressurize the combustion chamber and listen for compressed
air to leak out various locations.  Has anyone ever done this and is it of any
value.

The local machine shop will pressure test the heads.  Would this locate a
crack.