Quote Originally Posted by zadam123 View Post
also as far as the block tester I did have a mechanic stick in old emissions tester ( the 1 used for your tail pipe) into the radiator reservoir tank and it did show a little co2 there. but no other mechanic has ever heard of this test. it seems like the same idea it is just that every mechanic is telling me it is not a head gasket. it is so hard to find a good mechanic
Along the same line then, could you do something like a compression test on that front, passenger-side cylinder to see if air bubbles end up in your radiator or reservoir tank? When looking for blown head-gaskets, I know that bubbles in the radiator are what some look for when the engine is running, but it seems like differentiating between bubbles caused by basic water flow through the engine and/or the thermostat opening and closing would be guesswork at best.

Pressurizing the cylinder chamber with the engine cold, then hot (but not running) would be an additional way to determine if pressure leakage due to heat expansion were affecting things in any way.

Just trying to throw some possibilities out there.