94 T-Bird,3.8, problems after Head Gasket replacement???

I have a 94 T-bird 3.8......Head gasket blew on me back in Oct..I replaced the drivers side and it ran perfect for a couple of weeks...then I had problems with the cooling system.....thinking that air was in the system....then I replaced the water pump, had the rad checked, had a new T-stat put in.....the temp gauge would climb to the red mark and then drop down with no heat in the cabin. I thought maybe the the other side (head gasket) had gone this time.I took the plugs out and they all seemed fine.no evidence of coolant..and none in oil.I'm running the car without the Thermostat right now and not having the problem with the gauge. I also noticed that there is pressure built up in the Rad, even when it is cold. Yesterday I did a compression test and all cylinders were 180/230 psi except one that was 165/230 psi(passenger side)..but were all to specs.Is this test reliable? Could it be a blockage in the cooling system, Coolant Temp Sensor, or could it be the Head Gaskets?

Thanks for your response.

Welcome to the forum Bob. Do you have heat in the interior with the thermostat removed? It sounds like you had air in the system. Was the temp going into the red zone before you replaced the waterpump and t-stat and did you have heat then? Was the coolant level at the full mark before replacing parts and now?

Thanks

Yes, I have some heat coming into the interior with the thermostat removed, and the gauge stays down at the cold mark. And yes, the gauge was going into the red zone before and after the pump was replaced, and there was no heat when it was in the red zone. I tried my best to get all the air out of the system while filling the rad and even topped it up after running the car for a while. I don't understand why there is so much pressure in the rad when it is cold, and why the coolant is not entering into the overflow container, even with a new rad cap installed. I thought that maybe there is a leak at the head gasket where the cylinder is pressurizing the cooling system, but shouldn't the compression test tell me that. That test passed?

Put a pressure gage on the system if the gage pulsates when running a head gasket is bad. If the car ran good for 2 weeks after replacing the head gasket.
You probably have a leaking gasket.
A radiator shop can run an analyis and tell you for sure. Always change both gaskets and have the heads pressure tested. This will save you a lot of problems.
If you can't afford to test ask Auto Zone if you can get a pressure test unit on they free loaner program. You can try a tube of powered stop leak for a fix until payday.

I took the car in to have an emissions test done ,as here in Canada we have to have it done every 2 years in order to get our license sticker. Well thinking that it will fail the test will give me an idication that the head gaskets are leaking and will have to be replaced. Well to my surprise!......it passed the test with flying colours. So , I had them do a test to see if there were carbon gases in the radiator, and sure enough there was.
Therefore, there is a leak in the head gasket, a crack in the head, or even worse a crack in the block. Well , now I have to determine which side is to blame. Maybe I will do what Rhandwor suggested and replace both sides and get both heads pressure tested and machined. This leak has not been detected by strong pungent white smoke out of the tailpipe, or coolant in the oil, and all plugs look clean, and a compression test passed in all cylinders. But that the coolant system is being pressurized by the piston in one or more cylinders through a leak in the gasket(s), or a crack in the head, not at idle speed or at 40 km speed, but most likely at 100 kph (60 mph), and that speed the coolant is probably being lost as it is being burned through the exhaust, as I am losing the coolant somehow.
I thank 97Bird and Rhandwor for your help.
Hopefully this post will help others with these type of symptoms, and hopefully this solves my problem.

Thank You.

If the block has a crack it usually is between the cylinders. After it is cleaned throughly hold a flashlight sideways across the area a crack will usually show up. Two piston sleeves will fix this problem. Hopefully it is just a leaking gasket.

I replaced the head gasket on the passenger side.................and that has solved the problem.
It was a leaking head gasket at the #3 cylinder..that is where I got the 165/230 psi reading on the compression test.