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i think i blew me a head gasket

Chevy3500

Chevy3500

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Location
Sunbury, ohio
Well I've noticed my low coolent light has been coming on at times. Well today I checked my fluid and it was way low and it looks like coolent has blew out of the over flow bottle , so something cause it to get really high pressure. I'm thinking either athe motor got hot or I have combustion gases getting into the cooling system so I will check that at work tomorrow, btw the motor never has gotten to 210 since I've owned the truck
 
Single t-stat ????? If so, get it to operating temp, remove the t-stat and look in the crossover and see if any bubbles come up into the crossover, you can see what side of the motor they come from, that will tell you what side is blown.
 
I wouldn't do that because I don't want my face to get burned off lmao. But it does not matter which side it is to me because I would either fix both sides or probably just sell the truck and go buy a Cummins
 
Sell me your truck, I want a 5 speed! I think another way to check for blown head gaskets is to squeeze the upper rad hose while truck is running, if it gets super hard at start up then you might have blown gasket.
 
Blown head gasket, cracked head, cracked block? ? ? ? ?

1st - Squeeze the upper hose after start up of a cold motor, if it gets hard right a way move to next step.

2nd - Pull Serpentine belt, and t Stats, top off the cooling system til seen at the T stat housing. Start the engine for a moment watching for which side bubbles and how vigorously the bubbles are seen.

A few bubbles or low rate of bubbles are a controlled leak, most likely a cracked head.
Vigorous bubbles would most likely indicate a blown head gasket. (failed sealing ring to coolant passage etc)

Very important if you suspect a cracked head, isolate the cylinder. Pull a glow plug at a time until the bubbles disappear or minimize. This real good information when inspecting the head gasket and determining what's broke. Because Hot pressure testing can not always find leaking head cracks.

You can mitigate the coolant puking, til it gets worse, by adding an air vent to the t stat. (1/8" hole in the t stat flange)

Good luck, been there done that.
 
The loss of coolant can have other sources,it's not nesessarily a head gasket or crack.
I would do a coolant pressure check first and check for outside leaks.
 
I did the combustion gas test and the fluid stayed blue and then coolent started to rush out hut I'm going to put.this truck on craigslist tonight for about 2500 obo
 
Chevy3500 said:
I wouldn't do that because I don't want my face to get burned off lmao. But it does not matter which side it is to me because I would either fix both sides or probably just sell the truck and go buy a Cummins
Click to expand...

It's always a good idea to check it for where the bubbles come from before hand so you know which side to check for a blown head gasket. Lets say you you check for bubbles and find them coming from the drivers side, you tear it down and both head gaskstes are still intact and perfect. Now you know you need to check the cylinders and heads for cracks rather than hoping it was just a head gasket and get it all back together and have it leak again. And to keep from getting sprayed, pull the belt off.
 
Chevy3500 said:
I did the combustion gas test and the fluid stayed blue and then coolent started to rush out hut I'm going to put.this truck on craigslist tonight for about 2500 obo
Click to expand...

Mine had 2 blown head gaskets and teh fluid never changed color when I tested it either. Teh block tester fluid is meant for testing for gasoline engines more so than diesels, and doesn't work well for detecting diesel combustion gasses.
 
Chevy3500 said:
Well I've noticed my low coolent light has been coming on at times. Well today I checked my fluid and it was way low and it looks like coolent has blew out of the over flow bottle , so something cause it to get really high pressure. I'm thinking either athe motor got hot or I have combustion gases getting into the cooling system so I will check that at work tomorrow, btw the motor never has gotten to 210 since I've owned the truck
Click to expand...

btfarm said:
I can think of a couple of EXperts that aren't gonna like you talking like that Tanner...:nonod:

ex spert ...ecks spurt... = n, usually means yesterday's hydraulic leak.

:hihi:
Click to expand...



Not always about the math how something should work, proof is in pudding over long haul dynamically how it hold up, my setup has been there since 2008.

I'm not saying the HX or other turbos won't work and that it is also the cause of the problem or a contributor in this instance;

But stepping back as circumstances before us, we have a 1994 vintage truck that was Lord only knows how it was treated in the past, and some think that exceeding the design operating envelope nearly 2X what factory designed for and hi years/miles is a good thing IMO is just playing the ponies as to which methodology gonna win the race.

No that logic just makes me go "Hmnnn not so much a good idea", backpressure is bad IMO but survivable if a balance of stradegdy :) can be metted out.

There are lot of dynamic stress forces generated when going for 21 psi boost for what gain in the 6.5, especially in a 3500 dually built geared for towing a race vehicle it ain't never gonna be, Mine is capable of boost that high but I self limit to about 14 psi max intermittent, tow heavy (18K#) I self limit to 10-12 sustained, which may be partly why I'm still driving the old girl, and when feeling froggy maybe more running empty but shux with 10psi boost I'm on bottom side of a hundred in pretty short order which is plenty fast 121 mph with 15 psi was as far as I ever dared to push her.

Start fresh with a reman or new 6.5 engine yeah I might if all I had funds for was a salvaged HX or a CKO of the HX try it, but "tired vintage iron" either don't add power mods in a big way at all or at least stay within the confines of the design envelope.
 
Me personaly I would not give up just yet you know your 6.5, you don't know the Cummins or maybe you do, but if you do you also know they can have issues as well,,,,,,, expensive ones,,,,,, which is easy for me to say not knowing the full situation before you, but if it is a head gasket you are into that is a relatively inexpensive repair vs vehicle buy and fix any new gotcha problems looming on another new to you vehicle.
 
Ok i took off the tstat housing and took the serp belt off, and sure enough it was blowing bubbles from the driver side of the motor like crazy, so its a huge leak and not small, if its coming out this fast just idling imagin how much it leaks when under boost. I though i took a vid but i guess it didnt save or something, so off to craigslist it goestruck last one.jpg

Bye Bye Truck you will be missed R.I.P
 
Maybe my hx comment is below the belt but I have to agree with Tim that giving up on the truck doesn't make good sense. With head studs I'm sure the hx would be fine but Imo there is still too much back pressure on the engine to reach full efficiency.

I've tried my wh1c on my 93 and found the wastegate was frozen shut and saw 24 psi 2200 rpm and egt climbing fast. Imo it might be okay on a high geared low rpm truck but it will not grace my low geared trucks engine again.

If only I were closer. I'd buy it from you.
 
I have a 3500 and I was toying with the idea of boosting but this thread has convinced me to stay close to OEM, ain't got the purse to fix blown head gaskets. A relocated PMD is about as far as I'm going to take it.
 
I sure wish i had the cash right now for that truck. Its worth fixing, its a 5 speed and a perfect candidate for a DB2 pump conversion.
 
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