What did you do with your GMT400 today...or yesterday....

[Twisted Steel Performance]

If they didn't put sealant on the studs it's guaranteed water will pass through... of coarse you already know that... drain the oil....

 

[Will L.]

Your done. Tear it apart now while only the gaskets need replacement.
Put it off and you will have a stack of parts damaged.

Head studs - what will stop the leak

After speaking and Emailing with Permatex: Best: Optimum Black -27037 #2: The Right Stuff (black) #3: Ultimate Black #4: Optimum Grey #5: The Right Stuff (grey) #6: Ultimate Grey There is one other possible option, but it has not been properly tested, even by Permatex for it- Seal & Lock...

www.thetruckstop.us

 

[Chewy1576]

I gave them a brand new tube of Optimum Black with the ARP torque fluid. The tube didn't come back with the core parts. Draining the oil now...

 

[Twisted Steel Performance]

The trouble with paying someone else to work on these motors is they don't know what we know, and they may do a lot of work on other motors but it's like having a shade tree mechanic work on a 700cube alcohol motor.... it won't turn out very well most of the time...

 

[Chewy1576]

After daily driving it for a week, I see no evidence of coolant in the oil. It is pretty black though, even after just a week.

 

[Husker6.5]

Unless you're running gapless rings, even with a freshly cleaned block and rebuild motor, the oil will be sooty within minutes of firing it up the first time.

 

[Will L.]

When paying someone to build a 6.5, usually have to pay extra for the headaches and give them a “to do” list.

When you said they didn’t put sealant on the studs- get very clear information from them. What exactly did they put on the head studs? If they did not put the permetex or use a bunch of loctite on them, they will leak.

 

[MrMarty51]

Getting a pretty good oil leak from the front of the engine. The shop that did the heads put in a new front main seal when they did the fluidampr, hoping they didn't screw it up.

Another big concern I have is they didn't put sealant on the studs before threading them in to the block. I checked the oil and it is well above the full mark on the dipstick. Im theorizing they overfilled it when they changed the oil after the head change and its leaking past the seals. Im half tempted to drain the oil and look for coolant too, just to ease my worries.

Dont need to totally drain the oil to check for coolant.
Just back out the drain plug about two or three turns and if there is anything other than oil in the pan, it will seep out past the threads.
By removing the drain plug, may have mixed the coolant in with the oil and masked it over.

 

[Big T]

225K miles on the ‘99 Suburban and changed the oil.

 

[Husker6.5]

225K miles on the ‘99 Suburban and changed the oil.

Damn that's a long change interval!

 

[Big T]

Damn that's a long change interval!

It's that Super Duper Tribodyne stuff. Don't knock it.

 

[Husker6.5]

So you can drive to the moon between changes.

 

[Will L.]

Need good tires- traction is rough most the way

 

[Husker6.5]

Directional Turbo Exhaust propulsion system!

 

[Chewy1576]

Been driving the truck, still getting a drip from the front of the motor. As dark as the drops are I was thinking oil, but after a while the drops are spreading out thin so now I'm thinking fuel that is picking up oily residue from grime on the front of the engine. I'll be looking at the hard fuel return line at the front of the engine.

 

[Husker6.5]

Yeah, the ends of those return hoses that push onto the metal return wye can get crunchy, split and leak, or perhaps one isn't seated over the nipple completely. Could also be an unnoticed nick/cut in one of the hoses that could be seeping, too.

 

[Husker6.5]

And of course some engine degreaser and a bout with a power washer first really helps in tracing the leak back to its source.

 

[Chewy1576]

Yeah, the ends of those return hoses that push onto the metal return wye can get crunchy, split and leak, or perhaps one isn't seated over the nipple completely. Could also be an unnoticed nick/cut in one of the hoses that could be seeping, too.

Especially if they were already old and were just taken apart to replace the heads.

 

[Husker6.5]

Exactly. New ones are cheap insurance for the next 100K+ miles or decade! Now, trying to snake one down the valley after you've gotten everything back together. . .

 

[Big T]

Been driving the truck, still getting a drip from the front of the motor. As dark as the drops are I was thinking oil, but after a while the drops are spreading out thin so now I'm thinking fuel that is picking up oily residue from grime on the front of the engine. I'll be looking at the hard fuel return line at the front of the engine.

Alway check that the bleeder valve is fully off