Would you ditch this truck, do engine swap, or swap the head gasket?

[redfishsc]

Just asking for opinions here. I'm kinda at a hard decision to make.

I just picked for basically free a 1999 Suburban K1500. Right off the bat, I know it needs an alternator and battery (both are shot) and AC compressor. 230K miles. No drips of any fluid.

It smokes steam (white) and gets coolant into the oil. No oil in coolant. Transmission fluid looks uncontaminated, just the usual dark red.

Compression on #4 and 6 are low (120psi and 150), but the rest are all 170-180. Previous owner always suspected a leaky head gasket, and I haven't ruled out a leaky intake gasket as a part of the problem.

Has been getting water in coolant for quite a while, several months at least. Hasn't been driven much during those months, but who knows how long it's been getting water in the oil.

Motor actually runs very smooth. Idles like a sleeping kitten. No knocking noises.

I'm only using this to drive to work (literally 11 miles per day) and the occasional fishing trip.

My mechanical experience does NOT include head gaskets or engine swaps. I've done intake gaskets and rebuilt rear ends (gear and carrier swaps) on my OTHER 1999 Suburban.

I'm considering whether it would be better to rip the engine out an swap in a crate motor (stock, I don't have the cash or know-how for serious mods), or just sell this thing for peanuts.

 

[east302]

If everything else is good and this isn't going to be a money pit, then I'd fix it, understanding that you'll never recoup what you put into it. A new crate engine is certainly an option...expect to pay around $4000 for a shop to do it, parts and labor.

I'd compare it to the cost of parts replacement versus, maybe, a salvage yard 350 if you don't have the cash at the moment.

The plus side, though, is that you have a vehicle that is paid for and generally know the history of. Compare that to buying something else that you know nothing about. I wouldn't go head over heels into debt over it, but I wouldn't do a car note, either.

I saw a commercial for a new Escalade the other day. The lease--not ownership--payment was something like $700 a month. I couldn't fathom doing that.


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[Tom P]

If you got is basically for free and have a backup vehicle, why not just drive it as is until it pukes or leaves you stranded on the side of the road once. It doesn't owe you anything and you don't owe it anything. Unless you are dying for a 4x4 over your C1500 Sub. Deal with it and drive a free car until it ****** you off. Save the money for something that won't require a bunch of engine work right off the bat. At 230K (depending on its maintenance history) it may need suspension, steering, or other drivetrain work, and that stuff gets expensive and isn't always easy to do. East302 is right though, you probably won't get your money back out of it especially if it needs top end engine work.

 

[redfishsc]

If everything else is good and this isn't going to be a money pit, then I'd fix it, understanding that you'll never recoup what you put into it. A new crate engine is certainly an option...expect to pay around $4000 for a shop to do it, parts and labor.

I'd compare it to the cost of parts replacement versus, maybe, a salvage yard 350 if you don't have the cash at the moment.

The plus side, though, is that you have a vehicle that is paid for and generally know the history of. Compare that to buying something else that you know nothing about. I wouldn't go head over heels into debt over it, but I wouldn't do a car note, either.

I saw a commercial for a new Escalade the other day. The lease--not ownership--payment was something like $700 a month. I couldn't fathom doing that.

Yeah I haven't looked for the price on a salvage 5.7, there aren't many of them around seemingly with decent mileage anymore. Since I've never pulled an engine, I'm a wee bit cautious of going that route since I'd have to mostly 1-man it. I have a few friends that can help but I'd have to be the one in the drivers seat. But, you guys here have helped me with a lot so I got that going for me.

I'm definitely not taking a loan out on something. I'm too Dave Ramsey for that lol, we don't drive far and I like having things that I can fix myself (sorta).

If you got is basically for free and have a backup vehicle, why not just drive it as is until it pukes or leaves you stranded on the side of the road once. It doesn't owe you anything and you don't owe it anything. Unless you are dying for a 4x4 over your C1500 Sub. Deal with it and drive a free car until it ****** you off. Save the money for something that won't require a bunch of engine work right off the bat. At 230K (depending on its maintenance history) it may need suspension, steering, or other drivetrain work, and that stuff gets expensive and isn't always easy to do. East302 is right though, you probably won't get your money back out of it especially if it needs top end engine work.

I'm thinking this is what I'm going to do. I don't drive far to work. At the very least I think I should pull the intake and swap the gasket, I still think this is where most of the fluid in the exhaust and oil is coming from. I picked up a Felpro intake gasket and a cheap alternator this evening.

I'll start pulling the intake tomorrow when I get off work.

 

[skylark]

I don't think the Dave Ramsey would say it quite like this but don't half-ass the problem. You obviously have a blown head gasket between cylinder 4 and Cylinder 6 that is where your compression is going. You need to pull the heads, both of them and replace the gaskets. Be advised though that if water was in the oil for too long then it will eventually tear up the bearings in the bottom end. The water washes the oil film off of the bearing and unfortunately you don't have the lubrication that you need.

Option b would be to find a wrecking yard engine and swap it in there. It is just labor, the only thing technical is dropping the distributor in.

As far as a battery goes, check with your local Interstate Battery dealer and see if they have "Econo Power" batteries. They are rebranded Interstate batteries that are over a year old. They are $45. Dave would like that!

 

[Jeffgmcgrr]

I don't think the Dave Ramsey would say it quite like this but don't half-ass the problem. You obviously have a blown head gasket between cylinder 4 and Cylinder 6 that is where your compression is going. You need to pull the heads, both of them and replace the gaskets. Be advised though that if water was in the oil for too long then it will eventually tear up the bearings in the bottom end. The water washes the oil film off of the bearing and unfortunately you don't have the lubrication that you need.

Option b would be to find a wrecking yard engine and swap it in there. It is just labor, the only thing technical is dropping the distributor in.

As far as a battery goes, check with your local Interstate Battery dealer and see if they have "Econo Power" batteries. They are rebranded Interstate batteries that are over a year old. They are $45. Dave would like that!

Skylark don't mess around. I like you and your rhetoric

 

[redfishsc]

I don't think the Dave Ramsey would say it quite like this but don't half-ass the problem. You obviously have a blown head gasket between cylinder 4 and Cylinder 6 that is where your compression is going. You need to pull the heads, both of them and replace the gaskets. Be advised though that if water was in the oil for too long then it will eventually tear up the bearings in the bottom end. The water washes the oil film off of the bearing and unfortunately you don't have the lubrication that you need.

I know, you are 100% right, which is why I'm actually hesitant to do a head gasket right now, that's a lot of work for something with potentially shot bearings.

My current plan, which is just a hail mary throw, is to swap the intake gasket (which I'm fortunate to have done recently in my other sub).

If this stops the water getting into the oil and it buys me a few months, so much the better.

If I pull the intake off and find no signs of leaks, I'll stop and rethink my plans.

 

[skylark]

Don't fear the unknown. If you can do an intake then you can do head gaskets. You are wasting time and money by putting an intake gasket on an engine that isn't sound.

 

[Steve A]

Motor actually runs very smooth. Idles like a sleeping kitten. No knocking noises.

I have to agree with Skylark, yank the heads and change the gaskets, not that much more than intake gaskets. Check the heads really close though, these Vortex heads are prone to cracking if/when they get hot. If everything looks good then you have a useful vehicle that has increased in value albeit slightly but more importantly you have increased your mechanical knowledge.

 

[professur]

My 2 cents ... youtube. Plenty of videos of guys doing heads. It's not rocket science, and these trucks have TONS of room to work in. Since there's only one side with low compression, leave the other side be. Failing that ... most scrap yards will swap the motor for you for peanuts. I've had several swaps done (on other vehicles) for under 1k CDN cash and they happily gave me a 6 month warranty to boot. I've never been a fan of driving a car waiting for it to strand me. I've better things to do with my time than walk home, and peace of mind is cheap.