Blown Head Gasket... What to do?

[Jgebauer]

Welp. Sad news. Found out my new bad oil leak was coming out of my radiator today. Sadly it's now December and I don't have a garage to replace my head gaskets on my own. I've recently put over $2k into the ol gal in engine and suspension work. Hell even recently upgraded the sound system. Did it all myself which makes it even tougher to stomach today's news.

Now I'm weighing my options. A. Get gaskets replaced & keep existing engine (separately has rear main seal leak). cheapest option but would still have a really old truck w original engine. B. Buy a crate 350 (suggestions?) and have a shop install it. C. Get a newer truck?

Let me know what ya'll think.

Thanks,

Jared

 

[Eveready]

You are already 2/3 of the way there... if compression and bottom end have been OK to date I would have new head gaskets. Bummer about not having space to do it... how much would it cost to rent a BIG storage unit for a very short time (maybe a month if you are fast). Add a job site heater (remember ventilation) and wrench that puppy in . The parts and the rent would be cheaper than having it done and you would learn a LOT. Might be possible to drop the pan and get that seal in also ( I don't know about this as I have never done one from the bottom ) so this part is pure speculation. Someone more experienced than me could tell you about that.

 

[Tavi]

I would look into a junkyard motor. Great idea on the rental. I think swapping the motor out would be faster, fix both issues and have a newer motor. The cost of a hoist a couple months rent (you can pull a motor and replace a motor in a weekend) and you’re still well below the price tag of what a shop would ask.

Check out partsmarket.com. Got an engine from them. Had to warranty it. But they made it right.

 

[Jgebauer]

*Upate*

Thanks for all your input. Received a diagnosis from a trusted mechanic and he said it was a combo of my oil cooler lines leaking and a lower intake manifold failure. Since I had already done the upper intake manifold gasket I figured I could take this on. Was able to use my old companies shop and got the job done (along with replacing a few other things) in a week of late nights after work. She's running smooth again but does knock a little when she's cold until she gets warmed up. Hopefully I didn't scour my main bearings too bad when the antifreeze was mixing.

Back on the road for a couple hundred bucks and a bunch of new parts.