Head gasket shot?

[Supercharged111]

If it were me, I'd magnaflux the block and check for flatness, maybe even deck it. Then go with both new heads, the best your son can afford to buy. Build it to last another 20+ years

Cracked head and 240K miles. I'd either pull the engine for complete rebuild or slap on the cheapest head money can buy and let it roll. Immediate open heart surgery or take an aspirin and live another day.

You guys are overachievers. I'd check the block with a straight edge and send it with a new head(s). Hell I put a blower on my 1500 at 240k and have a junkyard 5.3 on the stand of unknown mileage that is race car bound. If it runs, doesn't knock, and you can stomach the oil consumption I'd just run the thing.

 

[RedBurb]

I agree ---put a head on it and rock on.

 

[351FUN]

Same. That block is tired, either quarter ass it or go ahead and at least do the rings and bearings.

 

[east302]

Cracked head and 240K miles. I'd either pull the engine for complete rebuild or slap on the cheapest head money can buy and let it roll. Immediate open heart surgery or take an aspirin and live another day.

Yeah, going to throw some reman heads on and hopefully get another year or so out of it.

If decent cheap trucks could still be had for less than $5k, I’d have sold it and been done with it.

Watch the transmission blow or him wreck this thing the week after I get done fixing it, lol.

 

[Erik the Awful]

You guys are overachievers.

Sorry that I'm a little late in my reply. That's a pretty significant pair of cracks, and that makes me wonder, "How hot did it get?" I had visible, smoking gun cracks in my heads. I rebuilt the motor with new heads, fired it up, and it was pumping combustion gases into the radiator. It was lots of work just to fail.

I'd magnaflux the block.

 

[Supercharged111]

Sorry that I'm a little late in my reply. That's a pretty significant pair of cracks, and that makes me wonder, "How hot did it get?" I had visible, smoking gun cracks in my heads. I rebuilt the motor with new heads, fired it up, and it was pumping combustion gases into the radiator. It was lots of work just to fail.

I'd magnaflux the block.

Where did you find the cracks in the block? Or did you just trash the thing at that point?

 

[Erik the Awful]

I sold my '99 Suburban as is, running smoother than butter, but pushing bubbles out of the radiator for $1000. I probably had $2000 in the rebuild and other truck maintenance at that point, but needed it gone.

Magnaflux the block.

 

[Teddygraham]

Coming from a New England’ers perspective on the exhaust “smoke,” doesn’t seem thick enough for coolant, looks more like condensation from a cold start. Your running headers so probably no cats, and that will cause more condensation. Did the “smoke” smell sweet and linger down the drive way like burning oil does?

I bought a bronco ii with bad head gaskets, and within 5 minutes you lost sight of the damn thing in a thick white cloud.

As far as compression test goes… do it. Otherwise you pull it apart and find nothing obvious, then you don’t know where to go or if your even fixing it at that point.

Also pull all 8 plugs. If one’s consuming coolant it will look bran-new and clean.

 

[east302]

Thanks, guys, I appreciate the input. I agree, doing a mag particle on the block would be the right way to go if this was one of my “good” 400 trucks but it’s my 16 year old son’s truck maybe worth $4k on a good day. It looks like hell and isn’t worth an engine swap. I’d swap the engine entirely rather than pull the block and send it to a shop for testing. Catch-22, I guess. You know how it is sometimes - bandaids instead of dollars and hope for the best.

So I got some $300/ea. reman heads delivered from Autozone, Lord help me. Well, one came in and the other is stuck somewhere in Tennessee. Reman is a loose term, there are no GM part numbers on it and it’s a 906 single pyramid symbol head versus 062 which is what it came with. I’ve no idea where the casting came from.

It has these paper clip sized wires stuck in it…any idea what they’re for or if this should be returned?

Y’all feel free to offer me a ton of money for this truck. It ran when parked, just needs TLC and a sensor

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[Schurkey]

Grab one of those wires with a needle-nose pliers, and yank it/them out. See what happens.

Wild Guess: MIG-welding wire from patching the iron.