advice on head gasket (1 Viewer)

[wesayso]

So, my 97 40th Anniversary, with 236K has a leaking head gasket. It misfires for about 10 seconds on a cold start, and puts out a lot of steam from the exhaust. After 10 seconds the idle smooths out, and the steam disappears, after which the truck runs great. There is no sign of water in the crankcase, and it doesn't overheat. Long story short, I don't have in me to do the work myself anymore (bad back). Should I try to sell the truck as is, or maybe part it out? I just put $1700 dollars (parts only) replacing the entire exhaust from the down tubes back, and I have new tires, front rotors and calipers. Everything on the truck works, even the AC. I really don't want to give up the truck, but I don't seem to have ant other good options.

 

[bhsdriller]

I'll give you 1,700 for it

Put a bottle of Bars in it and keep on driving

 

[Rusty Marlin]

Did you call otramm for a quote, he's about 2 hrs away, just North of Fredericksburg.
With everything else working, it would be a shame to turn it loose for a head gasket.

 

[jpoole]

From what you've said I'm not convinced you have HG failure though you certainly could. Why don't you pull the plugs to see if any are steam cleaned? With the failure mode you are describing (coolant into cylinders and steam out exhaust) you should have a steam cleaned plug/chamber. I'd also be watching fluid levels very closely and may send oil to Blackstone if you need to ease your fears with confidence.

These trucks make a lot of steam when warming up for a few reasons. Keep in mind that for every gallon of fuel burned that more than a gallon of water is produced. All of that water vapor has to pass through a pretty long, cold exhaust system and it condenses making the visible steam. Add in that the engine likely runs pretty rich during initial warm up and you will first see heavier steam that reduces as the mixture leans out and the exhaust warms up.

As is being discussed elsewhere on the forum currently the HG failure paranoia may be running a bit high on these forums right now. If your exhaust doesn't smell sweet and you don't have a steam cleaned spark plug or other HG symptoms you may be able to shift focus to just trying to figure out your cold idle miss. If that's where you end up I'd recommend giving it thought/research over time while simultaneously driving the heck out of it. "Truck runs great when warm" means it runs great when it counts There are lots of reasons why it may miss but if the fluids are clean and at proper level you should be able to drive it without much worry while you work through the miss issue.

 

[KC masterpiece]

From what you've said I'm not convinced you have HG failure though you certainly could. Why don't you pull the plugs to see if any are steam cleaned? With the failure mode you are describing (coolant into cylinders and steam out exhaust) you should have a steam cleaned plug/chamber. I'd also be watching fluid levels very closely and may send oil to Blackstone if you need to ease your fears with confidence.

These trucks make a lot of steam when warming up for a few reasons. Keep in mind that for every gallon of fuel burned that more than a gallon of water is produced. All of that water vapor has to pass through a pretty long, cold exhaust system and it condenses making the visible steam. Add in that the engine likely runs pretty rich during initial warm up and you will first see heavier steam that reduces as the mixture leans out and the exhaust warms up.

As is being discussed elsewhere on the forum currently the HG failure paranoia may be running a bit high on these forums right now. If your exhaust doesn't smell sweet and you don't have a steam cleaned spark plug or other HG symptoms you may be able to shift focus to just trying to figure out your cold idle miss. If that's where you end up I'd recommend giving it thought/research over time while simultaneously driving the heck out of it. "Truck runs great when warm" means it runs great when it counts There are lots of reasons why it may miss but if the fluids are clean and at proper level you should be able to drive it without much worry while you work through the miss issue.

I second this. My 80 blows a cloud of white smoke for a while on a cold start. Used to give me HG paranoia.

 

[midfat]

I’ll play the role of Debbie-downer. Those were the exact same symptoms I had on my ‘97. Steam and a miss at start up. Everything cleared up once it warmed up. Had just done a Blackstone report and a few weeks prior and it passed with flying colors. I did not pull the plugs, but I should have. #5 combustion ring let loose about a week later and hydro locked the motor in an underground, low clearance parking garage. I had 265k on the clock. Don’t sell it. You’ll instantly regret it.

 

[onesix6]

So, my 97 40th Anniversary, with 236K has a leaking head gasket. It misfires for about 10 seconds on a cold start, and puts out a lot of steam from the exhaust. After 10 seconds the idle smooths out, and the steam disappears, after which the truck runs great. There is no sign of water in the crankcase, and it doesn't overheat. Long story short, I don't have in me to do the work myself anymore (bad back). Should I try to sell the truck as is, or maybe part it out? I just put $1700 dollars (parts only) replacing the entire exhaust from the down tubes back, and I have new tires, front rotors and calipers. Everything on the truck works, even the AC. I really don't want to give up the truck, but I don't seem to have ant other good options.

Have you done a compression and leakdown test? I would echo the comments to OTRAMM diagnose and quote since you're close enough.

For reference, my shop quoted me ~$1,600 to do the headgasket job.

 

[wesayso]

From what you've said I'm not convinced you have HG failure though you certainly could. Why don't you pull the plugs to see if any are steam cleaned? With the failure mode you are describing (coolant into cylinders and steam out exhaust) you should have a steam cleaned plug/chamber. I'd also be watching fluid levels very closely and may send oil to Blackstone if you need to ease your fears with confidence.

These trucks make a lot of steam when warming up for a few reasons. Keep in mind that for every gallon of fuel burned that more than a gallon of water is produced. All of that water vapor has to pass through a pretty long, cold exhaust system and it condenses making the visible steam. Add in that the engine likely runs pretty rich during initial warm up and you will first see heavier steam that reduces as the mixture leans out and the exhaust warms up.

As is being discussed elsewhere on the forum currently the HG failure paranoia may be running a bit high on these forums right now. If your exhaust doesn't smell sweet and you don't have a steam cleaned spark plug or other HG symptoms you may be able to shift focus to just trying to figure out your cold idle miss. If that's where you end up I'd recommend giving it thought/research over time while simultaneously driving the heck out of it. "Truck runs great when warm" means it runs great when it counts There are lots of reasons why it may miss but if the fluids are clean and at proper level you should be able to drive it without much worry while you work through the miss issue.

I've had to add coolant a few times. I will pull the plugs if I stops raining for a day. I'm 99% sure of my diagnosis.

 

[wesayso]

I'll give you 1,700 for it

Put a bottle of Bars in it and keep on driving

So, you want to buy my new exhaust system?

 

[wesayso]

I'll give you 1,700 for it

Put a bottle of Bars in it and keep on driving

No!

 

[wesayso]

I'll give you 1,700 for it

Put a bottle of Bars in it and keep on driving

I'll take $2250.

 

[Mtntopper]

Have you done a compression and leakdown test? I would echo the comments to OTRAMM diagnose and quote since you're close enough.

For reference, my shop quoted me ~$1,600 to do the headgasket job.

A $1,600 head gasket job does not sound right. There is almost that much in new rubber hoses that should be replaced.

 

[Grandlooser]