Another Head Gasket?

[Wyatt Pine]

So three years ago I replaced the head gasket on my '97 and got the head surfaced and cleaned and even had a valve job done. put it all back together following the FSM instructions and this past weekend I was driving and noticed the temp gauge a 1/4 inch above where it normally is. So i pull over and no coolant was there added a gallon or so and drove home and immediately pulled the plugs. no obvious sign of water but water is coming out of the exhaust pipe. What would cause the gasket to go bad so soon. its only been on there for 10,000 miles or so. any ideas? did I do something wrong when reassebling?

 

[coloradofj1]

Water pump could be going and purged some coolant. check you auxiliary heater core hoses for signs of leaks. Water is a byproduct of combustion. good luck

 

[fguil80s]

Sucks to hear but like coloradofj1 says, you may have a leak somewhere else or your H2O pump is going out. Did you replace that when you did HG or was it the same one? Hope it's something easy like a loosened clamp. Best of luck.

 

[Whileemptyheadsdream]

If you used an OEM head gasket Its Very unusual. When you say you were low on coolant 1 gallon and water was coming out of the exhaust, didn't you see a large white cloud behind you when you let off at speed ? Was the block decked or checked for being In spec ? How many miles on your engine and history of rig. Did you do the replacement yourself or was a shop Involved ? Was the head surfaced ? Has your rig over heated In the past ? All of these things could contribute to a gasket failure prematurely If Infact your H/G Is the culprit . Good Luck..!

 

[Wyatt Pine]

I don't really know what the problem was. I was actually getting ready to go on an expedition trip roughly 800 miles from where I lived. I just broke it down and in two days had the whole thing replaced, While I was there I checked for any other things that could cause a loss of coolant but when I pulled the head #6 cylinder was freaking SPOTLESS, So i kind of figured that was my problem. I replaced the HG but did no machine work because I didn't have time I figure if it goes again I will get both surfaces completely leveled and I'll do the bottom end too but so far so good.

 

[half k cruiser]

Check to make sure your not losing coolant elsewhere first. Is it water coming from the exhaust or visible vapor ? Also, do the normal checks, bubbles in the overflow, excessive moisture under the oil cap / on the dipstick. When you put the head back on did you make sure the block wasn't pitted around the fire rings ? Especially on #6 where it was leaking the coolant and combustion gasses escaping can pit the iron block.