Well, I did it (with a bit of help from BMT). Finally got around to pulling my head.
Turns out it's not the head gasket (D'oh!) but rather the short rad hose that comes off the H2O pump on the P side. There was so much crap built up around it that I couldn't see it had stalactites. And there was never coolant on the ground. What hadn't been evaporating was soaking into all the gunk built up on the pump and alternator bracket.
There's a lesson here.
But, pulling the head gives me peace of mind about the condition of my engine. No ridges in the cylinders. No scoring on the walls. Ring gaps are almost invisible. Very little carbon on the pistons (SeaFoam really works). Very little buildup on the valves. #1 and #6 run a hair lean, as is to be expected, being furthest away from the carb. I'm gonna pull a main and big end bearing to check for wear, but I doubt I'll find any. No grit or silver in the oil.
So, off to a valve job, new gasket set and 250.000 more miles of worry-free driving.
I hope to drive my rig to the next Sonic meet.
Turns out it's not the head gasket (D'oh!) but rather the short rad hose that comes off the H2O pump on the P side. There was so much crap built up around it that I couldn't see it had stalactites. And there was never coolant on the ground. What hadn't been evaporating was soaking into all the gunk built up on the pump and alternator bracket.
There's a lesson here.
But, pulling the head gives me peace of mind about the condition of my engine. No ridges in the cylinders. No scoring on the walls. Ring gaps are almost invisible. Very little carbon on the pistons (SeaFoam really works). Very little buildup on the valves. #1 and #6 run a hair lean, as is to be expected, being furthest away from the carb. I'm gonna pull a main and big end bearing to check for wear, but I doubt I'll find any. No grit or silver in the oil.
So, off to a valve job, new gasket set and 250.000 more miles of worry-free driving.
I hope to drive my rig to the next Sonic meet.
