yes you do .. To have to drop the cover and remove the oil pickup thats attached to the front cover. Then you can remove the front cover. Its a catch 22 though..then you might as well change the timing chain, oil pump gears as well.. Yes, it just never ends....

 

OMG! It really never ends!!! lol I was still wondering about my cylinder. When I removed the drivers side head, #5 cylinder(second from the front of engine) was completely clean. Hardly any carbon build up, it almost looked like it was steam cleaned. Any ideas?

 

Are you seriously asking about this? Or are just just shopping for a possible alternate answer?

If it's clean, it's been steam cleaned. You had coolant in that cylinder. Look on the head gasket for how it got there and hope you find it. Otherwise hope for a cracked head.

Unfortunately, the #5 cylinder is one of the prime candidates for a leak from a cracked block (crack behind the liner at the bottom of the head bolts).

 

X2 on that..just get the block fixed and resleeve it....

 

Yes, I am serious about my question. Thanks for your help. I'll inspect the block and the heads are being rebuilt and valve job. I hope it's a cracked head vs. Block!

 

If you can't see where it leaked through/past the head gasket, and your machinist hasn't called to say the heads are cracked, you have a cracked block and a loose cylinder sleeve. It's really that simple. (assuming you know how to read a head gasket and your machinist isn't a moron)

 

OK, good news and crappy news...
I found where the head gasket failed, so the chances of a cracked block just decreased! Yay!!! Crappy news is that 2 head bolts now have rounded heads! the 16mm socket(craftsman) failed and thus rounded the bolts. Any suggestions to this travesty? I was thinking about only doing one side of the gasket. I know its a horrible idea but I'm running out of options...

 

try using 6-point 5/8inch 1/2 drive impact socket, you might have to tap it on with a hammer and extention depending on how round the bolt haeds are.

 

Go to harbor freight and get a bolt extraction set. It cost about $19.00.. It will have sockets that have teeth and will get that bolt out. It is probably one that needed a wobbel extension. Get thoes also and in 1/2 inch as well as a 1/2 inch breaker bar. I got two out that way. One i welded a rod to the bolt and turned it out but i F$cked that up by being impatient ...... make sure you get good strait leverage over the bolt in relation to the angle it is in. Most round off as you are at a bad angle...

Chris

 

Thanks guys for your input! The 5/8 socket did the job! I was starting to sweat bullets... lol

Here's the pics...
As you can see, #5 cylinder is clean. I also noticed that the corresponding combustion chamber was clean. I figured that maybe a wire was either bad, not getting spark or something else all together.

Here's a closer look at the failed gasket. The pool of coolant is what poured out of the head when I initially removed it.

It seems to me that the gasket failed on the outside. Would this account for near complete loss of coolant within 15 minutes of driving and overheating? I'm still worried that I might have a loose sleeve or cracked block.

Here's a pic of the complete gasket(driver's side).


I also noticed excessive oil leaks on the rear of the engine block/top of transmission. Bad intake seal? maybe? Any ideas? Thanks again...