Hey guys, drove to work this morning with no problems at all. Got out of work, drove about 5 or 6 miles or so looked down at my temp. gauge and it was overheating. I immediately pulled over and could smell antifreeze so I shut it down. It was throwing quite a bit from around the reservoir area. I pulled off the oil fill cover and there was no water on it YET replaced the cap looked around at the truck for a few more minutes pulled the cap again and THEN it had a little mist starting to leave some residue on it. Until now it has never had any water in the oil at all has lost absolutely no antifreeze from anywhere. I had it towed home and checked the oil dip-stick, there's no water in the oil, it looks good and clean, no milkiness or anything, also none coming out of the exhaust so I'm hoping that there's not too much damage done to the engine. It probably ran for maybe 30 seconds to a minute at the absolute most that hot before I noticed and shut it down. Pulled all 8 plugs, none of them are clean but one was actually dirtier than the rest and had a bit of antifreeze on it. I'm not sure of the cylinder # but it's the third one from the front on the driver's side.

So, I was wondering if anyone knows if I should get regular head bolts for it or should I buy studs??? I have heard of people using studs but am unsure if they are worth using or not? Are there any advantages to either studs or bolts that I should consider???

Thank you so much, any help you could offer is SO appreciated I can't even tell you. You guys are great!!!

 

Buy a kit of gaskets and new head bolts, the bolts "stretch" when installed, and should not be re-used. About $300. Multiple on-line vendors.

 

So bolts is the way to go??? I actually haven't even gotten into the motor yet so, I'm hoping it's just a head gasket and not a bad block. That looks like a seriously time consuming project. Although, I suppose, if there are any other problems they could all be done at the same time. Not that I want to do that but, I will if I have to.
Thank You for the reply.

 

Before you order HG parts, might want to run a coolant pressure test (loaner kit from auto parts store) and combustion gas in coolant test (about $50 for the kit at parts store, will do like 16 tests). That will confirm your thoughts.

 

That's a thought, is that a kit they would have at like advance auto parts or something? I'm probably just going to tear the motor down anyway, I know there's a problem for sure so it's inevitable. Should I get the test kit BEFORE tearing it down?

I've never used the test kit so I'm wondering, will it tell me if it's the block or the H/G? If so, how does it tell you this? I thought I would have to tear it down to find out. I hope I'm making sense here, sorry if I sound stupid, I'm running on about 2 hours sleep, coffee and adrenaline right now. And now THIS!!! It's been a heck of a day for me today.

Thanks for all your help, I really appreciate it. More than I can even tell you.

 

Advance, NAPA, lots of people carry these. Advance rents out pressure test kits and refunds when you return. Don't think it is the block.

 

Use the kit before you tear it down. You want the system to be cold. Basicly it is a bicycle pump with an radiator cap that you pump up to about 17 to 18 psi. It pressurizes the coolant system and if it is an external leak you will see where it is leaking from.

I picked one up the other day from Harbor Freight. Found that the previous owner replaced the hose clamp on the top hose, but did not get the old clamp entirely removed so there was a small leak coming from the hose. For less than $100 bucks it saved me from buying a water pump and going through that install.

 

Are you saying you don't think it's the block? Or I SHOULDN'T be negative and think it's the block? Just wondering.

 

The pressure test will determine if a leak exists by pressurising the system, either forcing coolant out of the engine (external leak) or into a cylinder (internal leak). The combustion gas in coolant test will only tell you if the gasses from a cylinder are getting into your coolant. Unfortunately, neither test will confirm whether it is a head gasket or block problem. You can only find that out after removing the cylinder heads.

I was going to write a lot more, but try to remain cautious about second party diagnostics. What do you mean coolant "was throwing quite a bit from around the reservoir area"? The cap could have gone bad, a hose could have ruptured; both causing the overheat... but more than likely, at the minimum, a head gasket has failed.

 

I meant that it was only losing coolant from around the reservoir area. I couldn't tell exactly where from but the frame rail all the way back was wet with coolant and it was dripping off the mud-flap. I couldn't see any other leaks anywhere. I know that coolant has gotten into one of the cylinders. It didn't seem like much, the plug was dirty in fact dirtier than the rest but it tasted sweet. The motor needs to be torn down regardless. I guess I'll find out when I get it apart. I'll let you know. Thanks for all the advise.