Well, milkshake oil and lots of white smoke is what i have so far. Is there anyway to make sure it is a head gasket? Also, is there a way to make sure the bottom end is still good? there is 216k on the clock. i just want to make sure if i do the head gasket the bottom end is good. or should i spend i dont even know how much to rebuild the motor? there is no way i can do it. i have no place to work. Any help would be great thx mike

 

IMO, while you are fixing the "supposed" head gasket you might as well rebuild at least the top end and have the bottom checked. With 216 on the odo...it would be a good idea if you want to continue running that engine. I had my 22RE completely rebuilt at 160K due to the fact that it was smoking bad, didn't run all that well, and that I didn't know it's PO history. Now I have a newly rebuilt 22RE that has lots of power, plenty of pep and still gets 18-22 mpg w/ 37/12.50/15 MT/Rs. It just depends on how much money you want to spend.

Pay some now, pay a lot later.

Be PROactive instead of REactive...always cheaper in the long run IMO.

 

The previous owner of my truck never changed the timing chain guides. As a result, they broke, causing the chain to wear through the cover. What I thought was a blown head gasket, wasn't. The coolant and oil were mixing through the cover. I did a top-end rebuild last October. The head gasket did need replacing as it was showing signs of almost blowing through. The truck is still running strong.

I would say it is most likely the head gasket, but don't rule out a worn through timing cover. I had mine tig welded at a big fab shop down the road. It took two 6-inch beads to fill in the groove, and the guy only charged me $10.

Regardless of which scenario you find, like Waskilly said, rebuild the top-end anyway. You'll be glad you did.

 

How can i tell if my cover is shot? there will just be a hole? never saw any oil on the gound now that i think about it. thx mike

 

the best way to check without tearing the engine down is to pull the valve cover and look down where the timing chain is. if the driver's side guide is missing and the chain is eating into the timing cover, that could very well be the problem. there's a water jacket(the divot where the water pump impeller goes) just on the other side of where the chain is.

head gaskets can blow a lot of different ways. for example, i had a cheap gasket and a warped head and the fire ring on the #4 cylinder cracked. the only way i found out i had problems was that i somehow looked down and saw that my mud flap in the front was wet, popped the hood and my coolant reservoir was bubbling out brown stuff. still ran like a top, but would've eventually overheated and killed the engine. luckily for me, no milkshake in the oil.

 

[QUOTE=kyle_22r]the best way to check without tearing the engine down is to pull the valve cover and look down where the timing chain is. if the driver's side guide is missing and the chain is eating into the timing cover, that could very well be the problem. there's a water jacket(the divot where the water pump impeller goes) just on the other side of where the chain is.

Any chance someone has a pic of this just make sure i know what to look for? can send it to me chevycucv@comcast.net thx mike

 

I don't know if I'm the first to say it or not, but I'll say it anyway. Get rid of this truck. It is going to be nothing but a headache. I wouldn't be surprised if you find a real horror story under the valve cover to go with the other issues with the truck. Considering the condition shown in the pics, I think you would have a hard time parting it out even. If you can get out of this by only losing a couple hundred bucks somehow, you'll probably be saving yourself thousands.
Just a newbies opine.

 

huh? rebuilding one of these engines is a piece of cake. if the rest of the truck is in OK shape or you don't mind doing some work, it's welll worth the time.

 

Thats what i was thinking kyle. Really that easy?? Compared to my k5 i have no idea what the heck is under the hood of the runner. My k5 is a 6.2L GM diesel and i did the head gasket on that. thats a V8 so i would think a 4 is a little better to do. Hit the frame with a hammer today, damn al ot of rust came off. Need to put pics of it up, just because i am not sure if its bad or nothing to worry about

 

In one of your pics up front in the engine bay from underneath, I can't quite tell what is going on there, but you might want to check the frame rail on the driver side by the motor mounts to see what is going on there.
If the frame is in good shape and you don't get a real surprise in the engine (i.e. a rusted up top end from the truck sitting for a long time after a blown headgasket), you just want a beater anyway, and can find a place to work on it, maybe it wouldn't be that big a deal to keep. But, judging by the appearance of the vehicle, I'd say it received very little maintenance in its life meaning you get to be the one to try and put Humpty Dumpty back together again.
Pull the drain/fill plug in the differentials, tranny, transfercase and see what is going in there too.
I guess the real question is, how much are you willing to spend in time and $$.

 

What was thought to be a bad HG on mine was cactually a combo of 2 things.... a slight leak from the freeze plug that sits under the camshaft in the head, and a leak at the timing cover gaskets.

I had the head checked and milled as a precaution since it was all apart, but an apparent HG can in fact be something else. Unfortunatly, you have to pull the head to be sure so it's money either way.

 

it's a little more involved than doing a gasket on a pushrod V8(on one of those you don't have to monkey with the timing) but it's certainly not hard.

 

thanks guys i will be giving this a try soon. mike