Ok guys ive already asked a few questions about this. I went out to look at the truck today and started it up. I took the dipstick out and the oil cap off. If you let it idle in runs good, but if you give it any throttle at all it runs kinda boggy, and exhaust comes out of the dipstick and oil cap. And while its idling it will make a little "clunk" then exhaust will come out of the dipstick. Every time it clunks exhaust comes out. I did have loss of coolant so I figured head gasket, but can this be something else?

 

It's more than likely the HG. The clunk could be anything, I don't know I am not there to hear it... More than likely it's the pressure build up and exhaust gasses blowing the coolant out of the dipstick. AND the longer you keep running that milkshake through your oil pan and into the head/ cylinders the suckier it's gonna be to clean it all out. Even better is the rust factor down in your crankcase and everywhere else your oil spreads into the engine if you let it sit for a long time. Yikes, Right?! Just pull it apart and look. A cracked head, head gasket, cracked block or a few other things can cause the issue your having... but it is typically the HG that fails before metal fails. You are gonna have to get your tools out.



Do a compression check and see which head is having the issue. Start there.

 

Ok thanks ill do a compression check. This clunk thow was starting to get me a bit scared haha. Im hoping its just simply a head gasket. Its just like a soft tap with a hammer on a bucket is kinda what it sounds like which is then followed by the short burst of exhaust gas.

 

Prolly the built up pressure slamming a valve shut (who knows???) I would need to be there and hear it or see w my own eyes... You know for sure there is coolant in the oil. Typical HG failure symptom. Don't rule out a Head issue either though... run a compression check, pull the head that has a bad cylinder pressure (or two!) and look for HG failure. Have them flux test it for cracks when they look for warped spots... if the head is warped it got pretty scorched. At that point yank the other because it got scorched also... Consider a resurface and rebuild on the heads at that point and go from there. Either you do one or both based on the condition of the offending head.

How/ when did it happen? Did you overheat bad or did it just give out? How many miles?

 

The truck has true dual exhaust and only the drivers side has backfires and wet exhaust coming out. Im not for sure if the oil has coolant but it is a bit lighter in color. I plan on pulling the driver side head and taking it down to the machine shop. The motor has about 130,000. miles but it sat for a whole year before we put it in. Since we had it in we've had backfiring issues and running really dogy.

 

When it happened that day it was backfiring pretty bad and quite often then it just had a major loss in power and loss in coolant and smoke was coming into the cab from the dipstick. The truck has had a pretty good manifold leak for the 2 weeks it was running. After it had the loss we added water to the radiator and babied it home a couple miles.

 

Yup... Head Gasket. I thought there was coolant in the oil, my mistake. Your head gasket more than likely failed where the exhaust gases exit via the valve to the header and it's leaking into the oil gallies of the head/ crank case. The water jacket side prolly blew on the header side giving off that wonderful whitish smoke, they are right next to one another. Yup... sucks.

You don't have to do both sides, though a lot of people here think you should. I see it as a waste of time and money unless your planning an overhaul of the whole she-bang.

Yank the head on the known side and get it done.

 

Ok thanks for your help!! If I end up having to machine the head will it end up messing things up because the other head isnt the same dimesntions?

 

No... If it is warped however I might consider doing the other side as well. I see you really don't know the history of the engine in the post above either.

Your call. Like I said, if it just needs a gasket and the head checks out ok I would just put the new gasket/ head bolts in and call it done. If the head shop says valves are toast and head is warped etc... I would yank the other side too and do both HG's and have both heads done and call it a day.

That's me though. I am sure some peeps will chime in and whine about doing both sides eventually because of the HG failure ethics law. lol.