[updated:LAST EDITED ON 09-Apr-02 AT 07:47 PM (EST)]i am hoping someone out there can help me recently i noticed an oil leak a pretty good one which apears to be coming from the head itself. im also taking on water bout a half gallon a day missing from the radiator however its not coming from the head. i seem to be having just oil leaking from a small area near the back of the motor just behind the exaust manifold at the point where the block meets the head. but no water just oil, and the oil inside the motor is a lovely frothy brownish white color. has this happened to anyone? is it common for these motors after many many miles? im going to attempt to use one of those leak sealers that barsleaks puts out, my only other alterantive is to pull the head and replace the gasket if its not a cracked head or replace the motor. is this a mother of a job doing the heads? also has nayone succesfully used a sealer or am i just wasting my time?
id really hate to scrap the truck aftre the amount of repairs ive done to it and a new crate motor will cost me 1,600.00+ any suggestions would be nice. Steve

i forgot to mention its a 88 b2 with a 2.9 liter

 

2.8 / 2.9 liter heads are notorious for cracking. However, it sounds like you may have an eroded or warped intake manifold (which is also common) or have blown the intake gasket seal. The intake makes up part of the head. The head cracking is most commonly in the valve seats and not in the water jackets. If the motor is at that point I would seriously advise a rebuild and have the heads and intake cleaned and checked for trueness at your local machine shop.

 

From your description of the oil, coolant is getting into the crankcase probably from a cracked head. I just finished a rebuild that required one new head. The old one was cracked on top of the cooling jacket allowing coolant into the crankcase. Your oil leak could be from the valve covers, the intake manifold to block seal or the distributor's o-ring seal. Don't waste money on can sealers. If you have alot of miles pull the motor and rebuild it or swap a new long block in. The coolant in the oil will wear out the bearings quickly if you continue to run it. The job is not that bad if you have the tools and time.
Mark

 

I rebuilt a 2.9-liter engine. I did not notice the * step for intake manifold torque sequence. I was supposed to re-torque after bringing the vehicle up to temp. After a few weeks, I had a frothy coffee with cream, colored oil mixture. I was able to re-torque and stop the leak although I probably should have taken it apart and fixed it correctly.

I also had a Chevy that blew a head gasket. My exhaust was a full of moisture. When I pulled spark plugs, one of the cylinders was full of smoke. The oil was fine. Replaced the gasket and now it runs fine.

Good luck