head gasket
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Joined: Aug 2004
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head gasket
Truck left me stranded in Rock Springs WY last week...it's still there (glad I'm not)
The guy who towed me called last nite and says it's probably the head gasket or cracked head.(then offered me $700 for the truck)
How expensive should this be to fix? I'll have to have someone do it for me there or figure out how I'm going to tow it back the 200 miles to home and do it in the back yard.
when it died:
It was running fine, then all of a sudden started overheating. Pulled over, it cooled down...this is not a place anyone stops...
Started going again, then it boiled over, I lost just about all the water so I shut it down, and hitchiked back into town.
The guy who towed me called last nite and says it's probably the head gasket or cracked head.(then offered me $700 for the truck)
How expensive should this be to fix? I'll have to have someone do it for me there or figure out how I'm going to tow it back the 200 miles to home and do it in the back yard.
when it died:
It was running fine, then all of a sudden started overheating. Pulled over, it cooled down...this is not a place anyone stops...
Started going again, then it boiled over, I lost just about all the water so I shut it down, and hitchiked back into town.
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Joined: Aug 2002
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I've never had to have a garage do a head gasket for me...I usually do my own, but your probably looking in the area of $3-500 It's not really a bad job, all depends on your skill, work area, etc. If it's cracked of course you'll have to find another one so there's more $$
How much do you figure your truck is worth? If it's only worth $700 do you really want to put another $500 into it? Do you know anyone with a trailer, or are you gonna have to have a tow truck bring it home? $$$$$$$
How much do you figure your truck is worth? If it's only worth $700 do you really want to put another $500 into it? Do you know anyone with a trailer, or are you gonna have to have a tow truck bring it home? $$$$$$$
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that's what i was afraid of
It's a good ol truck. I hope it's worth more than 700. My next door neighbor is a contractor..he said he'd help us tow it back. I think we'd probably stand a better chance of finding what we need here in Ogden, than we would in WY.
We have a big garage and all the tools, so we should be able to do it here.
Thanks for the advice.
We have a big garage and all the tools, so we should be able to do it here.
Thanks for the advice.
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Joined: Dec 2004
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From: Oak Harbor, WA
I would tow it home and start trouble shooting it.. If it didn't start running crappy before it died and over heated I doubt its a head gasket when my head gasket went the truck ran like crap then over heated. if you have a bad head gasket you will also have low compression in two adjacent cylinders. If the compression check is good, fill the radiator and start it to see what happens.. it could be a thermostat, water pump etc.... I would be kinda leary of a guy offering money and saying its a head gasket without doing any trouble shooting on it.
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thanks guys!!
I hope you're right. I'm trying to borrow something big enough to get it home.
(all i have is a wimpy little blazer)
(all i have is a wimpy little blazer)
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Joined: Sep 2002
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From: Langhorne, PA
The first problem here is..abandoning your truck, I sure hope you didn't abandon a "Ford" ..Chevy would be OK. You need to learn to love your truck, change the oil regularly, keep up maintenance, etc. etc. Listen to your truck, she will talk to you if you're listening. Open the hood once a week, get underneath her and play with her belly. If you did all that, she wouldn't have stranded you.
You have one last chance, and you have come to the right website. Bring her home, fix her yourself, and drive her again. You will find the best answers to all your questions if you post in the correct forums also. There are specific forums for each part of the truck and you can get the best answers if you tell everyone exactly what type of engine you have and what year truck, or transmission is giving you worries.
You might try going to the forum for your specific engine type, and asking the same question, but add some more details. How many miles on her, when was the last coolant change, were you towing something, what year is the truck, any basic repair history you know, etc. Good Luck
You have one last chance, and you have come to the right website. Bring her home, fix her yourself, and drive her again. You will find the best answers to all your questions if you post in the correct forums also. There are specific forums for each part of the truck and you can get the best answers if you tell everyone exactly what type of engine you have and what year truck, or transmission is giving you worries.
You might try going to the forum for your specific engine type, and asking the same question, but add some more details. How many miles on her, when was the last coolant change, were you towing something, what year is the truck, any basic repair history you know, etc. Good Luck
Posting Guru
Joined: Sep 2002
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From: Langhorne, PA
Shane, I am going to guess your truck engine is a 4.9 L straight six. I have driven one for nine years now and can't remember a time I wasn't worried about that head leaking coolant or exhaust gas pumping into the coolant system. I think the head gasket is the major weakness of the 4.9l. It is a darn shame.
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Joined: Feb 2003
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From: Oak Harbor, OH
The make a steel core gasket for those motors, it should hold up a little better. One thing I've found out is that if you buy the cheap parts you will spend 4 times as much as buying the more expensive ones, and doing it right the first time... MNTNPAGAN, this sounds to me like either your fan clutch took a dump, the radiator could be plugged up (not common but does happen), thermostat is bad, or a head gasket. If was running fine and then just all of a sudden started to over heat with no other problems then it's most likely either the t-stat or fan clutch.