Question for the mechanics

[blake5676]

So, I have a 2005 Avalanche. Truck has been solid as a rock and never had any issues. 150,000 miles with nothing but normal maintenance. Last October some teenager pulled out in front of me and I smoked him. Front right impact. Took the truck to Chevy dealer and had it fixed.

About a month later I went in for an oil change and as the guy was pulling the dipstick, his elbow hit the coolant cap and it shot off in the air and sprayed chocolate milk colored shit all over him. He surmised, after telling him about the accident, that I had a crack in one of my radiator lines...checked the oil and it didn't have any of the bad stuff mixed in with it. Took it back to Chevy dealer and they of course said since the brackets to the radiator were not damaged from the accident, it wouldn't be covered. So I paid the $$ for a new radiator and a transmission flush, etc.

Now, for the past couple months, when I start my car after it's been sitting for hours (first thing in morning or when leaving work) I get a giant white cloud of smoke out of the exhaust. From my limited knowledge and some google research, it sounds like it could be a head gasket. The engine is NOT getting hot, btw.

So...my truck that was forever without issue is now seeming to be falling apart. Perhaps the engine/exhaust thing is unrelated and just due to high miles, maybe it's related to the accident. Don't really care at this point. I'd rather get it fixed then try to dump the truck and get a new payment. I love the thing and it does everything I need.

My questions are:

Does a head gasket "fix" have any guarantees or am I likely going to be facing issues again down the road sooner rather than later?

Is there any advantage/disadvantage to just getting a new engine?

And on that front, is it better to get used scrap engine or a rebuilt/remanufactered?

Is there an easy test a shop can do to figure out whether or not I do have a bad head gasket or does that require opening up the entire thing?

I will also add that when I take the oil cap off, I can see little bits of condensation on the under side of it...which I'm guessing is bad. If anyone has any advice on this, thanks in advance.

[tooge]

change your oil. What does the oil that you drain look like? If it has water/coolant in it, it'll be sort of milky looking. That would indicate either a blown head gasket or a cracked block/head. If not, then it is likely something else.

[blake5676]

change your oil. What does the oil that you drain look like? If it has water/coolant in it, it'll be sort of milky looking. That would indicate either a blown head gasket or a cracked block/head. If not, then it is likely something else.

Yeah, the oil never had that milky look. The entire coolant tank was chocolatey but I had a new radiator put in and a full flush of the system. It's just the giant cloud of smoke from the exhaust now, but it's never done that until recently and I'd like to stay in front of it and get whatever fixed before it actually does crack a block or start overheating.

[SAUTO]

a shop should be able to check the head gasket without tearing it a part.


some of those engines would crack a head, 5.3 or 6.0?

[SAUTO]

ill check back later, super busy this morning lol.

[blake5676]

a shop should be able to check the head gasket without tearing it a part.


some of those engines would crack a head, 5.3 or 6.0?

5.3

[Radar Chief]

White smoke = antifreeze getting into the cylinder.
Either head gasket or cracked head, one of the two is the typical culprit.
But Jason is already on top of it so I'll defer to his knowledge.

a shop should be able to check the head gasket without tearing it a part.


some of those engines would crack a head, 5.3 or 6.0?

How are they doing that?
I've used an adaptor hose to hook up my air compressor and pressurize the cylinder through the spark plug hole but that only tells me there is a leak, it doesn't tell me whether it's a gasket or cracked head.

[stumppy]

a shop should be able to check the head gasket without tearing it a part.


some of those engines would crack a head, 5.3 or 6.0?

That should be easy enough.

As far as the head gasket 'fix' you mentioned I assume you mean one of the bottles of 'head gasket repair' that are available now days. First off I've never believed in any 'mechanic in a can' product. That comes from experience. I've turned wrenches for a living, ran a dealership shop, and even built a couple stock cars and never put any stock into that type of repair, until last year.
My old Jeep Cherokee with 340,000 miles on it blew a head gasket. I decided to give it a try(it beat replacing a headgasket in the middle of a cold winter). I'll be damned but it worked. It's been 14 months and about 14,000 miles and it's still good. I think the brand was K&W....or K&N. Cost around $60. I don't know how long it will last but it's still working fine.

[blake5676]

Thanks for all the responses so far. Much appreciated.

I'm mainly just trying to decide on whether getting the head gasket fixed is the route I will go or if someone smarter than me would suggest just replacing the entire engine. Like I said, I'd rather put a couple grand into it and drive it another 3-4 years than buy a new truck at this point.

[chiefforlife]

We do a test at the radiator, blue fluid that turns green if head gasket is bad. Usually charge 1/2 hour for the test. Easy and cheap.

[blake5676]

We do a test at the radiator, blue fluid that turns green if head gasket is bad. Usually charge 1/2 hour for the test. Easy and cheap.

Is there a name for this test?

[chiefforlife]

Is there a name for this test?

Block Tester, NAPA sells the kit.

[MIAdragon]

Thanks for all the responses so far. Much appreciated.

I'm mainly just trying to decide on whether getting the head gasket fixed is the route I will go or if someone smarter than me would suggest just replacing the entire engine. Like I said, I'd rather put a couple grand into it and drive it another 3-4 years than buy a new truck at this point.

5.3's are cheaper whole than doing a HG change.

[SAUTO]

5.3's are cheaper whole than doing a HG change.

head gaskets on those are super simple.

[blake5676]

Whats a ballpark price comparison between doing a head gasket and replacing an engine?

[Radar Chief]

We do a test at the radiator, blue fluid that turns green if head gasket is bad. Usually charge 1/2 hour for the test. Easy and cheap.

:thumb: Thanks, never heard of that before.

[SAUTO]

Whats a ballpark price comparison between doing a head gasket and replacing an engine?

its 8.8 hours labor to do the head gaskets and 12.7 to remove and replace a complete engine, if parts need swapped it would be extra. engines are gonna vary depending on area and mileage if looking for a used engine.

[ModSocks]

It's probably a blown head gasket. You need to fix it before you start making it worse.

With a head gasket, you'll probably need to resurface the heads, which is a big part of what makes the job pricey.

People will laugh at me when i say this, but sometimes engine stop leak will fix it. Sometimes temporary, sometime permanent. You have to use the right one of course, and follow the instructions perfectly

My Trans-Am has a blown headgasket, and i just bought a new car so I wasn't looking to dump another grand into the T/A at the moment. My buddy who owns a Dyno shop gave a small piece of this gummy/tar like product. I crumbled it up, dropped it into the radiator...and bahm....no more issues. No more fluid lose, no more heating problems....it's been about 3 months now.

[SAUTO]

:thumb: Thanks, never heard of that before.

the test doesnt differentiate between a bad gasket or cracked head though. not wa of telling that until its disassembled

[blake5676]

its 8.8 hours labor to do the head gaskets and 12.7 to remove and replace a complete engine, if parts need swapped it would be extra. engines are gonna vary depending on area and mileage if looking for a used engine.

Thanks for all the info!

[EWOK]

The intake gasket could also be the cause.

[Radar Chief]

the test doesnt differentiate between a bad gasket or cracked head though. not wa of telling that until its disassembled

Ok, that's what I thought.

[MIAdragon]

its 8.8 hours labor to do the head gaskets and 12.7 to remove and replace a complete engine, if parts need swapped it would be extra. engines are gonna vary depending on area and mileage if looking for a used engine.

That include decking the heads?

[SAUTO]

The intake gasket could also be the cause.

no it couldnt, no coolant flows through that intake

[SAUTO]

That include decking the heads?

no those are labor times only.

shit here resurfacing the heads costs 35 bucks a piece...

[SAUTO]

and there is some debate on surfacing heads in the mechanic community. some say do it every time, some say only if the head is out of spec.

[Hog's Gone Fishin]

Don't listen to these guys. They're all internet liars. JASONSAUTO actually is really a hair dresser and owns his own beauty salon.

It's obvious you have water in the fuel.
You know the drill
Start chugging !

[cwhocares]

I recently (last month) replaced the engine in my 1999 Buick Century Custom. The mechanic suggested a used engine for about $1500.00. Me being VERY frugal, I decided to check what a re-manufactured one would cost. It was about $200.00 more for the re-manufactured with zero miles and it came with a warranty for an additional $200.00. I bought from GearHeadengines.com, which was a better price than Jasper. Shop charged me about $1700.00 to put it in. (I had some other work done also). I also got a rebate of $285.00 from GearHead once use engine was returned to them. Car runs great.

[chiefforlife]

:thumb: Thanks, never heard of that before.

Sure, as Jason mentioned, it doesnt rule out a cracked head but is the cheapest and quickest way to let the customer know what we are dealing with.
I would quote the customer a head gasket job and let them know there is a possibility the head could be cracked, we wont know until it comes off and then give them a price for that as a worst case scenario.

Of course a reman replacement should be in the discussion as well. Not a fan of used motors.

[Katipan]

Has a goofier looking truck ever been made?

Not intended for military use?

[SAUTO]

Sure, as Jason mentioned, it doesnt rule out a cracked head but is the cheapest and quickest way to let the customer know what we are dealing with.
I would quote the customer a head gasket job and let them know there is a possibility the head could be cracked, we wont know until it comes off and then give them a price for that as a worst case scenario.

Of course a reman replacement should be in the discussion as well. Not a fan of used motors.

im not a huge fan of used either but ive installed 37 engines in the last 12 months. almost exactly 50/50 new/used. you have to do what the customer asks for and i have a yard that gives a great warranty (not like a reman of course)

ive had more bad new engines right out the box than used.


its a pretty sad state of affairs... im almost to the point where i will only install an engine from the manufacturer rather than any aftermarket rebuilder.


and i do the estimating exactly like you do. price on a head job (LOL fuckers) and then a price if a head or heads needed replaced.

[hometeam]

5.3s are a dime a dozen as far as motors go, and are pretty damn good motors.

[Pablo]

I would hold off on doing anything until Exoter comments in this thread.

That guy knows his shit!

LMAO

[Valiant]

Has a goofier looking truck ever been made?

Not intended for military use?

The first gen avalanches rocked. Never got a door ding..

[Dayze]

Muffler bearings.

[Frosty]

I would hold off on doing anything until Exoter comments in this thread.

That guy knows his shit!

LMAO

Extorter would think he was working on the 6.0, since he inflates everything by 10%

[chiefforlife]

im not a huge fan of used either but ive installed 37 engines in the last 12 months. almost exactly 50/50 new/used. you have to do what the customer asks for and i have a yard that gives a great warranty (not like a reman of course)

ive had more bad new engines right out the box than used.


its a pretty sad state of affairs... im almost to the point where i will only install an engine from the manufacturer rather than any aftermarket rebuilder.


and i do the estimating exactly like you do. price on a head job (LOL fuckers) and then a price if a head or heads needed replaced.

Jason, side question, have you used Jasper much and if so, what were your thoughts?

[SAUTO]

Jason, side question, have you used Jasper much and if so, what were your thoughts?

Some, have had a couple issues. I've found most every rebuilder does though.

I put in a ton of engines, out of 10 or 11 shops in town I'm the only one that will even put in an engine most times. They mostly just refer them to me.

There are some rebuilders I won't even bother installing.

One thing I've found about jasper is that I can go oe and buy most motors close to the same price, knock on wood I install a ton of oe's and have not had one bad out of the box.

Only way I'll do a 5.4 3 valve is a brand new ford engine. I've installed jasper and a Marshall, both bad right off.


I will say that jasper warranty issues were well taken care of

[MIAdragon]

The first gen avalanches rocked. Never got a door ding..

Straight out of the kindergarten design studio. Ask a 4 yr old to draw a truck and bingo an avalanche.

[FlaChief58]

You need a 50/50 antifreeze/aids mix. That should fix you right up

[chiefforlife]

Some, have had a couple issues. I've found most every rebuilder does though.

I put in a ton of engines, out of 10 or 11 shops in town I'm the only one that will even put in an engine most times. They mostly just refer them to me.

There are some rebuilders I won't even bother installing.

One thing I've found about jasper is that I can go oe and buy most motors close to the same price, knock on wood I install a ton of oe's and have not had one bad out of the box.

Only way I'll do a 5.4 3 valve is a brand new ford engine. I've installed jasper and a Marshall, both bad right off.


I will say that jasper warranty issues were well taken care of

Yeah Thanks, I have found Jasper to be the best of the Remans so far but yes, we have had some issues as well. A Jeep 4.7L was a nightmare but they did step up and take care of it.
Havent tried the factory motors, assumed they were to expensive, may have to look into that...

[SAUTO]

Yeah Thanks, I have found Jasper to be the best of the Remans so far but yes, we have had some issues as well. A Jeep 4.7L was a nightmare but they did step up and take care of it.
Havent tried the factory motors, assumed they were to expensive, may have to look into that...
Common ones usually arent too much higher. Many times they are a brand new unit.

The factory 5.4 3valve is the updated block and heads that won't have the cam phaser oil feed issues. Rebuilts are the old style that I'm sue you have dealt with. I've installed over 20. Hell most times ford also has a couple hundred rebate and a no risk core. I think I pay around 3600. Walk in on a pos power torque from oReilly is almost 3400.

I've had the 4.7 issues, with 2 different builders.