Worst case scenerio. It's bad.

[Randee of the Redwoods]

Woody called about an hour after I dropped the truck off. Not good news. Not good at all. I don't have enough room for all he told me, so I'll tell you the part that I didn't want to hear.
Problem? Headgasket(s). I say it that way because he doesn't know if both or just one is bad. He said he pressurized the rad and the overflow looked like an aquarium. Damn. The bullet I had hoped to dodge. He said the water pump seemed fine but needed to wait for it to cool down to get a better idea. He kept asking if the truck had ever overheated. No, not since I had it. He said he could tell it's been real hot just by the sound it made when it started. Plus, the lower pulley is bad. $295 for their replacement.
This was at 4:30pm. I'll know more of the fate of the Ebay truck tomorrow. Shake the magic 8-ball. "All signs point to new short block". Shake the magic 8-ball. "You better rob a bank, kidd-o".
Does anyone have experience with Diesel Auto Services of Canada? Their "Silver" long block setup seems cost effective at only $3200.

[tom.mcinerney]

Sorry to hear the news...congrats on all your efforts thus far. It's only fair that head gaskets crap out after a long while, they and the balancer are consumables. Have 'Woody' pull the oil pan and see if the block is cracked. If not, both the harmonic-balancer+crank-pulley should be renewed[reputedly much cheaper aftermarket] but pull the heads and inspect pistons/bores/heads. You could get 2 new heads and balancer+pulley for less than $1500. The DSG price is real nice, from their site they know all the light diesels. Haven't seen any posts here from members who bought their mills. You might call Avant and see what they get for a routine remanufactured engine(not a 'blueprint job like Dr Lee's).

[eagle]

I had some of same problem. But in my case the coolant went into the exaust valve and out the the pipes. But the coolant low level lamp did not lit because the coolant system was pressurised of exaust gasses. Both heads were cracked at the narrow area between the intake and exhaust valves.
There was cracks in both heads front and rear cylinders, but only one deep enough to make the the coolant flow trough. I got some used overhauled heads. The dealer told me that this is a common problem on GMC diesel heads. What they do if the cracks are not too big, is that they drill holes straight through the head and bolt it together.

[tanker]

Randee, did you check with "The Diesel Depot" also an advertiser here on the "Page" They have run tested used 6.5's for about $1000.00. They can build anything you want to your spec. Ask for Jamie Avant (478-552-1901)I'm a satisfied customer, and so is Dr. Lee, and others. I would think the freight from Georgia would be at least half of what it would be from Western Canada.
Wish you well on your problem. smile.gif

[Randee of the Redwoods]

Thanks for the well wishes, but I've already gived the goahead for the headgasket change. $1880 for both, $295 for the lower pulley, and $650 for the water pump. Yes, the water pump cost went down, probably because of the head gasket change. My bill is now at about $3000 which I can afford, and includes the bad brake hose and a few other things. Woody and Mike again said the motor looked like it had been too hot at one point. Everytime he tells me that, pictures of that fifth wheel adapter in the bed flash through my mind. I'm putting 2 and 2 together there.....
I know about the heads and am hoping for god's sake they are not cracked. If they have to be replaced(I don't know what all is included in the estimate he gave but normally headgasket changes included either new heads or resurfaced heads) I don't know if I could afford that. I'm assuming, but I'll call later to see for sure, that a set of either reman heads are going to be used or these will be sent out and milled(normal procedure). We'll know more next week.
I had already priced long blocks and was looking all over at options, but I'm afraid I just don't have the time or money now to do the upgraded engine like I wanted. I like the fact there are sooooooooooo many options I can take advantage of, but for now, it will have to wait. Good news, though. Woody says the stock oil cooler lines, which drip a bit, look fine.

[whatnot]

You can get the crankshaft pulluy from Avant for about $100
It is only 4 bolts and only takes a couple minutes to change. (If you can get at it easily on your truck)

[rustypig]

". $1880 for both, $295 for the lower pulley, and $650 for the water pump. Yes, the water pump cost went down, probably because of the head gasket change. My bill is now at about $3000 which I can afford, and includes the bad brake hose and a few other things. Woody and Mike again said the motor looked like it had been too hot at one point. "

WOW....how can you tell an engine has been overheated by the way it sounds on startup, or the way it "looks". These guys must be REALLY good.

Steep prices if you ask me...mostly labor I suspect. It's not rocket science to replace any of these items. I think I'd be doing this work myself (if you have the ability), and you'll be saving yourself a whole bunch of cash. Just my humble opinion though.

[GARY PAGE]

Take a real good look at #8 for cracks, Jamie knows what I mean!

[Randee of the Redwoods]

I've done 3 headgasket jobs on Thunderbird Super Coupes. Yes, I do know what is involved and yes, I agree, prices are steep. It's a dealer so the labor rate is expected to be high. But, with the dealer work, I get a lifetime warrenty on the work. I'm quite capable of doing the work myself, yes, and am not afraid of it, but I live in an apt. I don't have the place to do it here. I could have dropped it off at my parents house and just worked at it over time in their driveway(I already had the goahead), but it would have taken months. It's a 2 hour drive one way, along with running down on every free weekend. I'm paying for tje convenience right now. As far as being good, Woody has 37 years at this dealer repairing engines, and does all the 6.5 diesel work. He knows his motors and I believe him. He told me he was about to retire as well, so I'm glad I got to him beforehand.
Update-#8 was leaking. #8 cyl wall is pitted. #8 is where I found the broken glow plug. I bet you my paycheck that the tip DID fall in, was slammed by the piston, and the ruined head gasket was the fallout. My evidence? Besides the coincential broken glow plug, the driver's side is AOK. No leaks. The repair would have been $500 cheaper to do only one head. But I rebuilt 3 motors and followed the "If there's more than one, do them all" rule. I'm perfectly happy with doing it this way as it will guarentee more of the motor down the road. A new overflow res is also going in.
I know what I am doing is wrong as per some of you(well, maybe not WRONG, just maybe non-preferential). Don't get me wrong. Had I the location, I'd be doing this myself regardless of time. But I don't so this is the path I chose. A replacement motor is $11000. Be happy I went this way. I also didn't have time to shop around for mechanics to do the work. Woody has 30 years experience and he's only 30 minutes or so from me. I'll pay up for the experience and warrenty.
Work should be done middle of next week. Here's to hoping it will restart. :D