Its cracked and im not far behind!

[canadian_eh79]

:mad: :confused: :mad: Well i have read through all the posts on cracked heads, head gaskets, and cracked blocks and the more i read the more depressed i get! It all started a week ago with some white smoke and the adding of the coolent, so i ordered a head gasket set and thats about when i started getting a little coolent in my oil so i parked the truck and a couple days ago pulled the heads off but didnt find what i expected (and hoped for) Blown head gaskets. the heads do have the small cracks between valves on 6 out of 8 cylinders. But now that i have done more reading here im worried about the FREAKN block!:mad: So heres the real problem i use the truck for work and put about 10,000kms (about 6200 miles) per month on it. I have to have a truck for work! i payed $10,000 for it and i am not willing to sink 8 or 10k more into it. I can put a cummins in it for that price and then id have something! So im wondering about patching it up with a girdle? head gaskets and getting rid of the piece of S**T! I just dont know. Any advice would be great!

[john8662]

If you're doing the work yourself, You can build a pretty nice replacement 6.5 for your truck for $5K or less.

They key will be finding that crack-free builder block. I'd highly recommend finding an older block (599, 929, 141 cast). The best would be a GEP block, but they're too hard to locate.

Sounds like most of the troubleshooting is done, except go ahead and pull the rest of the engine and get it on a stand and see what you got left. Just go ahead and pull the pan and inspect the mains.

If the block is cracked to where you're getting coolant in the oil, there isn't much patching...

It comes to the decision of what to do with the truck.

What's a new truck cost... I can't even think of it.

Hang in there, maybe it was something you missed on the gaskets (it's sometimes hard to see).

How much coolant/water was it using?

J

[canadian_eh79]

Thank you John, i was filling the bottle on the firewall about 3-4 times a day and thats about 300kms (186miles) The big problem i have and i know nobody likes the idea of patching it to sell it i dont either but i cant afford to have the truck down i need it for work, or i need to get rid of it and get something else. Now there was one spot on one of the gaskets i wondered about on #2 cylinder between the coolent passage at the front and the metal ring the gasket looked like it was pulled away from the ring just a little and the valves on that cylinder did have just a little light tan colour on them. but no radical difference between any of the cylinders or injectors colourwise. Another thing about the heads is the cups the fuel comes out of (sorry not sure what they are called) are cracked. is that normal?
Now i was only getting a little coolent in the oil does this mean cracked block for sure?

[Mark Rinker]

A year or two ago, the price difference between the 6.5L and Duramax trucks was so wide that I thought I'd never own one.

Last week I sold a 2005 K2500HD crew cab LS with 75K miles for 24K. There are lots of 2002-2003 with 125,000 miles in the high teens.

My advice? Sell the truck 'as-is' while it still runs, but disclose the problem. Bad karma to pass it off knowing what you know.

Then go to the bank and buy a Duramax.

[93_Burrito]

If the truck serves your needs well, I'd follow john8662's advice and build a 6.5 with an older block that is known to be good. You can check your original block later and earn a few bucks back by selling it, should it turn out to be okay. And I'm sure you've read that the older blocks don't have the oil-piston cooling passages you're dreading with your current block.

Are you towing with this truck? Do more hauling with your bed? Just a commuter? A Cummins 4BT would be nice in a 1500 truck, a 6BT in a half-ton doesn't make much sense... to me anyway. And everyone loves the wiring part of conversions...

The Duramax is a bit more complicated. The book rate to do head gaskets on a 6.5L is 16 hours, but it's 42 hours for a Duramax. That stat makes me appreciate the simplicity of the 6.5L. If you have to pay out for that kind of labor, that can really hurt the bottom line.

Even if you threw another motor in your truck as a conversion, wouldn't you at least want to take the time to go over it before depending on it for business? Guess it all matters how much time you can spare while the truck is down. And you don't know what hidden dangers lurk when you buy used... doesn't matter if you check through Carfax or other like services beforehand.

[Robyn]

Howdy
Well this last spring my 94 Burb did the same thing.
It was a small addition of coolant once a month then weekly then BOOOOOM all at once it failed and drowned itself in coolant.
Removal of the heads showed about what you have described, some deterioration of the fire rings and pulling away from the base material.
After any length of miles its almost impossible to really get a good post mortem on the gaskets as they dont come off well enough to really get a look at them in the condition they were before you removed the heads.
Im betting its a crack in the fire deck of one of the heads or the gasket let loose enough to cause the coolant leak.
I rebuilt my 94 with "NEW" heads for around $2000 USD
Yank the engine and get it apart. Remove everything from the block.
Keep all the lifters so you can get them back in the exact hole they came from.
Once the block is bare have it hot tanked and magnafluxed. You need a good check of cylinder walls and the crank mainline web area as well as the decks.
If it checks out good your set to go. Deck the block .010" and get the thick gaskets from felpro. (Dont try to go without decking and dont forget the thick gaskets. NO MORE THAN .010" )
Also mag the crank too and have it pollished.
Remove any ridge and lightly hone the cylinders.
*** A note here***** you need to stamp the rods at the part line on the pan rail side to mark them to the cylinder they came from. 1 is left front and 2 is right front as you sit in the drivers seat. Even on the right odd on the left.
This needs to be done as many times the pistons are select fit.
This will also keep all the rod caps so you can get them back on the right one if they get mixed up. and you will get it all back just as it came apart.
Once its all clean
Replace the soft plugs (freezeplugs)
The bearings will be marked as to what size they are. (select fit was used)
Generally standards will go back fine.
The factory used .0005" unders and .001" unders they are marked in metric though.
.0005 is a half a thousandth under and standards will work sweet.
Rods can be standard or unders or mains can be standards or unders and they can have rods and mains that are diferent, there is no guessing.
Just be sure of the sizes before you buy bearings.
Cam bearings will most likely be fine, check them as well as the cam too.
The cam should be ok to go back. If you find a lobe/lobes rough or badly scored this will be another thing to deal with.
Timing sprockets should be good to go just add a new chain.
A rebuild kit with all the soft stuff like gaskets is available at affordable prices.

OK
Bearings, gaskets and seals, rings, timing chain, water pump if needed, oil pump if needed, yours may be fine just open it up and if its not scored clean oil the gears lightly and reassemble.
A nice set of heads can be had from Clear water cylinder head. They are on line and located in Florida. Cost this Summer was $670 USD to my door with prepaid freight back on the old ones. (two heads for that price)
These are aftermarket heads and all new castings. ( Be sure to use new head bolts, (they are a one time TTL bolt)

If your engine was running and starting good you could forgo the injectors and glow plugs just remove carefully from the old heads and keep the injectors clean.
mark your injector pump prior to removal and you can put it right back on and it will go back to work sweet.
The crank sensor may come out of the front cover hard and or destruct in removal. Replace it with a new one and be safe.
The rocker arm guide buttons must be replaced.
Just wash up the assemblies and break off each plastic button one at a time to avoid mixing the rockers and tap in the new buttons.
The push rods have a copper colored ball or a paint mark on the end that goes in the rocker arm (Watch this its important)

A few hoses and clamps and some fresh coolant. Sweeeeeeeeeeeeet
This is an easy rebuild and will give you a quick cheap fix.
As long as the block and crank are good you got the cat in the bag.
Good luck
If you have any questions or issues along the way just ask.
A note here, dont worry about all the wiring and plugs on the engine. All the plugs are different and its a no brainer to reassemble.

Best to ya
Robyn

[canadian_eh79]

Thanks Robyn thats some good step by step right there! Unfortunatly theres no way i have time to do all that, if it comes to that ill be parking the truck and replacing it (something i dont want to do as im in the middle of building a shop and might be just a little short on funds and time!)

[tommac95]

I'd give John Kennedy at http://www.kennedydiesel.com/ a call--
W3351 26 Rd Loyal WI 54446
Product Info/Technical Assistance: 715-255-9433 M-F 8am-5pm Central
john@kennedydiesel.com

{A top-flight mill goes for about $8000+ U.S. If you don't thrill to that tune...}

Kennedy offers an option for $5,000 U.S. that is a warranted factory-reman of the latest block/head design [no more worry about overheat/block-cracking]. This would keep your truck functional within 2 weeks for a reasonable price with an engine that
has been reengineered to avoid the shortcommings of the typical 6.5L . And you don't have to pull yours apart and do a research project on the p.o.s!


See below:

GM 6.5 Long Block Fully Remanufactured Engine
Price includes freight (48 states) of new engine and core return pickup.

All engines feature NEW GM/AM General blocks and cylinder heads of the absolute latest design! Top quality Mahle pistons and component parts. 12 month, unlimited mileage warranty.

"There will be a $800 core charge. The core charge is refundable so long as the proper, matching core is returned. Will need your vehicle specs and 8th digit of VIN for correct matching." - JK

[dstoops]

Hey 79!
i've been where you are. If at all possible, I'd recommend that you buy another truck to get you through this crisis then sell it when your done with it. Then you can take your time and fix this one properly without making fast (possibly expensive) decisions. I ended up just doing a complete R/B when I blew a head gasket and bent a rod at 170,000 miles. I took that opportunity to install the ceramic coated 18:1 pistons ,upgrade cooling systm etc. I now have 226,000 miles on the truck and it runs very smooth, gets better MPG and has excellent power.

[canadian_eh79]

Thanks everyone for your helpful advice! The heads are away at the machine shop getting cleaned and checked so i think if they are good im just going to install them with the new headgaskets and try it out, if it doesnt use anymore water then im a happy camper right? and if it does then ill pull the "p.o.s." as Tom mac put it! and probly look at a replacement engine another (better) 6.5 or a (much better) cummins!