whitish/blue smoke, head gasket?

[pologuy14]

so the veggietales took another dump on me. im pretty sure headgasket:eek:. it pours out white/blue smoke but only out of the driver side exhaust & under load/acceleration. coolant level is leaking & so is oil level. no mileshake in oil yet & coolant still looks very green & uncontaminated(i could be wrong, never had a vehicle issue like this before). i was on the freeway & was lead footing it to keep it @ 40mph in 3rd gear. so i limped home @ 20 mph the last 3 miles & parked it.

i have acces to a 1989 cummins w/ just under 200k miles. i really dont feel like pouring anymore money in the 6.2 & have thought about the cummins swap since iv owned the burb. so what $ & time wise would i be looking @ to fix the head gasket vs $1500 for engine w/ a gmth400 adapter already in place. does any1 have a good reason why i should not do the swap?

& im still on a college budget fyi

[DmaxMaverick]

If you do your own work, a head gasket job (and lot of other things that can be taken care of at the same time) is relatively cheap and easy. A complete opposite of the Cummins swap. It won't stop at the $1500 initial price tag (at least 2 or 3 times that before you are done).

Do some diagnostic work to confirm the head gasket before you throw in the towel. Often, it's more simple than that.

[pologuy14]

so i finnaly took the head off 2day & look what joy & fun i discovered. im picking the cummins up next weekend for a $1k w/ a gm transmission adapter on it already. GOOD BYE 6.poo
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q32/pologuy1441/burban/IMG_0204.jpg

[john8662]

What's the big deal here?

I see the necessity of cleaning a deck, rust removal and install another gasket after everything is perfectly clean.

[crashz]

Since you have the Cummins engine and transmission adapter, a swap would be good, but be prepared to spend some time and money. I hope this is not your daily driver, as it may take a while.

As you go through the swap, please take some photos. I'm interested in doing this with my 83. I wonder if a lot of the "custom" parts for this swap may be commercial available now?

[pologuy14]

this was my daily driver but i have a backup vehicle. my goal is to have it running again by late january early feb. i live only a mile from work so i ride my bike.
the guy im buying the engine from has done 3 swaps on his own vehicles

check out avalanche engineering (http://www.avalancheengineering.com/xmember73-91.html) for an engine crossmember. costs a bit but it will save me the headache of fabbing my own.

the plan is to use the stock radiator & 2 electric fans(ford tauras fans like 4k-4.5k cfm:eek: on high) both avalanche engineering pple & the engine guy say it should fit. if not ill stick w/ the mechanical on the cummins & fab a new shroud.

the th400 is just gonna be temporary transmission until i can find (& afford) an nv4500

i will also need to relocate the veggie tank becuase its under the hood & it will b in the way of the turbo. the plan is to have a fuel cell built as a running board on the passenger side kinda like the big rigs have.

it will be a slow build but i'll try to keep everybody updated

[pologuy14]

so i bought an nv4500 & 205. hello bullet proof drivetrain! havent had time to work on the engine but have acquired the expensive stuff minus clutch & pressure plate. more updates coming soon

[Edahall]

so i bought an nv4500 & 205. hello bullet proof drivetrain! havent had time to work on the engine but have acquired the expensive stuff minus clutch & pressure plate. more updates coming soon

You'll love this setup once you get it working. I have nearly the same setup except mine has a nv5600 and Gear Vendors over drive unit. It pulls so much harder than my old 6.2 with half the rpm's and better fuel economy while towing. However, nothing beats the 6.2 for highway fuel economy. I was getting nearly 30 mpg.

[pologuy14]

how did you like the gear vender unit. i have heard stories on both sides but in theory it sounds awsome.

[Edahall]

how did you like the gear vender unit. i have heard stories on both sides but in theory it sounds awesome.

I like it a lot. It is especially nice for high speed driving because it cuts down on engine noise and the Cummins engine can run at its sweet spot. At 65 mph, my engine turns at 1400 rpm and it is very happy and still has plenty of power to go over the hills without ever shifting. Anyways, you're going to have a very sweet truck when it's all done. It's a shame that GM let Dodge pick up Cummins because there is no comparison.

[Edahall]

You might also want to start looking for a Holset HX35 or HX40 turbo with a 16 cm housing to wake up that Cummins.