Hi... I have a '63 C10 with a 230 six-cylinder. Last fall the radiator spring a couple of small leaks so I added "stop leak" to get me through the end of the year. In the winter I put in a new 3-core radiator. Just last week my heater core went so I have now replaced that as well. I have since drained and replaced the system with new antifreeze twice, but never flushed it. After a day or so of driving, it looks as if the antifreeze in the radiator has oil or some other thick brown liquid in it. Is it possible that this is still the "stop leak" that I put in or could it be motor oil. If it is "stop leak", should I flush the entire system with some kind of cleaning solution? Is it possible that it is motor oil and if so, where would it be coming from and what should I do? Thanks for you help!
If you have an automatic transmission with cooler lines that connect to the lower radiator tank, it's possible there are leaks in the bottom tank allowing trans fluid to be mixed with the radiator coolant. This can quickly wipe out an automatic transmission. If it truly is motor oil, it could be a blown head gasket. Depending on where the gasket is damaged, it's most common to have antifreeze in the engine oil which makes the oil look like a milkshake. This of course will quickly wipe out the engine bearings. Less likely is a cracked block or head. A quick check of the oil should give an indication. If that doesn't show anything definitive a compression test may be in order to see if anything is wrong. My experience with stop leak is it makes the coolant look milky, not dark brown, but I'm not familiar with all the different brands of stop leak on the market.
If you do have a head gasket leek and you are looking for a quick fix, the best stuff I have ever seen is copper sealer. It comes in a quart can and it is kind of a long process that takes over night to cure but it is very effective. Kragens or checkers has it....Big Tim
I don't have an automatic transmission. It is a 3-speed on the column. The oil seems to look OK and I don't seem to be adding oil, other than the normal topping off every so often. I'm going to try flushing the system first with a cleaner and se what happens. If it is a head gasket, is that fairly simple to do? I'm pretty mechanical and will attempt anything. If it is just a matter of pulling the cylinder head off and putting in the new gasket I can do that. Is there anything complicated like having to disassemble/reassemble the valves, etc, or does it just a matter of unbolting, putting in a new gasket and rebolting?
take the radiator cap off and look for airbubbels coming up when the engine is running ,if you do then the head gasket is blown.
It can be. The last time I had the problem I just pulled the head, replaced the gasket and reassembled. Depending on the age of the engine and how much history of it is known, it is also an ideal time to have a valve job done (should it need one) since it's already apart. With the length of an inline engine, it is always wise to at least check the head for flatness with a straight edge and feeler gauge to make sure it isn't warped. If necessary a machine shop can resurface the head ensuring it won't repeat the head gasket problem any time soon.
I flushed the radiator today and the oil or stop leak is still there. I also changed the oil. When I loosened the drain plug for the oil, I thought I saw the first drip as green/antifreeze, but that could just be me being paranoid. The oil did not look milky, have water droplets, etc. It looked like normal used motor oil. When I drain the radiator, the oil/stop leak stays on the walls of the radiator. I ran the truck around tonight and the oil looks OK. Not sure if I should tear down the motor and replace the gaskets or wait until winter. Truck doesn't overheat at all and still sounds great with a lot of power. I will run a compression check tomorrow. The motor has 81,000 miles on it and it was a one owner Texas truck...
I pressure checked the cooling system today and it looks OK. The needle on the gauge only moved a hair over over a two minute span. The truck still does not overheat but the antifreeze looks more milky than it did in the past. I took the truck on a five (5) hour drive to and from a Good Guys show and it ran great at 65mph. Got about 15 miles per gallon. I will run a compression check next. Any other feedback/suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
What I would do is go down to the parts store and get a quart of copper seal and follow the directions. This stuff really works and the worst thing that could happen is you would have to put a head gasket in it and that sounds like what you need to do anyways.....Big Tim
I think I am going to replace the head gasket. The truck overheated tonight. When I drained the radiator this is what it looked like (see pics). The oil was down about 1/2 quart. Any tips or suggestions before I tear it apart? Thanks!
I've torn the cylinder head off. Here are pics as it looks now. I have not removed any of the old cylinder head gasket. By looking at these pictures, can anyone tell if my problem is just the head gasket? Should I just try putting a new gasket on to see what happens or should I pull the block and have it gone through by a machine shop? I am on a tight budget and really can't afford to rebuild the entire motor. This motor runs very strong. 70 mph on the freeway... no smoke, no water/antifreeze in the oil, etc.... Thanks in advance for your input.....
head Send that head to the machine shop along with the gasket probably 100.00 bucks with valve job seals & a new gasket save your regrets for something else
So I got the cylinder head back from the shop but found bigger issues. Looks like a crack(s) in the cylinder closest to the firewall. I was told by the shop that shaved the head that the block could be clean, inspected and that one cylinder can be "sleeved"... all for about $150.00. Has anyone ever done this? how reliable is the motor after doing this? Thanks!
I had a chance to have that done wound up boring .30 over balancing rotating assembly & flywheel about 1200.00 well spent now I know exactly how many miles it has 0 still bagged & tagged If you go this way get a wire brush in a drill dipping doesnt get all the grime .Good luck !
No other labor included The $150 may cover the items listed but it won't include disassembly or reassembly of the rest of the motor. If you take everything else apart it would be foolish not to hone and rering the other cylinders. I would never consider taking a bottom end apart and not installing new bearings. The crank may need polishing also. Now your expenses are increasing. It may be time to look at an engine swap. If you want to stay with the inline you may want to look for something bigger. The 292 is the big boy.
