I just dropped the oil pan to do the rear main seal (again) and you guessed it......coolant in the oil. The last time I dropped the pan a few weeks ago there was no sign of coolant. I had suspected a cracked head because i was losing coolant for quite some time but I never saw anything in the oil and I even went as far as doing a block test which came up good. I'm guessing coolant may have been burning off in the exhaust or combustion chamber but now the leak crack has gotten worse. I'm a bit concerned about dropping a new head on an engine that has 140k but the rear main bearing did look to be in good condition, the oil pressure is good and there's no strange noises coming from the engine. Should I just go for it? Which would be best, the new casting from clearwater or a rebuilt tupy? Thanks!

 

Check a couple of plugs and if they are clean and not sooty...it usually is a bad head. There is one head bolt at the front that has to have sealent on it before installing. Could just be the head gasket has failed That could be it, too. Good luck

 

"Blue Books" are published by used car dealers associations for the dealers. The dealers are in the biz of buying and reselling to make money. The values and prices they assign are for their benefit not the consumer.

If you plan to drive it long term then consider that 140,000 miles is only 1/4 to 1/2 of the engines service life if you take care of it. Is re sale value a factor in your ownership decision ? Are you looking to get lots of miles of use at low total life cycle cost ? What's cheaper for you over the next XXX miles ? a good used head or another vehicle ?

 

The new cylinder head from clearwater is on and it's running well. Looking at the old gasket, it appears that it rusted through in one spot. There was rust everywhere the gasket came in contact with the water jacket. This is not surprising since the po clearly neglected the cooling system and probably used regular water instead of distilled. The coolant looked awful when I first bought the truck an only after several flushes is it now nice and clear. If there's a lesson to be learned here its change your coolant!