So... As title says. Worst luck. Blew my headgasket. It's a 3.4L. The headgasket is baaaaaaaaaad. A lot of coolant in it. It's cylinder 3 that blew. We checked the compression and it wasn't low,but still could have coolant in it. We did blow some coolant out of the cylinder. The dipstick showed coolant in oil. I was basically chilling for 1 hour after driving the car for 30 min. Then I went to start it and it took few cranks to start the car. Noticed it running like shit. Like missfire. At idle it felt like someone was bumping into you from back. Drove it home fine, did not overheat nothing. Got home it threw check ingine light. Started back up no problem. Went to AutoZone down the road to get the code checked. It said misfire cylinder 3. Drove it back home replaced a coil pack. Started back up like shit. Then shut if off and tried to re start it and it woulsnt crank over. My friend came, manually spun the engine over and got some of the pressure out of the coolant. Started the car back up without the radiator cap. Car ran smoothly, started up smoothly. My mechanic came and checked the compression. Didn't seem bad compared to other cylinder. So now the question is this. Should I replace the headgasket, and put it back together ? Or should I get a new used motor? Because my mechanic said. The crank could be slighty bent. He said if we change the gasket, we taking 50/50 chance of it running good. Because after few miles or bottom end could start knocking. Or do I take the risk and change just the gasket and re-surface the head ? Money is on tight situation. My mechanic said he doesn't want to charge me labor at all. But I will pay him because it's his time. But not as much as a shop would charge. He said I'm looking at around 200 to reshape both heads, 100 in gaskets and whatever else it needs. Has anyone had this problem and only changed the gasket and the motor ran fine ? Or did they end up with bottom end knocking ? What should I do ? Motor has 176xxx all original. I wanna keep the truck for as long as the wheels stay on.
worst luck! blew headgasket today:(
- Thread starter kolelt
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I think to get the two heads done, it will run about $350. I did 4cylinder head for $225.
Have you tried BLUEDEVIL? This is a gasket sealer ($35) and 50% chance it get fixed. Follow the directions on the bottle. Probably worth trying. Cheaper sealers are available but don't know their quality.
If you still want to replace the engine, I would saw go for it. You can get a good used engine (ask for few months of warranty) for like $600.
Have you tried BLUEDEVIL? This is a gasket sealer ($35) and 50% chance it get fixed. Follow the directions on the bottle. Probably worth trying. Cheaper sealers are available but don't know their quality.
If you still want to replace the engine, I would saw go for it. You can get a good used engine (ask for few months of warranty) for like $600.
AddictedOffroad
New member
Slap new head gaskets on it. Just make sure you have the heads checked for straightness.
Get Cometic head gaskets and intake manifold gaskets. And, new head studs.
Do NOT run any type of headgasket sealer in it. You're just going to clog up everything and have to flush the motor later on anyway. Not to mention your radiator, thermostat, heads, heater core, etc.
Get Cometic head gaskets and intake manifold gaskets. And, new head studs.
Do NOT run any type of headgasket sealer in it. You're just going to clog up everything and have to flush the motor later on anyway. Not to mention your radiator, thermostat, heads, heater core, etc.
BrianSD_42
New member
It could also be a cracked head.
Mine was a cracked head , cyl #3 filled with coolant.
Use the search function, see the link in my signature, for info on how to search for this problem. There's a few good threads out there that cover this in depth.
Mine was a cracked head , cyl #3 filled with coolant.
Use the search function, see the link in my signature, for info on how to search for this problem. There's a few good threads out there that cover this in depth.
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Very unlikely that you bent the crankshaft. Bending a connecting rod would be far more likely. But from your description, the motor was never hydro-locked, so I wouldn't worry about that.
If you decide to put new headgaskets on your engine, drain the coolant tainted motor oil ASAP, as anti-freeze in the oil can destroy bearings if it's left in there for awhile. If you had run the engine for an extended period of time with A/F in the oil, then I'd be concerned enough to check the bearings of the rotating assembly, before proceeding with just putting headgaskets on.
Have your heads checked for cracks, flatness, that the valves and seats are good, replace the valve stem seals, and that the surface RA is appropriate for new MLS gaskets.
Check the block deck itself for flatness, no more than .003" out, with .002" max. being preferable.
At the very least use new headbolts, as the stock bolts are TTY, and should not be reused.
DO NOT use one of those garbage headgasket sealers. At best they put a temporary bandaid on the problem, and cause more issues too.
Great info. Thanks. But I now have decided that I'm just going to buy new engine. JDM engine with 60k for 1700 but got it down to 1500 with paper work. Knowing my luck I really do not want to end up with bottom end knocking after fixing the head gasket. Even though it would be cheaper, but the time and all that I don't think is worth keeping the motor with 176xxx that had blown headgasket and possibly have messed up the bottom end. As a idiot I didn't even know that my head blew and the way the motor sounded, it didn't sound good at all.
Justin727
New member
Be sure to replace every seal you can on that JDM engine before installation and of course timing belt water pump job job as well
HugeFatChick
New member
has anyone on here done a complete write up on hg replacement? as soon as i can post im going to make one
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