slow.8

i had a misfire on cylider 5, and i have been losing a lot of coolant. the place i took it to said they "found coolant passing by head bolts and into crankcase,would require valve job,recommend replacement engine due to mileage of current engine" which is 174k. ive read about coolant leaks with aftermarket heads, that they put rtv on the bolts and it stopped leaking. i asked the mechanic about this, and he said he wouldnt recommend it, because of the way the bolts need to be torqued down on the head. i dont know about the water in the crankcase, ive passed about 10 gallons through this thing the past couple of months, wouldnt it be full of coolant? the oil is dirty but it doesnt look to me like its been contaminated with water, while the guy says it shouldnt look like it does. he said he removed the valve cover and found a bunch of contaminated oil.as for the misfire he says its water getting into the cylinder. the plugs are dry.it wont hold water but for a few days, now. im wanting to know about the rtv on the bolts, is he right? if that doesnt work, i guess its gonna sit for a while....(yet again) until i can find an engine for it. now i gotta see if i can get my beater running. anyway, comments on putting sealant on the bolts would be appreciated.

thanks

00ChevyScott

iTrader: (10)

Do you have ported heads? Even then, it would only be oil getting sucked into the motor, not any anti-freeze.

AKlowriderZ71

iTrader: (22)

I'm trying to understand better, is your engine leaking coolant externally, or internally?

Fastcount03

iTrader: (13)

If you've passed about 10 gallons of antifreeze, then it would definately be leaking externally or leaking into the cylinder and out the exhaust. Does it not leave a puddle when you park it?? I would pull the heads and see for myself where it was goin and go from there.

budhayes3

iTrader: (19)

If you're burning that much coolant, you should see white smoke out of the tailpipe, and that spark plug would look clean from the coolant washing it. Your oil level would be high and look like yoo-hoo...

Do you have access to a pressure tester, so you can pump it up and look for a leak. I doubt that you have access to a boreoscope, but that would also help to take a look through the spark plug hole while the system is pressurized to check for coolant passing into the cylinder. (SnapOn makes a camera with a small screen and a flexible end that works great)

1fast72

You can rent a pressure tester from a parts store. I was losing coolant and it didnt really leave a puddle and it was the water pump gaskets that the rubber had been eaten away.

slow.8

thanks for the replies. stock heads,leaking internally... but i havent had yoohoo on the dipstick. i havent noticed any steam or puddles. on top of it all, i lost all oil pressure on the way home from my grandmas. it(the oil pressure) had been lower than normal, and the needle had been fluctuating a bit. 174 k, im a bit disappointed.got 300k out of my last truck.

slow.8

the oil level was at the full mark....its been many miles since i changed it and it usually uses a quart by now. so i guess the level may be up. but it certainly doesnt look like yoo-hoo. i pulled the oil filler cap and there was moisture on the inside..first time ive noticed that...

AKlowriderZ71

iTrader: (22)

With your descriptions of the problem, and 174000 miles, there really isn't going to be a quick fix. Something is probably cracked(head or block). If you are doing your own work, and you have the time, pull the engine and tear it down. You're going to have to pull the engine anyways, can't really drive it the way it is.

Best case scenario, you find an issue that is a minor repair.
Worst case scenario, you still have to replace the engine.

However, if you are paying a shop to work on your truck, don't **** around with it. Just put in a longblock.

slow.8

i found myself an 05 5.3 longblock for a really decent price. i know this would be ripe 6.0 time but i need to get on the road. thanks again