95 Silverado Blown Head Gasket

[DRS 95 Silverado]

350 TBI. Truck has about 74000 miles on it. I bought it new. Gave it to my son last fall. Had been acting up some. Last week he took it to the dealer and they found the fuel was shot which I had suspected for quite awhile. Truck ran good for him. Couple days later ago he took it out for a longer drive and barely got it back to town. Couldn't pull itself up a hill it was so bad. He parked it along the highway and I picked him up. The coolant reservoir was still full but it seemed to be overheated. He had added some antifreeze to it a while back. We went back later and managed to get it to the dealer. I followed him back to town and didn't notice any white smoke. Next day they checked it out and said it's got a blown head gasket. I had the intake gaskets and radiator replace about 3 years ago for the 2nd time since I owned it. How common is it for them to blow a head gasket? Could it be the intake again? They haven't torn it down yet. With all the trouble with the fuel pump that had been going on for quite awhile, running lean, having trouble getting started I can't see any reason why that would have contributed to it blowing a head gasket.

[richard wysong]

Running lean causes enough excess heat to melt pistons so it could be a contributing factor. Any coolant in the oil? If it was the intake again the coolant in the radiator would be low but the reservoir may still be full and it would have overheated

[DRS 95 Silverado]

15 hours ago, richard wysong said:

Running lean causes enough excess heat to melt pistons so it could be a contributing factor. Any coolant in the oil? If it was the intake again the coolant in the radiator would be low but the reservoir may still be full and it would have overheated

Yeah, with all the trouble we had getting it back to town I never thought to check the dipstick till later after I was home.. Also thought about the coolant actual level in the radiator but there was no way I was going to crack that cap unless it was completely cooled off. This afternoon my son and I will go by and see what they found. I think they are tearing it down today. It's a dealership I have dealt with for many years. I actually was a mechanic there 50 years ago for the owner's father and grandfather and I know and trust the mechanic they have on it so that's a plus. Told my son last year when I gave it to him, he would have to spend some money on it. I was pretty sure about the fuel pump but didn't see the head gasket problem coming. If I was younger, I might have torn into myself but the last few years I've been sticking to the small stuff like an alternator, starter, battery's, you get the idea. Son's no mechanic, takes no interest.

 

UPDATE: Talked to mechanic. He said the head gasket is leaking between I believe he said #3 & #5 cylinders. Said it's a common problem with that engine. Didn't ask about other years but he has seen it a lot. Always the same place on the same side the way he talked. Oil was clean and wasn't low on antifreeze. He didn't thing he got it that hot. Wasn't torn down yet so won't know if needs to be machined or what.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 22, 2024 by DRS 95 Silverado

[DRS 95 Silverado]

On 7/22/2024 at 11:10 AM, DRS 95 Silverado said:

Yeah, with all the trouble we had getting it back to town I never thought to check the dipstick till later after I was home.. Also thought about the coolant actual level in the radiator but there was no way I was going to crack that cap unless it was completely cooled off. This afternoon my son and I will go by and see what they found. I think they are tearing it down today. It's a dealership I have dealt with for many years. I actually was a mechanic there 50 years ago for the owner's father and grandfather and I know and trust the mechanic they have on it so that's a plus. Told my son last year when I gave it to him, he would have to spend some money on it. I was pretty sure about the fuel pump but didn't see the head gasket problem coming. If I was younger, I might have torn into myself but the last few years I've been sticking to the small stuff like an alternator, starter, battery's, you get the idea. Son's no mechanic, takes no interest.

 

UPDATE: Talked to mechanic. He said the head gasket is leaking between I believe he said #3 & #5 cylinders. Said it's a common problem with that engine. Didn't ask about other years but he has seen it a lot. Always the same place on the same side the way he talked. Oil was clean and wasn't low on antifreeze. He didn't thing he got it that hot. Wasn't torn down yet so won't know if needs to be machined or what.

 

 

 

Bad news, the head gasket was bad exactly where he thought but it had gouged into the head and the block. He said he never had seen one that bad. I took a look at it myself. Pretty bad gouge in the block. Must have been leaking through for quite a while.  Head was bad also. If would have just been the head, no problem but the block is shot. Deciding between a new GM long block or a remanufactured one.