Project Truck

MASH4077 · December 11, 2008

I picked up a project truck about a week ago now. 1988 k1500 4X4 5.0l V8. The truck was given to me by a friend. He said the tranny was out of it and the rear main crank seal was leaking. I towed the truck back to the shop. It runs but the right side (passenger) valve cover gasket was leaking so profusely that about a quarter inch of oily ash had built up onto the manifold on that side of the engine! First things first I worked on the valve cover gaskets. Both were clean underneath the cover. They have a little varnish on the valve train. On the leaky side, there was oil pooled on the head around the rocker arms. Oil wasn't draining back into the crankcase like it should have. I cleared the front port which wasn't really plugged. The rear port I tried to clear, but it has something obstructing it. It felt hard, not like packed sludge. I took a long small screwdriver ground to a point and tried to poke through it. I noticed it kinda stick a little like it was piercing through. I tapped it with a hammer a little more and it broke through slightly. I poured a little more oil on the top of the head and it drained through the hole. I put it back together and called it good. I still don't understand what was blocking the hole. Could the head gasket been the wrong one and blocked the hole? The other side was fine. I thought maybe the head gasket could have been defective and not had the hole punched out.

Any ideas, solutions? The truck has 175k on it and the man who owned it most of it's life passed away.

I've run the truck for awhile at idle to try and burn off some of the oil I spilled plus the crusty crap I didn't get chiseled off the manifold. I'm also wondering if the rear main is really leaking or whether this valve cover was so bad it just made it look like that. I need to get the bottom cleaned up and see if oil is coming out of the bottom of the bell housing. I'm waiting till after the first of the year to go to the tranny shop.

MASH4077 · December 12, 2008

The jury is still out on the oil leak and the valve cover gasket.

My next problem is that the radio quits playing when the lights are turned on. I checked the ground cable on the rear of the engine right in front of the passenger side. I cleaned the terminal and put some electrostatic grease on it. I can't figure anything else out.

Zembonez · December 12, 2008

The jury is still out on the oil leak and the valve cover gasket.

My next problem is that the radio quits playing when the lights are turned on. I checked the ground cable on the rear of the engine right in front of the passenger side. I cleaned the terminal and put some electrostatic grease on it. I can't figure anything else out.

Seems like that was a common problem if the dome / courtesy fuse was out. Might want to pull and check the fuses. There was something along those lines that was a problem in early GMT400 trucks.

grampadirt · December 12, 2008

The jury is still out on the oil leak and the valve cover gasket.

My next problem is that the radio quits playing when the lights are turned on. I checked the ground cable on the rear of the engine right in front of the passenger side. I cleaned the terminal and put some electrostatic grease on it. I can't figure anything else out.

Seems like that was a common problem if the dome / courtesy fuse was out. Might want to pull and check the fuses. There was something along those lines that was a problem in early GMT400 trucks.

Maybe find the power wire and move it to another keyed power source? I had to move a wire on my 95,been a while so I don't remember which one,maybe the ground from the radio?

MASH4077 · December 16, 2008

A few things have been eliminated. The fuses are all ok, nothing blown. I took the tuner box out from underneath the dash tonight. I unplugged the antenna, but the same problem still exists. Thus ruling out having a short in the antenna wiring. I'm wondering if the tuner box is bad or has a short in it. I believe a replacement can be had for around $100.

Mike G · December 17, 2008

Since you pushed out the oil drain blockage, have you changed the oil? I would be sure to drain out anything that could be a solid in the pan, just to be safe. If the motor runs without any unusual noises and the oil pressure is good, you should be set. Take it to the car wash and hose off the underside, then see if you have a rear main leak after your current work. As far as the radio, sounds like a new head unit is in order, but there was at one point an issue with wires rubbing on a dash mounting bracket. There is a rather sharp edge bracket that is in the location of where the air vents in the center of the dash are. My truck has a tape player in that location too. For some reason I want to say that the braket would chafe the wires and cause problems.

Just more info... --Mike

MASH4077 · December 18, 2008

Since you pushed out the oil drain blockage, have you changed the oil? I would be sure to drain out anything that could be a solid in the pan, just to be safe. If the motor runs without any unusual noises and the oil pressure is good, you should be set. Take it to the car wash and hose off the underside, then see if you have a rear main leak after your current work. As far as the radio, sounds like a new head unit is in order, but there was at one point an issue with wires rubbing on a dash mounting bracket. There is a rather sharp edge bracket that is in the location of where the air vents in the center of the dash are. My truck has a tape player in that location too. For some reason I want to say that the braket would chafe the wires and cause problems.
Just more info... --Mike

It's impossible to see in the oil return hole where the blockage was, but I'm pretty confident just going by the feel that it wasn't oil sludge. The way that it acted, I think I poked through the head gasket. It was the right depth. Anyways, yes I did change the oil. I need the weather to warm up a little here in Ohio so I can wash it down a little. Going to the car wash isn't an option right now because with a bad tranny, we'd have to pull it through and they put up those shields on the wash bays so you have to drive in and back out.

I'm waiting till after the first of the year to have the tranny worked on. Wait till the smoke clears from Christmas.