Coolant leak becomes blown gaskets on 5.7

[btm]

The quick connect for the heater hoses had been leaking for a while on my '93 5.7. I had to drill and tap the old one out, as seems to be the rule.

Shortly thereafter the exhaust turned cloudy white. Then then oil started coming out the hole for the pcv valve and got all over the place. When I checked the oil level it was high, but had been changed within a week and was at the right level then..

So, after talking to a couple mechanics, I'm assuming the head / intake gaskets are blown. I've never gone this far on the engine tear down before, so I'm treading lightly.

Should I give up yet?

[SneakyZ]

Why give up now? If you're that far into it, might as well yank the heads and replace those head gaskets. Did it overheat? You'll want to check your heads to make sure they're not warped before putting them back on. If you get stuck anywhere, just ask!

[btm]

Anybody have a recommendation for flushing all this out while I have it apart? Should I avoid water and use something particular to avoid rust?

I stopped last night as getting the power steering pump and bracket off looked like a trick. I remember this thread "Intake Manifold Gasket - Need Help/Advice!" so I'm going back at it this morning.

[btm]

I am still having trouble with that power steering pump.

I removed the fan shroud and the A/C & tensioner pully bracket to get a better look. I removed two bolts, of I assume three. The third I can't get to, it's behind the power steering pump, in the red square in this picture.

Even without getting under the truck in search of other PS bolts, I can't see how to get the bolt out to release the power steering pump from the bracket that's in the blue rectangle in the picture. The head is behind the pulley, and the nut, possible metric, is inside the black alternator support bracket. I can get to it, but the power steering and brake hoses are pretty rigid and don't give me much room for a wrench.

Should I try to go rent a puller for the pulley or am I missing something?

[SneakyZ]

I wish I had my truck here to look at...
anyway, you can get it off without a puller. I can't remember how I took mine off a few years ago, but I do know I took the manifold off because I put headers on at the same time. You may want to try pulling the manifold anyway since it has to come off to get the head out.
Maybe someone else will jump in and help, I just can't remember exactly how it came out.

[btm]

Well, I got a puller. I still can't fathom another way of getting it off. All the photos I've seen are of a different bracket than mine. Any tips on putting the pulley back on while it's in the engine?

I got one head off finally, and as you can see, it was holding coolant. I need to find some taps to check the spark plugs and the head bolts but otherwise I think I'm just going to dry it out and put it back together. I tried hitting the parts store tonight for some parts cleaner to displace the water. Is WD40 a bad idea, being flammable and all, for cleaning the combustion chambers out? There's a wierd little spot of dust in each chamber that you can't really see in the picture that wipes out, but I want to get the coolant out, even though I'm sure it will just burn away.

I'm still not exactly sure what to clean it with. Someone recommended diesel. I'll flush some oil through it when I get it started again, but I'd hate to bolt it back together with crap in it.

[Otto]

looking good. i have a 93 as well and i cant get that bracket off either. A quick question tho, what is the proper way of removing the head? intake, valve covers, then just unbolt it or am i suppose to do something first with teh rockets and stuff

[btm]

It's my impression you need to take at least one valve cover off to get the intake out..

If I did it again, I'd pull all the accessories and the fan shroud first so I could climb in. Get everything off the intake. Pull the valve covers, pull the intake. Exhaust manifolds. there are head bolts hiding down there, so I loosened all the bolts I could from the exhaust manifolds to the crossover pipe to get clearance. I believe I had two different size nuts here too, which was slightly confusing. I wish these would come off though, I'd like to paint them with at least some barbeque paint or something while they're off the engine.

If I recall correctly, my mount for the PS Pump / Alternator had four bolts and one stud on the engine. Two of the bolts were right next to each other down low into the block itself. (Took me a while to realize there were two back to back). Another was visible but behind the PS Pump. The last bolt and the stud were around the top left.

I don't know if my configuration is weird. It was a state government burb originally, so maybe they had a heavy duty alternator that required a different bracket, but I definately had to remove the PS Pump pulley to get this off. The bolt I pointed out in the earlier picture (in the blue rectangle) had to be pulled clear out for the PS Pump to drop.

I removed the rocker arms, but I should have loosened them and only pulled out the rods. Almost everyone said to keep track where each part came from, so I did that with nice engine looking cardboard box.

Unbolting the heads took forever going through the pattern 1/4 turn at a time. The worst was breaking the bolts initially though. I didn't have a breaker bar so I was using a wrench on the end of the ratchet and that was fun everytime they finally turned.

My passenger side head had a ground wire bolted to the back side too.

When I took out the back bolts on each side that were below the exhaust manifold, coolant came out. I'm not sure if this was normal, but all my gaskets were pretty much cooked anyways.

I was planning on tapping the head gasket and intake manifold bolt holes. Is this a bad idea? I found a thread discussing it but there seems to be no conclusion: intake manifold gasket....part deux.

Same for the spark plug holes, the front two plugs were really tough coming out, I had to leave them in the heads until I got them off. Does anyone know what size this is? My set is too small.

I've got the engine drained and I'm planning on flushing it out for now with diesel and then getting the residue out with some parts cleaner. Does this sound reasonable?

I also think I mucked up the marks I made on the distributor. I'll need to figure out that whole mess when I get back that far.

[SneakyZ]

When I took out the back bolts on each side that were below the exhaust manifold, coolant came out. I'm not sure if this was normal, but all my gaskets were pretty much cooked anyways.

Some of the head bolts go through the water jacket. I can't remember which ones, but you should be able to look at the bolts and see sealer on them. Make sure you put sealer back on the bolts when you put it back together.

I was planning on tapping the head gasket and intake manifold bolt holes. Is this a bad idea? I found a thread discussing it but there seems to be no conclusion: intake manifold gasket....part deux.

I would just chase the threads to get all of the junk out of there and make sure they're clean and dry when you put it together. It's cheap insurance and will give you a more accurate torque reading.

Same for the spark plug holes, the front two plugs were really tough coming out, I had to leave them in the heads until I got them off. Does anyone know what size this is? My set is too small.

You could probably clean these up with a wire brush on a dremel or just a hand brush along with some PB blaster.

I also think I mucked up the marks I made on the distributor. I'll need to figure out that whole mess when I get back that far.

While you have the heads off, turn the motor over by hand(should be pretty easy with the heads off) so that the #1 cylinder is at TDC. Now it could be either TDC on the compression (what you want) or the exhaust stroke-you'll find out when you put the heads back on. Both valves on #1 should be closed on the compression stroke when you get the heads/pushrods/rockers back on. If they are, you're at TDC on the compression stroke for #1, and you'll be ready to go. If not, you'll need to turn the motor over one more revolution-watch the timing mark on the balancer and bring it back to the same spot.

[btm]

Does this look clean enough? I'm afraid of not doing enough, but I'm going through a lot of razor blades and it's a hour to get to the parts store and back on the bus. Also, what's up with the wings coming out of the bolt holes?



I'm going to start putting the heads back on soon. I don't think I have enough time to take off the exhaust manifolds and paint them.

By the way, Schucks didn't have anything for putting the PS Pump pulley back on... Hammer?

Someone recommended checking the valves, but I'm not sure I'm quite prepared for that, so I'm just going to move along and see if I can get it all running again.

[btm]

Well. I was making progress. Broke the number one pattern head bolt on the passenger side. Stupid cheap torque wrench.

The search for parts begins.

[silverad0boy19]

It's my impression you need to take at least one valve cover off to get the intake out..

If I did it again, I'd pull all the accessories and the fan shroud first so I could climb in. Get everything off the intake. Pull the valve covers, pull the intake. Exhaust manifolds. there are head bolts hiding down there, so I loosened all the bolts I could from the exhaust manifolds to the crossover pipe to get clearance. I believe I had two different size nuts here too, which was slightly confusing. I wish these would come off though, I'd like to paint them with at least some barbeque paint or something while they're off the engine.

If I recall correctly, my mount for the PS Pump / Alternator had four bolts and one stud on the engine. Two of the bolts were right next to each other down low into the block itself. (Took me a while to realize there were two back to back). Another was visible but behind the PS Pump. The last bolt and the stud were around the top left.

I don't know if my configuration is weird. It was a state government burb originally, so maybe they had a heavy duty alternator that required a different bracket, but I definately had to remove the PS Pump pulley to get this off. The bolt I pointed out in the earlier picture (in the blue rectangle) had to be pulled clear out for the PS Pump to drop.

I removed the rocker arms, but I should have loosened them and only pulled out the rods. Almost everyone said to keep track where each part came from, so I did that with nice engine looking cardboard box.

Unbolting the heads took forever going through the pattern 1/4 turn at a time. The worst was breaking the bolts initially though. I didn't have a breaker bar so I was using a wrench on the end of the ratchet and that was fun everytime they finally turned.

My passenger side head had a ground wire bolted to the back side too.

When I took out the back bolts on each side that were below the exhaust manifold, coolant came out. I'm not sure if this was normal, but all my gaskets were pretty much cooked anyways.

I was planning on tapping the head gasket and intake manifold bolt holes. Is this a bad idea? I found a thread discussing it but there seems to be no conclusion: intake manifold gasket....part deux.

Same for the spark plug holes, the front two plugs were really tough coming out, I had to leave them in the heads until I got them off. Does anyone know what size this is? My set is too small.

I've got the engine drained and I'm planning on flushing it out for now with diesel and then getting the residue out with some parts cleaner. Does this sound reasonable?

I also think I mucked up the marks I made on the distributor. I'll need to figure out that whole mess when I get back that far.

Nah u can leave both covers on to get the intake out, but look at this as a time to clean them and paint them nice and pretty. muahhaha, i hate centerbolt valve covers. put an eldlebrock intake on it, its worth it, ive got one and theyre not warped like your stock on may be, mine was.

[jeep45238]

Next time out, get some exhaust manifodl spreaders. You'll never get them installed without destroying your threads in the head otherwise.

http://lislecorp.com/tool_detail.cfm?detail=58

$12, and they work awsome when used in pairs, but can easily be used with just a single.

[audiomecanix]

If you had time .......and a little money.........take the engine out and get it vatted and cleaned.

[btm]

Next time out, get some exhaust manifodl spreaders. You'll never get them installed without destroying your threads in the head otherwise.

I saw these at Schucks today and got thinking about them. I'm nowhere near that far though.

I got a pack of felpro head bolts. I haven't taken them downstairs to look at the engine, but they are three sizes and I'd swear my truck only had two; the short ones along the exhaust and the long alternating ones under the valve cover. The bolt head sizes are different too, but there's a note in there saying it doesn't matter, and GM has switched the hex bolt head size as well. The threads are also a little shorter on the new bolts, but the bolt itself is the same length.

I'm going to try to get the head back off tonight and work out that broken bolt.

It'd be one thing if I had another vehicle. While I can managed with the bus for a few days, I really need a car for work, so I'm trying to get it back and going as quickly as possible, short of buying a crate. Part of the reason of doing this myself is I don't have to leave my truck in line for a week, just to pay someone $$$ to do it for me.

I considered buying headers and intake, but I feel like I just want it going again right now.

[SneakyZ]

I got a pack of felpro head bolts. I haven't taken them downstairs to look at the engine, but they are three sizes and I'd swear my truck only had two; the short ones along the exhaust and the long alternating ones under the valve cover.

There are 3 sizes. Two of the bolts will be shorter than the long ones, but longer than the little ones that go along the bottom of the head. These two go at the opposite ends of the head under the valve cover. Look for the different height of the "shoulder" they sit on-it's a small difference, but you can see it.

[btm]

There are 3 sizes. Two of the bolts will be shorter than the long ones, but longer than the little ones that go along the bottom of the head. These two go at the opposite ends of the head under the valve cover. Look for the different height of the "shoulder" they sit on-it's a small difference, but you can see it.

Yeah. I saw this as I pulled on the passenger head off again. I got lucky and the broken bolt was sticking out of the block and easily backed out. Unfortunately in this whole process I trashed that gasket, so I'll have to get another tomorrow.

[jeep45238]

Something that makes bolts easier to remove:

Get a punch and a hammer, and rap on the bolt head prior to removal. Works pretty decent half the time in a setup like that, and greatly reduces the odds of it snapping on you.

[btm]

Well, it's running again!

I initially had a little fuel leak, as I had untightened the fuel lines to the TBI because I had failed to attach the accelerator cable mount earlier on in the process and had to go back. I forget to tighten them back up, but that problem was solved pretty quickly.

I had quite a time getting the power steering pump pulley back on. I eventually tapped it out and ran one of the A/C compressor bolts into it with some carefully sized socket configurations between the head of the bolt and the pulley. I used some vise grips to keep the pulley from turning. None of this was probably the best idea, but it worked, and it only took me a few hours to figure it out.

The exhaust cleared out, but there's a leak now. Which sucks, because I can't really see the leak, because the exhaust is clean now... Probably the header doughnuts.

I've also got a power problem at low rpms / high torque (starting up a hill). When it it downshift's it get's a little more power. I'll look at it again this weekend and probably take it somewhere to have someone else wrench on the exhaust in the interim.

[SneakyZ]

Congrats on getting it all back together. You might want to double check your timing for that low speed power issue, and get that exhaust leak fixed.