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Is be willing to bet it's a cracked head and not a bad head gasket. Small block Chevys have 17 head bolts and don't typically have head gasket problems (it can happen, just not common) but the late model head castings are junk.
it almost never is just a bad head gasket-- usually something other than a bad gasket caused it --warped head, cracked head, etc.
I'm hoping all my tests come up negative. If the head is cracked, you will see a grown man cry... I just threw $10k into a new diffs on this thing, I really don't want to be monkeying around with new heads...this is something I'll definitely be farming out if it is an issue.
Though, I really would see a pretty significant performance boost with a set of decent heads ... :-)
Not to panic....it's a small block Chevy. You could install a Goodwrench or other crate motor ready to run for a third of the cost of your diffs! And drive happily on with a brand new, worry-free engine. Keep us posted, though..........
Not to panic....it's a small block Chevy. You could install a Goodwrench or other crate motor ready to run for a third of the cost of your diffs! And drive happily on with a brand new, worry-free engine. Keep us posted, though..........
Thanks. I'm not worried about the cost of replacement, getting the motor in is a royal PITA, and finding someone to help me do it are the issues. if the heads are warped/cracked, I'll have to give it some deep thought, try and figure out if it's easier to swap the motor or the heads. I'd actually like to wheel the truck instead of posting "it's almost done" posts in offroad forums :-)