C4 Tech/Performance L98 Corvette and LT1 Corvette Technical Info, Internal Engine, External Engine

cracked head

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Old Jun 23, 2007 | 01:36 PM
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If a cast iron head was cracked, would this cause the car to miss, antifreeze to seep into the motor and have awful aceleration? Just wondering on how exactly damaged heads affect the car. What about idle?
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Old Jun 23, 2007 | 03:04 PM
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All the above and include some smoke on the exhaust...check your oil for Antifreeze, pull plugs and see if wet...
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Old Jun 23, 2007 | 03:06 PM
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Originally Posted by vinnies87
All the above and include some smoke on the exhaust...check your oil for Antifreeze, pull plugs and see if wet...
Thanks hit it right on the head. Left side exaust pipe shoots out a pretty amount of smoke when its idling in the heat....Was told it was a head gasket but I think its a head cracked...Expensive to replace one head?
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Old Jun 23, 2007 | 03:37 PM
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...with Vinnies 87. Stick your hand in the exhaust stream and it should get wet pretty fast (the hand). Sorry about the cracked head, that's happened to me, too.
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Old Jun 23, 2007 | 04:52 PM
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l98 heads around $300 on flea bay
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Old Jun 23, 2007 | 05:02 PM
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Originally Posted by Aquavet
l98 heads around $300 on flea bay
I think I only need one...and they are cast and cast is blah! To bad I cant afford some better ones, but then I would need RRs and a cam so it all comes down to just getting the one head fixed and taking it at that.
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Old Jun 23, 2007 | 05:52 PM
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Default heads

I have a set of cast iron heads off my 86, ran good, didn't use oil, didn't smoke, and seals were ok. PM me if you are interested
btw, cast iron heads are hard to weld. So they drill holes in the crack, and put in plugs. then they grind em flat and resurface them

just for grins, do you still have a front and rear Y pipe on your car? if you do, it could be either head or both.
check your oil dip stick and see if the oil is contaminated, then open the radiator to see if the water is contaminated. It would be best to change out both heads.

Last edited by coupeguy2001; Jun 23, 2007 at 06:12 PM. Reason: add info
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Old Jun 23, 2007 | 05:53 PM
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Actually, you probably just have a blown head gasket, unless you've been driving it alot that way, and got it really hot. If antifreeze gets into the oil (turning it milky) your're looking at new bearings. Just take it in and get it mag-ed. If it is cracked, you should be able to get another head pretty cheap, in 85 it was just a standard 350 head.
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Old Jun 23, 2007 | 06:15 PM
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NO y pipes. True dual exaust. Had it checked with dye and they said bad head gaskets. Another shop said it wasn't and that the other shop was trying to rip me off. Its going to the shop monday to have the heads taken off and everything checked out. Idles like ****, acceleration is crap, keeps missing, smokes, smells like antifreeze, oil looks clean...so...I don't know. New bearings were put in it about 2 years ago. If they are shot im outta luck! Yea, I have been driving it alot. I had too it's a daily driver. Just wanted to see if it was a cracked head or the head gaskets. I'll repost the info I get this week. This is why I am selling my harnesses. I need the money for the repair because if its a head gasket then its alot of money that I really don't have at the moment.
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Old Jun 23, 2007 | 06:50 PM
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Default heads

ya know,
just for argument sake, if you had a bad intake gasket, or a cracked intake , it would do the same thing.
I would take it apart myself and look if I were afraid of getting ripped off.
If it proves to be a cracked head, and they want to sell you another one, make sure that the casting numbers match. and look it over before they install it.
What ever you do, do not let them install a new head without pulling the intake.
It can be done, but they will crack your intake doing it.
oh, and I can sell you another one of those too...........
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Old Jun 23, 2007 | 07:10 PM
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why do I feel an engine rebuild in this fellows future?
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Old Jun 24, 2007 | 12:07 PM
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Originally Posted by bogus
why do I feel an engine rebuild in this fellows future?
What does that mean? Why does it need to be rebuilt. Its got new bearings in it. Ive changed the oil on a regular basis. I just swamped from Fram to ACdelco filters. Coupeguy, save those heads you were talking about....I may be needing them. I have a bad feeling about this week.
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Old Jun 24, 2007 | 12:08 PM
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Originally Posted by coupeguy2001
ya know,
just for argument sake, if you had a bad intake gasket, or a cracked intake , it would do the same thing.
I would take it apart myself and look if I were afraid of getting ripped off.
If it proves to be a cracked head, and they want to sell you another one, make sure that the casting numbers match. and look it over before they install it.
What ever you do, do not let them install a new head without pulling the intake.
It can be done, but they will crack your intake doing it.
oh, and I can sell you another one of those too...........
How much do you want for the intake and the head if your not just pulling my leg. Which wouldnt be that funny.
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Old Jun 24, 2007 | 12:21 PM
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I think your letting your imagination get carried away. However, the longer you drive it the worse things will get. You can eventually destroy the engine.
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Old Jun 24, 2007 | 12:45 PM
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Originally Posted by bogus
why do I feel an engine rebuild in this fellows future?
Originally Posted by Black-Ice
What does that mean? Why does it need to be rebuilt. Its got new bearings in it. Ive changed the oil on a regular basis. I just swamped from Fram to ACdelco filters. Coupeguy, save those heads you were talking about....I may be needing them. I have a bad feeling about this week.
I hate agreeing with bogus. but you posted the following

Originally Posted by Black-Ice
If a cast iron head was cracked, would this cause the car to miss, antifreeze to seep into the motor and have awful aceleration? Just wondering on how exactly damaged heads affect the car. What about idle?
If antifreeze is seeping into the oil and you continued to drive the car, your new bearings probably aren't new anymore.

Mike
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Old Jun 26, 2007 | 09:04 PM
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I had all those syptoms with just a bad head gasket. It was the stock gasket, and when I tore it apart I found the head bolts on the back of the drivers side head I could turn by hand.

When I removed the head the gasket was clearly destroyed.

I had no choice but to run it for a little while while it was bad (I had no idea it was the gasket). it detonated slightly at full throttle. overheated a bit. then the coolant dissappearing got pretty bad. then it started to idle really bad, and the idle would go up and down. It would stall with the AC on when stopped. finally it seemed like it was about to die. I found bubbles in the coolent resiviour (run engine with fill cap off) finally I had coolant in the oil, looks like chocolate milk. I knew it was done. I tore the whole engine out and rebuilt it.

catch your problem before you get possibly get water in your oil.
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