Blown Head gasket?
06-28-2015, 08:30 PM
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Blown Head gasket? So somewhere along the line I developed a overheating problem in last few weeks. Statrted this journey with a leaking lower hose and losing fluid no big deal. Then realized I had a circulation issue. So on went the new mech wp and thermostat. Drove it a few days and the overheating returned. Boiling over thru the overflow tank. My rad was rusty and suspect so I finished installing new rad and cap yesterday. Just got home from the test drive and I'm pretty sure I now have bigger problems. I am losing large amounts of coolant somewhere but no obvious leaks and went from cold start to 250 * in 2 miles Had to pull over. Car is hard to start, white/grey smoke exhaust note is different, loss of power and the mech temp gauge acts like a tach. If I'm in the throttle temps rise. I'm sure at some point trying to limp home overheating I caused this just trying to confirm my fears....
06-29-2015, 09:32 AM
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Yeah ive been saving for a forged 355 h/c rebuild but I thought I had a few more months.....guess not. I was dd'ing the car but I'm afraid I'll have to find a cheap beater and see how i can get things back together
06-29-2015, 09:50 AM
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Check the oil and see if its milky looking, that would indicate that water is getting into the oil. A plug that looks steam cleaned would also show a blown head gasket. On an lt1 I did, the gasket blew and when I pulled the rear plugs water poured out. Luckily the starter on mine broke before hydrolocking the car 
06-29-2015, 10:02 AM
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Check the oil and see if its milky looking, that would indicate that water is getting into the oil. A plug that looks steam cleaned would also show a blown head gasket. On an lt1 I did, the gasket blew and when I pulled the rear plugs water poured out. Luckily the starter on mine broke before hydrolocking the car
06-30-2015, 07:03 AM
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I did notice the starter straining to turn it over and drained the oil for that reason last night and no signs of water. I'll try to pull some plugs after work today. I noticed my passenger side head/vc was steaming so I'm pretty sure it's on that side if not both. I've invested a bunch of time and money getting to this point so I don't plan on giving up on it just feels like a kick in the *****.....
Just pull some plugs on both sides and see if water is in the cylinders. You can also get a head gasket tester that sniffs the coolant for exhaust. It only cost me a couple of hundred bucks to get my heads cleaned up and regasketing the top end of the motor. Trending Topics
06-30-2015, 08:23 AM
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Is this something I can do with a straight edge or they need to go to the machine shop. Any recommendations on other inexpensive things to look at while the heads are off? Freeze plugs... lifters etc? I don't think I have the funds to do any head porting so I'm gonna keep saving for a full rebuild and get it back together on a budget. I appreciate all the feedback I'm a lt1 noob trying to learn. ...