Bad Head Gasket or Intake Manifold Gasket?
09-12-2012, 07:36 PM
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Bad Head Gasket or Intake Manifold Gasket? So this is my '01. 146,XXX miles. Let the car idle today. Right around 30 mins in, the engine temp surged from 210* up to 240*+. I cut the motor. Heard a bubbling - water or something? at what looks like the intake manifold gasket or the head gasket. I took a vid of it. Shitty cell phone quality. Let me know what you all think:
White smoke out the exhaust after I restarted it. No coolant in the oil. If it is either of those gaskets, can I remove the intake manifold and heads without dropping the motor? I don't mind doing the work if I can leave the motor in the car, but if I have to drop it, that's going to complicate things a bit more...
Thanks,
White smoke out the exhaust after I restarted it. No coolant in the oil. If it is either of those gaskets, can I remove the intake manifold and heads without dropping the motor? I don't mind doing the work if I can leave the motor in the car, but if I have to drop it, that's going to complicate things a bit more...
Thanks,
Last edited by HibachiZ28; 09-12-2012 at 07:42 PM.
09-12-2012, 09:01 PM
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Well no water travels through the intake, so I will say head gaskets. And white smoke is definately coolant/water.
You can pull the heads/intake without dropping the motor.
You can pull the heads/intake without dropping the motor.
09-13-2012, 07:54 AM
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I saw the water bubbling, though - in that vid above. That's the only place I physically heard it. The engine temp didn't make it into the red on the temp gauge, but got close. I shut it off right away and it dropped back down to cool. Both fans engaged no problem.
I'm thinking I should purchase an upper gasket set, pull the intake manifold and the heads, get the heads honed, then reinstall everything. This can be done without dropping the motor out of the car, right?
I'm thinking I should purchase an upper gasket set, pull the intake manifold and the heads, get the heads honed, then reinstall everything. This can be done without dropping the motor out of the car, right?
09-14-2012, 01:56 AM
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I saw the water bubbling, though - in that vid above. That's the only place I physically heard it. The engine temp didn't make it into the red on the temp gauge, but got close. I shut it off right away and it dropped back down to cool. Both fans engaged no problem.
I'm thinking I should purchase an upper gasket set, pull the intake manifold and the heads, get the heads honed, then reinstall everything. This can be done without dropping the motor out of the car, right?
I'm thinking I should purchase an upper gasket set, pull the intake manifold and the heads, get the heads honed, then reinstall everything. This can be done without dropping the motor out of the car, right?
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09-14-2012, 03:05 AM
#8
check your thermostat, replace it anyway since its cheap... check your radiator and coolant overflow for proper levels... check your engine oil for proper level.. then go to GMpartsdirect and buy some head gaskets if you wish. they are dirt cheap, you don't have to drop your motor to do it.. also if you need ls6 intake manifold gaskets, i have them new... pm me for price
09-14-2012, 08:04 AM
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Thanks guys. Quick question: Could it be the coolant crossover tube leaking, then causing lack of pressure in the system which then leads to overheating?
With the white smoke though I REALLY think it's a head gasket
I'm going to pull the intake manifold and see what's going on.
With the white smoke though I REALLY think it's a head gasket
I'm going to pull the intake manifold and see what's going on.
09-14-2012, 11:59 AM
#10
the crossover tube does not travel over that side of the motor. so i am gonna say head gasket. make sure you read LS1howto.com for a heads install procedure to give you an idea of what you have to do. if you dont mind spending an extra 300-500 bucks, see if you can pick up some 243 heads or get yours milled .020 to bump the compression to 10.6:1-10.8:1. also when you overheat a motor you take the risk or warping the head, so a nice mill is a good idea.
09-14-2012, 12:54 PM
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Yah I'm thinking head gasket as well the more I look into it. I've done head gaskets before, on other vehicles. My buddy is a mechanic and has dismantled and rebuilt countless motors, so he's going to help me with it. I'm most likely selling the car (Money to my house fund), so I'm going with GM gaskets, and most likely just honing the heads. Nothing crazy. If it were my '98, which I will keep (ONLY 'cause I have a loan on it), then I'd go aftermarket heads, cam, lifters, LS6 intake, etc. 
