hello. i have a mother thread about the infamous LS cam tick and i’ve run into a problem. I seem to keep blowing head gaskets, a pair every 5 days. or so i thought. let me know what y’all think. attached is a pic of the intake and all of that is oil that was sitting inside it. PCV hose is wet as well. i’m getting a MAF/MAP code and i think that’s due to so much pressure build up and oil on the map it’s skewing the readings. it runs better with the PCV hose OFF. I’ve already replaced head gaskets twice in a month and i haven’t changed anything. ARP studs. sequentially torqued in order the whole shebang. i’m wanting some opinions i guess. every thing i look at leans more and more towards PCV. thanks in advance!

 

Have you had the head checked for flatness? It could be warped.

 

i have not. didn’t wanna take the heads off if i didn’t have to. last time they blew it didn’t look like a blown head gasket there was no sign of it being blown. they *shouldnt* be warped because before the cam swap to try and fix the tick it wasn’t blowing, not it won’t stop blowing. i have the older style pcv and there’s a ridiculous amount of oil in the manifold. do you think it can be the PCV valve?

 

not even completely sure it is the head gasket. i think it’s masking itself as a blown head gasket because the amount of oil it’s sucking up into the intake. it’s not burning coolant which is another reason i don’t think it’s gasket related and i’m leaning towards PCV.

 

So how many sets of head gaskets have you put on?

 

Give more details on the whole engine and what you have done to it. Have you changed the cam? What all has been done to it?
A PCV issue looks nothing like a blown head gasket so i'm not sure how or why you think it could be one or the other.

Edit: I looked at your other post and it explains a lot.
First thing, Do a compression test and if possible a leak down test to figure out if it's a head gasket issue.
Second, Get it tuned by an experienced tuner, Do not just throw someone else's tune in it because it's a similar build. It would have to be the exact same build as in same cam/injectors/intake/exhaust and so on to be close.
If it runs better with the PCV unplugged it's probably because it's not tuned and running rich at idle and unhooking the PCV valve is leaning it out.

If it is a head gasket then take the head to the machine shop to be checked for flatness because there is no way head gaskets blow that fast unless there is a mating surface or installation problem.

 

Thats what i figured i’d do anyway. was wanting some input on the whole situation. i got head gaskets and everything to replace it to take the heads off. but that still doesn’t answer why there was almost a quart of oil in the manifold. anytime i read up about that much oil it was because of a PCV issue. Oil consumption, high crank pressure, oil in places it shouldn’t be (oil in the intake, right behind throttle body, PCV hose, the vent hose on the passenger side valve cover.) also there’s oil on my heater hoses which there never was ever i always kept the engine bay spotless and if there’s excessive crank case pressure it would start spewing out the dip stick tube. and yes it did start running better when i unplugged the PCV but it was also running horrendously with a P0101/P0103 MAF/MAP codes. i’ve ran this same cam since february. The truck is already tuned for the cam, so I don’t know why it’s throwing the map/maf codes right now. It’s the same exact cam that was in there. i did swap in a BTR stage 4 to try and fix the tick(first time i took the heads off, new cam obviously put new lifters in it), obviously truck wouldn’t run, BTR swapped in a stage 3, ran a little but **** poor. i was riding around with the check engine light for about a day because i drove it from my buddies house to mine, only about 15 min. it started puffing white smoke like no tomorrow. decided if i was gonna have to take the heads off might as well buy the cam that i know works which is the TSP stage 2 low lift truck cam. mind you the truck ran perfectly before I decided to swap in the stage III and stage IV, only reason I was doing the swap was to get rid of the tick that I had. now with the same exact cam, I get a map/maf code, i’m getting mixed signals from what it could be because it’s puffing out whitish blue smoke, smells awful, oil in intake, excessive crank pressure, oil consumption, MAF/MAP codes, and it runs like ****. i didn’t change anything in my tune. it was already tuned for this cam.

 

2 sets, but i’m not entirely sure it is head gasket related. yes it’s burning oil but I think it’s getting in through the intake, not through the head gasket. That’s why I think it’s a PCV related issue masking itself as a head gasket because the amount of oil the intake is sucking in makes it seem like it’s a head gasket. There is at least a quart of oil in my intake. i’m losing about a quart-1.5 in 5-7 days

 

This is what I was referring to on your other post, What shop did your tune?

As far as the oil in the intake is concerned...….Do a leak down and compression test, Excessive blowby is usually a ring sealing issue. A catch can will help capture the oil to keep it from getting into the intake but it's not going to fix the issue.
Are you running the stock PCV system as it came on the engine...same valve covers and all?

 

Just so you know...oil smoke is blue.....coolant smoke is white, Both have a very different and distinct smell so there should be reason to suspect a head gasket unless it's coolant smoke.

 

even if i gotta rebuild it i was planning on throwing a monster transmission ss 4l60e in it anyway and with the transmission out you’re pretty much halfway there anyway. rebuild might be on the list. it’s a stock 6.0 LQ9 bottom end, just new bearings and upgraded piston rings. I forgot the name of the rings i used

 

Did you have the block machined for the new parts? Or hone the cylinders for the rings?

 

Did you check the cylinder walls to see If they needed to be honed or anything in that nature? I think you should get your shortblock looked over. Sounds like something wasnt installed correct.

 

decided on doing a full rebuild. new main and rod bearings and cam bearings . gonna bore it out over .0030. wiseco pistons and rings. gonna deck the heads and block and get a valve job while i’m at it. she’s gonna rip and hopefully be good to go after! thanks for all the advice. at this point it’s better to be safe and rebuild than do major damage.

 

spun #1 bearing, broke #1 piston. cylinder wall is perfect but the crank isn’t bad but it’s gonna need to be ground. still boring out the block but i found the problem of the oil in my intake!

 

 

That's an opportunity for a solution if I ever saw one.

 

How did that happen? Seems like a odd failure. I have two 6.0 motors one is a 2003 with 409,000 miles and the other is 2007 with 450,000 miles. I thought these things were bullet proof with all the miles I have on them. Guess not.

 

Bullet resistant, maybe; bullet proof, … I don't thing ANYTHING is quite that.

 

Wowza!!