Engine/Transmission (1994 - 1998) Grey oil and bubbles

[RWood]

I noticed that my oil had a greyish tint and bubbles in it. for a while I have also been losing coolent. I was told by a friend that I may have blown a head gasket, but I din't believe that I was pushing enough boost.



Boost- no more than 37

over heated once early this summer

new cartridge in turbo this summer





Any help would be appreciated

Thanks

 

[Forrest Nearing]

37psi with what turbo? with an HX40, no problem... with an H1C-12, problem



overheating is bad



Forrest

 

[RWood]

I had 37 psi with a WH1c and the 12 housing, before the new cartridge

now i push 33 with the 16 cm housing.

 

[Forrest Nearing]

damage may have already been done... especially w/ higher miles... pushing 37 on that turbo probably has pretty high drive pressures... guessing like 46-48psi?



high exhaust drive pressures, higher miles on the head bolts and head gasket, an overheating incident... they all add up.



Forrest

 

[RWood]

Would drive preasures by the internal preasures?

 

[Forrest Nearing]

Would drive preasures by the internal preasures?

drive pressure = the exhaust pressure between the turbocharger and the engine

 

[RWood]

What are the possible problems and their remidies inorder to get my pickup back pn the road?

 

[Forrest Nearing]

probably a head gasket... could be a cracked head.



I would pull the head, look hard for evidence of a blown gasket, and probably have the head checked out for good measure.



Forrest

 

[RWood]

Is it hard to pull the head?

what do I need to lock for once I do?



thanks for the help and dealing with my stupid questions.

 

[Forrest Nearing]

it's a heavy sonofagun... you'll want another set or two of hands or use an engine hoist... never actually done one, but it looks like a pretty straight forward job. just gotta get those injection lines out of the way. there are holes in the cowl to allow you to pull those rear pushrods and stuff.



make sure your head bolts are to spec... if I were you I would get some better fasteners and maybe even o-ring the head while it's off. we never seem to reduce our power levels, but we always seem to be looking for MORE power... might as well give yourself some room to grow!



Forrest

 

[TrqMonster]

Blew my head gasket last month. Stock turbo= 45 PSI now with new modifications it is getting at least up to 52. Wont last long like that but I am driving sensibly. Twins hopefully in the near future among other items.

Point being, I agree with Mr. Nearing, never really plan to make less power. I had mine fire-ringed and 12mm studs installed when the head gasket was replaced. Never have to worry about it again (hopefully). If may seem exspensive now but blow another or two and you will be spending more to replace when you could have just o-ringed or fire-ringed. That is of course that it is your headgasket.

 

[Moose Truck]

I think it was Issue 44 of the TDR (Hard Copy, in the mail box) had a article on pulling the cyclinder head. It seems like straight foreward job. Get the new Headgasket, a set of head bolts, or ARP studs ($500. 00, You might want to do the bolts. ), and a tourqe wrench. Do you have a local TDR group neear you? The guys can be a big help. Take your time, and it should come out great. Regards Moose.

 

[1dslram]

"O" rings and studs are really cheap insurance. I have pulled heads before and done my own twice. They are no fun to do, and I wouldn't even try to remove the head with out an engine hoist, but I have one anyhow. "O" ringing $300. 00, studs $400. 00 and now no more worries. Just don't let anyone build 50# of boost on a cold engine, that equals a new head gasket, the rings held but the water passages on cyl. 2-4 decided they wanted out, and came out the side.

Bruce

 

[JoshPeters]

After just doing my headgasket for a 2nd time... ... advise...



Not a bad job.



* Detorque the head in the proper pattern (reverse the torque pattern)

* There are plugs in the intake air cowl above cylinders 5 and 6 so you can remove the pushrods and the rocker tower bolts.

* Make sure your bolts are within spec. I bought new ones anyway... . they were around $100.

* REMOVE the plug for the coolant temp sensor. It is a PITA to get to. It is behind the back lift point, behind the intake, on the head about 1/2 way down the side.

* Remove the injectors so you don't accidently take the tip off one when you are removing the head.

* If you have an engine hoist, don't remove the intake or exhaust manifolds. Just remove the turbo and use the 2 lift points.

* Watch your pushrods during reassembly so they don't get cocked or otherwise improperly installed. They are cheep at about $3 each, but they can give you a funny ticking noise. (Trust me. . I bent one)

* Take your time, make sure the head and block mating surfaces are flat and use common sense. If it doesn't seem to want to lift, double check. It's easier to take something appart than to fix something you broke.

*You don't have to remove the belt or the alternator. Just remove the little 13mm head bolt while holding it with a prying devise. Lower it and remove the bracket. (easier to understand when you are under the hood. )

* There are 3 different length bolts. Short, Medium and Super friggin long! Short and Medium get torqued to 66ft/lbs. The Super Friggin long go to 66 at the same time as the rest. Then you take those up to 89ft/lbs. Double check your Short and Medium, make sure they are still at 66ft/lbs (they won't be) Then using the proper pattern do a 90degree turn on all the bolts. This will put them at REALLY FRIGGIN TIGHT! Which is sufficent for our trucks.



The first time it took me 2 hours to remove the head. (using air tools)

Taking my time during cleaning and reassembly 4 hours back together. Total 6 hours.



Good Luck and have fun!

Josh

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

One thing no one mentions but should be a thing you do automatically is line up your pushrods and rocker arm sets on a bench so you're sure to get them back in the same position they came from originally.



Don't screw around with used head bolts. Buy new ones. Even if they check OK with a stretch gauge I am told they could deflect more under tension once they are reused, and you have the risk (although slight) of breaking one.



I used an engine hoist, but if you have a couple helpers you should be able to hoist it out of there. Although heavy I packed mine all over the place by the time I was done fooling around with it.



Vaughn

 

[RWood]

Thanks all for the good information.

If I can't get to it for a couple of weeks can more damage occur?

 

[BV]

If your loosing water into the oil - Yes your damaging the engine everytime you start/drive it. How much damage is unknown but water in the oil system is not good for lubrication.



The 7. 3 that came out of my Pherd was lubricated with water because of a cracked cylinder and the bearings were toast with less then 3000 miles since the last oil change which did not indicate any problems. This is an extreme case but if your oil is turning gray then it's pretty watery.