head gasket leaking coolant

[MFerraro]

For no apparent reason the head gasket has developed a huge coolant leak. The leak is on the passenger side up front under the alternator braket, just above the plug in the block. To me it seems to be a pretty big leak. Coolant literally just runs out. Nobody in my crowd has ever seen this happen. Is this common? Is there an issue that causes this? The truck only has 82,000 mile on it. No signs of coolant in the oil, or exhaust.
Glad for any help. Thanks.

 

[NIsaacs]

Yes, that location is somewhat common. Old age, old coolant or high rpm/high coolant pressure can cause an eventual failure at that location. Note the narrow silicone seal on the bottom right in this picture, between the coolant port and the edge of the gasket.

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[BigPapa]

Check the thermostat and all other coolant pipes and hoses in the area before pulling the head.

 

[MFerraro]

I did check all possible locations for the leak. I removed the alternator and mounting bracket to get a better look at things. It then became obvious the coolant was leaking from between the head and the block.
Thanks for the input.

 

[MFerraro]

Engine is apart and all looks good. Did discover something interesting tho. The front locating pin (tube) is pushed pretty deep into the head. The amount protrudung that would go into the block is not enough to make it through the gasket. It looks like the pin was never in the hole in the block. we were wondering if this may have contributed to the gasket failure.

 

[GAmes]

The gasket failure, as Nick said is a common failure and has been noted on this and other forums. In the '90s Cummins had two part numbers for the head gasket. We got the "standard" and when it needed replacement the word was out to install the "marine". Mine was just a seep and I drove it several thousand miles before taking the time to replace it.

 

[MFerraro]

After completeing the reassembly we discovered we could not get any fuel to pump out of the injection pump, thus making it impossible to bleed the air out of the injector lines. The hand pump would not pump any fuel either. Installation of a new lift pump resolved the issue. Up and running well again.
Thanks for the input everyone.