Engine/Transmission (1994 - 1998) Head Gasket may be bad??

[WDimig]

ive been trying for the last day or so to figure out of i have a blown head gasket, first off i havent really noticed any major signs, but i got that gut feeling that something might be wrong. ive been monitoring all my gauges, and nothing seems alarming, temp gauge is reading normal, pryo seems a bit warm, but i just recently took my plate out soo im pretty sure thats the reason for the increase of temp, the max. boost ive ever seen was 45psi, and i know that might be a bit high for a stock head gasket, but that max reading was almost 6 months ago, normally ill see just about 42 psi on a wot run, and egts around 1500, i checked oil, i didnt see any coolant in the oil, nor any oil in the coolant, did notice that coolant was a bit low, added about a 1/2 gal. of water, and the overfill bottle was low. ive visually looked at the head and block, there is what appears to be oil on the passenger side of the block just below the head, but oil seems to have been there for a while, in other words no large amounts of oil was leaking at that particular site recently. since im no expert, im wondering do i have any possible signs of a bad head gasket, or and i just being paranoid?! im hoping is just paranoid, although i doo ned head studs, and orings in the future, i just need to find a local shop to do the work, and procure the funds needed for that as well. the trucks seems to drive ok, no major engine noise changes, noting really out of the ordinary, i just have this feeling that something has gone wrong, but no evidence to backup my gut feeling. sorry for the long post i just wanted to get some advice of others who have been in this situation before, and know what to look for. thanks for any info.



wes

 

[Jeff H]

One thing you can't see is the oil cooler. If that goes bad. You may find oil in the coolant. Also will be a little coolant in the oil.

Does not sound like you have any problems.

But if not totally sure.

-Get a oil analyse kit. Send to a laboratory for testing. I think you can do it for under $20 bucks. Cat, John Deere & IH can get kits from.

 

[WDimig]

the other thing that really was bothering me was the amount of smoke, i turned my afc up and knew it would smoke more, but it seemed to be smoking more in the mid and upper rpms, and i didnt think the afc controlled the smoke then, also the smoke seems to have a slightly different color, more of a greyish blue, and i dont recall ever seeing that.



wes

 

[justinp20012500]

Do you have increased emissions coming out of the blow by hose?





Justin