1998 blazer head gasket

[88k5blazin]

My mother has a 1998 blazer with a 4.3 L v6 that has a blown head gasket. Any tips or tricks or surprises to look out for while attempting to fix it. Her mechanic said he wouldn't even do it because he has done them before and they didn't last. He said something about pressure building up and blowing them out. Didn't make much sense to me but im no professional mechanic so maybe there is something im not aware of.

 

[sweetk30]

sure its not the super comon intake gaskets that blow out ? ? ?

whats his problems exactly ?

 

[88k5blazin]

I haven't actually gotten a chance to look at it. I was going by the diagnosis that my mother got from her mechanic. She said it was spewig antifreeze from somewhere

 

[sweetk30]

front or rear of intake next to heads = 95% the time on VORTEC motors intake gaskets that are made of plastic thay heat up and brake over time and actualy suck/fall in and let coolent blow out the engine .

hardly ever seen head gaskets on chevy v6-v8 my self in 10+ years as mechanic. and like i said vortecs = major problems with intake gaskets only. need full shop style scanner to reset timming no provision for timming lights. and also full oil change after job done.

aftermarket is supost to have aluminum version now. i think it was felpro or even gm mabye.

sysmtoms = coolent loss external or filling with the oil in the crank case.

 

[496truck]

That's good to know. I see cheap S10 Blazers on my local c-list all the time stating they need head gaskets. I could prob go on there right now and find at least 3 in varying conditions. Maybe I should pick one up, fix the intake gaskets and flip... Could always use extra cash.

 

[sweetk30]

do a few and you will be quick and good at them.

biggest thing is how long was the coolent low/draining in to engine oil ?

and also egr tubes twist off intake when trying to remove if not slow and work at them. = big bucks at dealer.

fast way to spot them is over full oil level with coolent mixed in them. or just leaking out the ends of the intake.

also the quick coupler for heater core hose goes bad and leaks bad.

 

[Stomis]

Any mechanic that says a head gasket job wont last shouldnt be a mechanic. The reason hes probably saying that is hes too stupid to check for a warped/cracked head and the problem is coming back do to that.

 

[BoondocK5]

Any mechanic that says a head gasket job wont last shouldnt be a mechanic. The reason hes probably saying that is hes too stupid to check for a warped/cracked head and the problem is coming back do to that.

Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner!

If parts turn up bad during a repair, ie. warped/cracked head, warped/cracked block, bad water pump, faulty gasket, poor workmanship. the list goes on and on.

Find another mechanic. Thats why I don't work in that field any more. Because a head gasket job goes from a $500.00 in and out in two days. To $2500.00 and 5 days, and a list of new parts as long as my arm. Just so I don't have to hear from the customer, saying that it went bad, again.

If it's mine, I'll cut the corners I deem necessary. if it's a customer, it's new parts from top to bottom, and quality machine work, and full price, or I don't touch it.

The nice Non-English speaking folks down the street will do it for half my price. I tell the customer to take it to him. I have a living to make.


<Crash, bonk, drag, sigh.> Me falling off my soap box!

 

[BoondocK5]

My mother has a 1998 blazer with a 4.3 L v6 that has a blown head gasket. Any tips or tricks or surprises to look out for while attempting to fix it. Her mechanic said he wouldn't even do it because he has done them before and they didn't last. He said something about pressure building up and blowing them out. Didn't make much sense to me but im no professional mechanic so maybe there is something im not aware of.

Take it apart. have the heads magna-fluxed, if they are OK, have them decked. Check the block for being true (flat) If OK, pressure wash the whole engine. throw parts in parts washer. use only quality gaskets, period.
If crank case was full of chocolate milkshake (oil/antifreeze mixed thorough.)
Then guess what, we look for another engine, as the bearings just had their life span shortened considerably.
Do I need to go on?
I will if necessary.

 

[63chevyll]

I have actually seen more cracked heads than bad head gaskets on the 4.3s 5.0s and 5.7s.
And like other have said the intake gaskets leak all the time.

Take a look behind the AC compressor and top of transmission, that's normally the intake gaskets

 

[K85 Octane]

replace the injection spider with the updated one while you are in there, they also tend to go bad. I actually had my '01 @ 70k miles replaced, but while in there, I had the intake gaskets changed and coolant changed to the green stuff, non-dexcol

 

[diesel4me]

I'd say to anyone planning on buying any vehicle with an engine thats had coolant mixed in with the oil more than a few hours a lot of luck,as far as fixing it by simply replacing head or intake gaskets and trying to flip it for a decent profit..

My friend who runs a repair garage now refuses to do head gaskets ,and advises customers who had a leaky intake gasket that they would be better off buying a low mileage used engine from a salvage yard,that costs less in the long run to do,than try patching up the old one that may have cracked heads,main & rod bearings ruined by coolant exposure,etc...he had too many come back a week later knocking or steaming ,and that isn't good for customer relations..he can usually get a good used engine with at least a 90 day warranty for about 600-800 bucks,thats less than fixing the old one and its a lot easier to just plop the whole engine in,than be bending over the old one for days trying to replace head or intake gaskets on the original engine,that will probably give northing but grief in the long run...

 

[sweetk30]

you dont need to pull the upper intake to do the lower intake gaskets on the vortec motors.

but yes the injector spiders have problems.