valve seals, head gaskets and starters.

[sublime_whatigo]

Hi all, im new here cuz my baby has problems. Its an 87 4x4. Alright first of all im burning oil and antifreeze out the exhaust, valve seals have been going for quite a while now and just wondering on how easy it is and how much and if the head gasket is going to?

Next, i put a brand new starter and battery in it. Now when i try to start it it will either lock up and act like the starter is shorted out. Or it will turn over slow and start, or start normally, but its getting worse. So im thinking either i need to shim my starter or possibly check all my wires or is it possible i got a bad starter.

Thanks for the help guys. Cya.

 

[sublime_whatigo]

ok its definately burning a lot of antifreeze. i cant see any in the radiator. i added 1qt of water and tried to reach some fluid with one of those testers that tell how much water you can add and i couldnt reach any liquid. so its the heads or the gaskets right? Can i tell without tearing apart? How easy is it and how much will it cost in a shop? Thanks.

 

[HarryH3]

First pull the oil dipstick and see if the stuff on it looks like motor oil or a milk shake. If it looks like a milk shake, it means that the coolant is mixing with the oil, and it's time to start looking for a replacement engine or plan on a full rebuild of the one you have. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif The anitfreeze mixed in with the oil wastes the rod and main bearings very quickly.

 

[sublime_whatigo]

oil's fine. engines only got 55k on it, better not cause me that kinda problems.

 

[Blazer_Boy]

Harry's right. My mom though it would be fun to drvive my dads Jimmy home after the head gasket went. It toasted the bearings. The reason that its locking up because you have a cylinder full of coolant and your piston is comming up and can't push any further because of the pressure built. Pull all the plugs out and I guarantee you get a stream of coolant out of one or more. Your best bet is to bite the bullet and just get a NEW crate engine for GM. Rebuilds are fun to me, but probably a worrysome time for those that are new to it. It was to me back when. You could have the machine shop do it, but there's no guarantee that it hasn't been rebuilt before and things can't be machined anymore. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[sublime_whatigo]

[censored] ive put about 400miles on it since this all happened. after checking all my wires and stuff i found this out, if when i try to crank it and it doesnt turn then i hold for about 5 seconds and the starter makes hellish noises and it turns slow and starts. i know for a fact that this is a new engine and i just remembered that my aunt who put the new one in said it had a 100k warranty. so i may be in luck. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif