Possible cracked block?

rusty1161 · Jan 9, 2017

Lt.Dan said:
I got it running! It was bad fuel, it totally slipped my mind that the truck had sat for a year and a half, in the rain and all the weather. I drained the front tank, filed up with a fresh 5 gallons, and she started within the first 5 seconds! Almost no smoke unless you revved it a bit, idle is smooth and everything looks good! Going to put the rest of it together tonight!

Thank you everyone for your help and advice through this long, drawn out rebuild!

Awesome! I hope it runs good!

Rusty

bluedge8 · Jan 9, 2017

Glad you got it running

Lt.Dan · Jan 9, 2017

Yup, just getting most of the little things tied up. I went to go put the fenderwells back in, and noticed the exhaust manifolds leaking. All 8 cylinders. Really aggravating as i even resurfaced the manifolds to ensure they would seal correctly, and then anti-seized and torqued the bolts to 45 ft/lbs! I'm thinking about ordering the Remflex gaskets, theyre only $42, and guaranteed to seal, so ill give that a shot.

Other than that, ive run it 3 times for about 15-20 min, to break it in, and it seems all 3 times it took quite a long time to start. I think its just because theres still a bunch of air in the oil system still.

TyCorr · Jan 10, 2017

Yea. Until.you drive it and hammer that ***kbag it'll be off a bit.

I used felpro manifold gaskets and i had zero issues. They were 9 bucks. Very strongly reinforced.

Lt.Dan · Jan 10, 2017

I ordered the Remflex gaskets for $32 on amazon already. I've had a history of exhaust leaks and me never being able to fix them, so im taking no chances! lol

Lt.Dan · Jan 18, 2017

Well, i got the truck over to the same shop yesterday to get them to look at the coolant leak that i thought was coming from the oil cooler flange. He called me today and tells me its not the oil cooler, its the front cover has a pin hole in it. Right behind the water oulet on the passenger side....

Only way to replace the front cover is to pull the motor and drop the pan....

So, him knowing what i do for a living (welder/fabricator), he suggested i just weld the pinhole up with a TIG welder, as its just cast aluminum. So i went with the route that didnt involve 18,000,000 hours of labor and picked the truck up today. He marked the pinhole with a paint pen so i could find it.

Now, its in a really screwed up position that idk if i can get a TIG torch in, even if i pulled all the front accessories off. Do you guys have another possible way of filling up this hole without possibly causing another problem?

Either way, ill be digging into it this weekend.

TyCorr · Jan 19, 2017

Jb weld

Lt.Dan · Jan 21, 2017

Well i pulled all the front accessories off today, and couldn't find the leak!!! I put a coolant pressure tester on the reservoir, and pressurized it to 23psi and still couldn't find it. Not to mention, it only dropped to 20psi after almost an hour!

Thinking about cracking an egg in there and letting it do its thing...

sootie · Jan 22, 2017

You should use kleen Flo stop leak. The stuff that looks like graphite shavings in a tiny cardboard tube the size of an old film canister. They stuff doesn't gum anything up and works wonders. Only changes state when introduced to air-then it swells up

Lt.Dan · Jan 22, 2017

sootie said:
You should use kleen Flo stop leak. The stuff that looks like graphite shavings in a tiny cardboard tube the size of an old film canister. They stuff doesn't gum anything up and works wonders. Only changes state when introduced to air-then it swells up

Hmm, thats interesting, where do you buy this stuff?

79jasper · Jan 22, 2017

sootie said:
You should use kleen Flo stop leak. The stuff that looks like graphite shavings in a tiny cardboard tube the size of an old film canister. They stuff doesn't gum anything up and works wonders. Only changes state when introduced to air-then it swells up

I've used a similar one, was westco silver seal.
Sometimes orielly will have it behind the counter. Get a old guy and he'll know what it is.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Tapatalk

sootie · Jan 22, 2017

http://www.kleenflo.com/products/714.html

Lt.Dan · Jan 26, 2017

Great, I found out i put a short stem thermostat in the truck too, Murray PN: 4252.... Ive put about 400 miles on it so far. Hopefully no damage done...

Ordering a dieselsite 203 thermostat now.

superpsd · Jan 27, 2017

I have used JB weld on coolant systems before. One time long long ago. I modified stuff when I was on a poor mans budget. I once cut modified a cast coolant pump inlet to clear a turbo header. I MIG welded the cast aluminum elbow back on with standard mild steel wire. It held together but of course the weld was pourus like swiss cheese. So after grinding welding grinding welding and cleaning up the weld I ran a bead of JB like 1/4" thick to completely cover the joint. it was strong and did not leak a drop and went thru many heating cycles without fail even being inches from a hot turbo header on a gas engine. You should have seen the look on my exs fathers face when I showed him I MIG welded cast aluminum together with his little MIG.

Lt.Dan · Feb 4, 2017

Installed the 203* thermostat, added the small tube of stop leak, and went and took it for a drive. Truck warms up MUCH faster now, and gets to the "M" in Normal, then you can see the gauge fall to the "N" very fast once the thermostat opens.

But my coolant leak is still there! If anything, its gotten worse! I still cant see where its coming from, and at this point, im willing to bet its not even coming from the front cover, and the shop i took it to is just fed up with me and just said that to get my truck out of there. Its coming from somewhere on the Driver side, below the thermostat housing. But the fan just blows it around everywhere so i cant get a definite fix on where.

Any ideas if it might be somewhere else?

When i pressurize the system with a coolant tester, i still dont see a leak, seems to only leak when its running.

sootie · Feb 4, 2017

How long did you let it run with the stop leak. It isn't immediate.

superpsd · Feb 4, 2017

Take the fan off. Find the leak. Figure out if it's something they did. If not JB weld that SOB hole or crack.

TyCorr · Feb 5, 2017

Remove the fan and run the truck. Put uv dye in the coolant. Hose it down turn on the engine and turn on the black light.

If the front cover is shot you gotta pull the motor, remove the oil pan, remove the cover, clean all the gray death off and then re gray it all back together.

Shti deal buddy.

Lt.Dan · Feb 5, 2017

sootie said:
How long did you let it run with the stop leak. It isn't immediate.

I have put so far about 50 miles on it, maybe more. Through several heat cycles.

superpsd said:
Take the fan off. Find the leak. Figure out if it's something they did. If not JB weld that SOB hole or crack.

That will be my next plan. Gotta go rent the fan tool again...

TyCorr said:
Remove the fan and run the truck. Put uv dye in the coolant. Hose it down turn on the engine and turn on the black light.

If the front cover is shot you gotta pull the motor, remove the oil pan, remove the cover, clean all the gray death off and then re gray it all back together.

Shti deal buddy.

Im not pulling this motor again! I will let it leak until it the motor blows up again before i pull it. Pulling and reinstalling that motor was NOT fun.

The UV dye is a good idea, gotta buy a black light though... I think the snap-on truck has a kit...

TyCorr · Feb 5, 2017

Lt.Dan said:
I have put so far about 50 miles on it, maybe more. Through several heat cycles.

That will be my next plan. Gotta go rent the fan tool again...

Im not pulling this motor again! I will let it leak until it the motor blows up again before i pull it. Pulling and reinstalling that motor was NOT fun.

The UV dye is a good idea, gotta buy a black light though... I think the snap-on truck has a kit...

From the sounds of it you will be whether its in line with your wishes or not lol

They arent that bad to pull/install.