Hydrolocked, big repair ahead.

[Gcelevator]

Hey guys, big bummer here. i posted some days ago that i was having problems to start the truck and decided to pull out the injection pump, took to repair and picked it up 2 days later. proceeded to install and cranked without the intake manifold just to make sure timing was good and no leaks were present, at this time everything sounded good (serpentine belt was also disconnected so no fluid will be pumped. inside intake) turned off and installed the manifold and all related. started again and a minute later started hearing that clanking noise. For a second i thought it could be a stuck injector but suddenly stopped. Went to check everything and noticed the coolant tank was empty, checked the oil and is full of coolant. so, here is the question for the ones who have done this work already, have you sent the heads to repair or bought new? the questions is because i have heard the early GM engine heads had some kind of not too good alloy and they were/are problematic. also, thinking to send this to a mechanic for the repair, everything is so cramped and uncomfortable to work with that engine. i would have to get a quote and find out what is better.

 

[williamh]

Did you replace the intake gaskets , and verify the were correctly installed before bolting on ?? Sounds like the gasket may have slipped ?

 

[Gcelevator]

Yes, only difference i bought it at the autoparts and this one does not have the little aluminum thing to block the water however the intake is sealed in that section. No water should be coming in from there.

 

[springer1981]

First, I'm not sure what the HUGE space is in your initial post but I'd edit it and get rid of it.

Second, basic testing would be in order to determine exactly what the problem is before tearing it all apart.

Last, if it is "early GM" such as 6.2 and a 3 speed transmission or if it is 6.5/3sp, and it is as bad as you think, now would be a good time to look for a whole drivetrain such as 6.5/4L80/NP242 and upgrade it.

 

[Gcelevator]

Did you replace the intake gaskets , and verify the were correctly installed before bolting on ?? Sounds like the gasket may have slipped ?

Yes, only difference i bought it at the autoparts and this one does not have the little aluminum thing to block the water however the intake is sealed in that section. No water should be coming in from there.

 

[Gcelevator]

First, I'm not sure what the HUGE space is in your initial post but I'd edit it and get rid of it.

Second, basic testing would be in order to determine exactly what the problem is before tearing it all apart.

Last, if it is "early GM" such as 6.2 and a 3 speed transmission or if it is 6.5/3sp, and it is as bad as you think, now would be a good time to look for a whole drivetrain such as 6.5/4L80/NP242 and upgrade it.

thank you for letting me know, it was posted list night using my phone and it was acting weird.
it is a 6.5 NA 4 speeds transmission. I really don't know how bad it is, it could be as simple as a head gasket or a damaged head to a cracked cylinder.

 

[springer1981]

thank you for letting me know, it was posted list night using my phone and it was acting weird.
it is a 6.5 NA 4 speeds transmission. I really don't know how bad it is, it could be as simple as a head gasket or a damaged head to a cracked cylinder.

On the driver side valve cover, is there a sticker identifying what engine you have? The 6.5 came as a GM and later GEP. The GEP being the better of them. Good luck and keep us informed.

 

[Gcelevator]

On the driver side valve cover, is there a sticker identifying what engine you have? The 6.5 came as a GM and later GEP. The GEP being the better of them. Good luck and keep us informed.

This is a GM engine. the sticker is on the rear side of the engine by the transmission bell.

 

[williamh]

I was asking about the gaskets , only because you didn’t indicate that before you started that there was water in the motor and after you replaced the intake gasket it fill the motor with water , I figured the intake didn’t seat properly on the heads or the gasket was wrong. Even with a cracked head you wouldn’t fill the motor right away , there would be more of steam from the tailpipe or blowing out of the resivour , tons of other issues first.

 

[NDT]

The GM 6.2 and 6.5,doesn’t have coolant in the intake manifold. Sounds like what happened is a fastener of some type fell into the intake port while he was running it open and got ingested and busted the head and piston.

 

[Gcelevator]

I was asking about the gaskets , only because you didn’t indicate that before you started that there was water in the motor and after you replaced the intake gasket it fill the motor with water , I figured the intake didn’t seat properly on the heads or the gasket was wrong. Even with a cracked head you wouldn’t fill the motor right away , there would be more of steam from the tailpipe or blowing out of the resivour , tons of other issues first.

i dont think there should be any kind of water on the intake.

 

[Gcelevator]

The GM 6.2 and 6.5,doesn’t have coolant in the intake manifold. Sounds like what happened is a fastener of some type fell into the intake port while he was running it open and got ingested and busted the head and piston.

it could be even though i made sure everything was free of debris, tools and fasteners near the intake area. or it could be something lose from the repair they did, this is a freshly repair by Melton in 2009 and the truck only have 22 miles since rebuilt (at least i want to think so) i removed the glow plugs to drain any fluid and the motor is stuck. i tried turning from the flywheel and was just able to turn probably 1/2" with lots of effort. something is very wrong on it for sure.

 

[NDT]

Well time for surgery. If the block is busted then time to shop for a GEP longblock. If the short block is ok (unlikely) you could put GEP heads on it.

 

[dmetalmiki]

At least, with those engines the valves don't take out the pistons when a belt breaks, like some modern engines.

 

[Mogman]

At least, with those engines the valves don't take out the pistons when a belt breaks, like some modern engines.

They have a timing chain which can fail and that is definitely an "interference" engine

 

[Gcelevator]

Well time for surgery. If the block is busted then time to shop for a GEP longblock. If the short block is ok (unlikely) you could put GEP heads on it.

well, surgery started today at around 2:00 Pm and i have already passenger side head out and driver side everything but the head, head coming out tomorrow. worth to note, all cylinders were full of antifreeze. will report back tomorrow.

 

[Gcelevator]

They have a timing chain which can fail and that is definitely an "interference" engine

hopefully the timing chain is not the issue hopefully something simple

 

[Mogman]

hopefully the timing chain is not the issue hopefully something simple

Probably not the chain, I was countering the notion it was beyond having valve interference because it was not a "modern" engine, not may HMMWVs have enough miles on them to have a bad chain but it is one of the things that Detroit could have, should have fixed when they re-designed the even more piss poor 5.7L diesel.
International went to gears AND a 360 rear seal in the 40s GM has had their thumb up there butt for many decades, they had to buy Isuzu to get some folks that knew how to design engines really sad how incompetent they were for so many years...
When GM came out with a decent engine (the Isuzu designed Duramax) in 2000 they only had about 4% of the domestic diesel pickup market.

 

[Monkeyboyarmy]

If all of the glow plugs were out and the motor still wouldn't turn then it wasn't hydro locked. Did it have oil pressure? These trucks when the sit for years have a hard time picking up oil again.

 

[Gcelevator]

If all of the glow plugs were out and the motor still wouldn't turn then it wasn't hydro locked. Did it have oil pressure? These trucks when the sit for years have a hard time picking up oil again.

yes, oil pressure was always present . definetly there was water in all the cylinders on the passenger side .