OltorfTD

I was driving on the other side of Utah lake a while back and all of a sudden I lost power. Bam- just like that, and I can't accelerate. All I could do was pull over. The engine idled at 400 RPM or so for a few seconds and then died. I could start it again, but then it would just die after a few seconds. I got towed to a shop, and they said it was the head gasket. They said that it blew on the rear cylinders and It wouldn't run because I couldn't get any compression in those cylinders. Also, they found hydrocarbons in the anti-freeze.

It's a 1994 3.0 v6 with a 5 speed and 4wd

So, 2 questions: Are they correct? If not, what else could it be?

Also, Where can I get a good set of head gaskets and head bolts? What else should I fix while I'm there? Timing belt, water pump? spark plugs?

I bought my dad's 95 k1500 suburban for $0 (over christmas ) so I have a car to drive while I fix it. Any other suggestions? My first idea was to go ahead and do the 3.4L swap because I want to do that anyways, and my wife, randomly, also wants to do that. I may still do it, depending on how cheap it will be and if I can do it at home.

or, i could just push the rusty piece of crap off of a cliff. there are plenty around here....

OltorfTD

I started thinking about his again, and I think it sounds like a broken timing belt. Any thoughts? I need to fix this truck soon and I don't want to fix the wrong thing. plz halp!

justin_4runner

start with pressure check on the cooling system. see if u have a leak, if so then yes headgaskets could be a problem, also do a compression test to see what u have in each cylinder. i would go from there and see what u end up with. could be clogged fuel filter to plugged cat. just to name some of the items i would check first, did u see any white smoke coming from the tail pipe when u first had the problem?

OltorfTD

no white smoke, nothing. there was no idicator at all that there was a problem of any kind. it just shut off all of a sudden. i'll try those things you suggested.

justin_4runner

yeah that dont sound like a bad head gasket to me, to just lose power like that sounds more like a gas or sensor issue not head gaskets. also look at the cap and rotor and coil, see what color the spark is at the plug. also look at the afm or tube from air cleaner box to engine... more that i think about it, sounds like a air metering problem,

9422re

yeah dosent sound like a hg...whats the oil look like? any knocking? you can take a rubber band and a rubber glove..let it warm up a tiny bit and pop ur radiator cap and put that rubber glove in its place with the rubber band holding it on there...let it idle and see if the glove inflates at all..if yes it could very well be a hg...looks like the mechanics tryin to work you over or just assuming as the 3.0s have the reputation of blowing the hgs...maybe take it somehwere else before you drop some money.

sb5walker

I agree with others here that a few tests are in order. Personally I'd start with a compression test. If you find low compression, a leakdown test is very helpful if you can do one (you need a special two-dial gauge and a good source of compressed air). The leakdown usually tells you where the loss of compression is happening (rings, exhaust valves, intake valves or head gasket). http://web.archive.org/web/200712121...s/leakdown.htm

One possible place where coolant and hydrocarbons can mix is the oil cooler, a short can-shaped thing on the driver side of the block, aft of the oil filter. There's a coolant line running to it from the water pump.

It's normal for coolant pressure to increase when it gets hot, so pressure increase doesn't indicate anything. But if you get air in the coolant loop, that does usually indicate a blown head gasket. Or if coolant is forced out of the overflow tank tube.

If you do run a coolant pressure test, and there is an internal coolant leak somewhere (like from a blown head gasket for example), then remove all spark plugs before turning the motor over. The coolant pressure test may have forced coolant into a cylinder, where it could cause hydrolock.

OltorfTD

Ok, since i'm in grad school and i didn't have the time (or equipment or experience) I took it to the dealer. Now, my first thought was that the fuel pump was bad. The dealership couldn't find anything wrong with the engine, but when they hooked up an external fuel source it fired right up

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It turns out, the fuel lines rusted and some !@#%#$^& genuis replaced them with RUBBER HOSES. Not ONLY that, they replaced the fuel strainer with a SOCK. So they replaced all that stuff, painted the fuel tank, etc. Basically I have a new fuel system. while it was there, they did the timing belt (it was about time anyways) and water pump, fixed some other rusty stuff. So I'm out $1800, but I have a truck that runs again, and i had them fix every mechanical problem i could think of. Next I'm going to get the surface rust on the doors fixed so those don't rust through and I'm going to drive it. I figure, i'm this far into this truck, I might as well restore the dang thing.

yay.

At least i'll have a decent off-road vehicle again. i really liked that suburban, but it sucked off-road. it didn't have the right tires and it was way too big.

OltorfTD

Scratch that - $4400. but they fixed EVERYTHING. it looks like i'm keeping this truck for a while.