Zach_trun

Bought this 93 pickup v6 4wd 5 speed dlx for $300 off a local woman. 175000 miles, head gasket was done 10000 miles ago along with many hoses/belts/distributor/plugs/wires... the whole 9 yards and She gave me receipts for everything, head gasket blew again and she had to have it towed home, said coolant was spraying out . No coolant in oil.......still oil on dipstick. Body is pretty rusty but that's not a concern to me, being in the rust belt. Is the truck worth the time and labor for me to put a head gasket in? My daily is a 93 pickup 4wd 5 speed ext cab sr5. Should I just keep it for parts? Try and part it out? Sell the truck whole and try and make some cash? I just want to know what some of you all think would be the best bang for my buck, having another vehicle around is always a plus for my family. So just wondering if I should put time and money into the motor. Thanks guys

scope103

How much is a running (rusty) truck worth in your area? If less than $1,000, I'm not sure I would replace a head gasket, unless I was pretty sure the rest of the truck was "okay."

For what it's worth, I don't think you could sell a non-running 23-yr old truck around here for $300. Of course, this is the big city, so most people don't have backyards filled with "future projects." The only people who could buy a non-runner are mechanics, and they know that you don't have anyone else to sell it to, so they can bid low -- as in "I'll tow it out on my trailer for free" low.

Last, "coolant spraying out" isn't conclusively a head gasket. You could try pressurizing the coolant system to find where it was spraying from. On the other hand, if someone drove it for a while with no coolant, a working head gasket might not do you any good at all.

robertd33

it's $300. buy it.
it's worth more than that to keep around for spares.
i'd check it out & see what needed to be fixed before piecing it out.