So, I'm driving down the hwy, truck temp reg. normal. all the sudden a loud clanking noise and I mean loud. I pulled over immediatly, truck since I've owned it has never overheated never ran out of oil, doesn't even burn oil. It was a little low on water, and maybe a 1/4 low on oil had it towed home, I've started good ol' betsy to park her in the driveway and upon starting still loud clanking, but died down quickly and only every two feet or so would start clanking again, have I blown a head gasket? truck still runs, didn't seem to have any problems prior to. has 219,000 miles fairly new timing belt, alt. and belts somebody help please.. thanks

 

Hey dude,

I hate to give bad news but that doesn't sound like a head gasket failure--more like a spun bearing, broken connecting rod, or dropped valve. Check for coolant in the oil making a milky soup and for oil in the coolant.

Take out the spark plugs and see if the engine rotates with a wrench. Listen for the noises. If you can hear unusual noise it sounds like a rebuild to me. If not, do a compression check and see if any cylinders are very low.

Search for "head gasket" and you'll find many threads on 3.0 HG failure that provide great information.

I feel for you. Good luck,
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