braverex

I am wondering if it is my turn for the HG replacement or if it is nothing to worry about? The other day I noticed a small puddle of antifreeze dripping from my tranny so I did some looking and couldn't find where it was coming from but when I released the pressure in the radiator it stopped and I haven't noticed anything dripping since.

The other day after getting into the truck I started it up and it was idling a little rough so stepped on the gas and saw a puff of white smoke come out the tail pipe. It was just a puff and then everything ran fine. A couple of days later same thing, I start it up seems to be idling a little rough but this time when I step on the gas it takes about 1 minute of white smoke before it stops and I thought I smelt a faint odor of antifreeze.

My first thought with the white smoke was that it was antifreeze and HG... I checked oil and looks like it should... nice golden color. Checked the antifreeze level and seems like it is about normal, maybe a little low in the overflow... started it up when it was cold and there were no air bubles that I could see...

Is the HG going or is there something else to look for? Timing Issue? Valve Issue? Any suggestions? Could there be a leak somewhere other than HG?

It is a 89 v6...

Kaydon

I think your gasket is going.

The iron block and aluminum head cause the HG issues with the v6.

gilby4runner

My suburban was doing the same thing and i had a compression check done. That will give you an indication if its the HG

CJM

Check oil for milkshake like consistency, this indicates antifreeze in the oil, check the rad for the same thing.

Compression test will also tell you.

Jay351

I belive Tn rabbit did a compression test when his hg popped and it showed good compression.

start the truck with the rad cap off, if coolant comes gushing out then your hg is toast.
perhaps it was your heater core leaking?

DudeBud

comp test wont always show if a HG is bad, maybe if it went between cylinders. a leak down or putting pressure to the cylinders and watching for small bubbles in the radiator works sometimes.

Chief_Yota

trust me when its gonna go bad ,you ARE gonna notice it .crazy white smoke,less power,constantly refilling the radiator,stumble,bad sound ,bad smell,you really cant miss it when the HG goes. alot of ploeple say check the oil,to see if its milky,alright but dont just check your dipstick,cause it might takes alot of time before your dipstick become milky.and wash your engine compartment,if you cant do it yourself,just go and get it done ,its cheap,and after that you just make a good visual check from under and every corner you can.atfter that ,if everything is fine id say compression check,but its not as precise,cause you can have a worned out ring or somethin else.when i poped mine,i was still at a stop and when i took off,it goes suddently,not gradualy. dont know about others,anyway good luck.

pruney81

When the headgaskets blew on my 95 V6, it would sputter at start up and I would have to give it gas to go away and there was tons of white smoke. The oil looked fine but there was milky residue under the oil cap. I'd say it's definitely the head gaskets.

braverex

Yeah, I already tried to start with the cap off and there were no problems.... After trying the compression test there was good compression on all cylinders. I had a mechanic look at it and he didn't think there was a problem. Guess I wont worry about it until something else happens! Thanks for all the responses!