1stgenatheart

Hey ,,sad news "I think" Well i got home tonight and walked around the front of the truck only to hear a bubbling noise from under the hood! I took a closer look and discovered that me radiator reservoir was full and bubbling,,, I do believe that I have blown a head gasket.. anyone else with a 1st gen have this problem?? my truck has only a few small modifications. I just installed a boost gauge and I am pushing about 25-30 psi max... not sure if this is common or have I done something to hurt my ol girl oh and I haven't ever had it overheat,,, at least I don't think so,,,,, Dave "administrator" your input would be good

Dodge359

Is there oil in the anifreeze? Or water in the oil?

1stgenatheart

neither, just getting a lot of pressure in my cooling system.

JD730

Had the same thing happen to mine almost a year ago, I wound up re-torquing the head and it sealed itself up.
I got lucky with mine, I know it could pop again at anytime.
You'll probably have to put a head gasket in it, mine had a fresh one in it when it blew.

1stgenatheart

JD 730 thanks for the info.. I need to look into this more but the more info I can get the better..

CG98x

Blew one in my 1990 I had. The syptoms were exactly as you are describing. Head gasket isn't too bad to do and the new style gaskets hold better than the original on the 1st gens.

1stgenatheart

Hey thanks a lot! CG98x ,,where did you pick up you replacement head gasket.? And your right it really doesn’t look to bad.. oh one other thing did you have the head resurfaced?

1stgenatheart

Does anyone know what causes this to happen? am I running too much boost?.. I haven't messed with the fuel screw,, all I have done is advanced the timing a little,a little different setup with the fuel pin and the high idle screw has been adjusted. I will admit that with the new mods, I have been more apt to push the "go petal" ..

JD730

Cylinder pressure is ultimately the cause of most head gasket failures, excessively advanced timing, too much boost all contribute to excessive cylinder pressure. I'm not saying yours is excessive, but its a good chance that the gasket was marginal and not up to the task.
Your case is probably more age related, figure if its the original gasket, its 17 years old with who knows how many thousands of miles. Probably due to start leaking coolant externally soon anyway, mine did, thats why I had a fresh gasket in it.

1stgenatheart

Oh thanks mike.. The ol girl has 121,000 not too bad.. did you resurface the head?

97ramctd

most recommend it just to be safe... i didn't and paid for it.. blew new gasket out within 20 mins

JD730

I didn't, but I did check it and it was ok. For me the next step is o-rings and studs, I want to break the 400hp mark.

1stgenatheart

What do you reccommend for a replacemnet.

JD730

Cummins without a doubt. Do a thermostat while your at it to.

BTW, mine had 230k miles on it when the gasket let coolant leak to the outside.

1stgenatheart

Well hey thanks for your help, oh and one other thing.. was that a marine head gasket I saw you were using in the one pict you had posted??