1985 Chevy Suburban

MELCANON

MEMBER
1985 CHEVROLET SUBURBAN
V8
2WD
AUTOMATIC
23,000 MILES

Engine started smoking (white) at low idle but this was sporatic. This began a week ago. At the time I noticed that the plastic coolant reservoir looked like it contained some oil in it. Then, a couple of days ago, while pulling a lightly loaded utility trailer the truck died at a traffic signal. It restarted but a huge cloud of black smoke poured out the exhaust up startup. Then, after driving a mile or so, smoke billowed out from under the hood. I pulled over, opened the hood and it was smoking pretty bad. The engine wasn't making any noise but looked like it was going to bust out in flames. After awhile it cooled down and stopped smoking and I could see oil on the side of the engine. It looked like the plastic coolant container had boiled over (it was boiling at that time) and sprayed the engine. I have not restarted the engine but had it towed home. How can I trouble shoot this to determine the problem. Note: the engine appears low on oil and the coolant level is low. I've not tried to determine just how low either of these are yet. Thanks.

1 Reply

AIRSOFTSOLDRECN9

MEMBER
348 POSTS

You have a blown head gasket. You can verify this with a compression check but a mixture of fluids gives it away. Remove the carb, intake manifold and valve covers. Remove the rocker arms and pushrods and keep them in order! Unbolt the cylinder heads and you should see the gasket. Make sure you remove all of the gasket material and place the new gasket on the block making sure it is installed with the FRONT inscription towards the front of the block. Replace the cylinder heads strictly adhering to the tightening order and torque; if this isn't done correctly you will have the same problem again. Then make sure the intake manifold is tightened in the correct order and also to the proper torque. Replace all the fluids with brand new. Make sure you add the coolant in while the engine is running to allow for proper distribution throughout the block.

You might want to take notice to the condition of the cylinder head and pistons to determine if a valve and ring job are in order.