Cracked Head?

[2trux]

My son called last night that his engine was getting hotter than normal. (90 B2 2.9L) He told me the temp never gets off cold usually. It also started putting out a lot of white smoke. Our investigation revealed that his coolant level was about in the middle of his radiator. (It looks like the tank seal on the right side of the radiator is leaking.)
We refilled the radiator and after running the engine until it warmed up (5min.) the overflow tank was about 3/4 full. The white smoke was not as bad but was still there. He said there was no change in performance while driving.
When we rebuilt this engine about 6 months ago it appeared to have the old style heads. I'll have to recheck that to be sure.
I had him order head bolts, gasket kit, and a new radiator. I will do the "glove test" tonight and see what that shows.

What are your thoughts?

 

[2trux]

Yep it's cracked.

I put the glove on the radiator and could see pulsing. Guess that's the answer.
I told him to start taking out parts to prep for engine removal this weekend. We're planning a raid on the U-Pull Saturday to see if we can find some good heads.

 

[RonD]

Bummer.

Did you ID which cylinder was leaking by removing 1 spark plug at a time?
That may help ID if it is a cracked head.

Could just be a head gasket, but if it was overheated you are probably right, a head has cracked.
Also check with machine shops, they often have cheap sources for used heads and can test and surface yours

 

[2trux]

We found a pair of the new style heads from a 90 B2 that look great. I have one side cleaned up and ready to install.
We pulled his engine Monday and have the heads stripped off. I was unable to see any obvious cracks on the old heads but didn't spend too much time looking. I probably should have taken the time to ID the cylinder but since we were planning to replace them anyway I didn't want to invest the time.
There is also the possibility that it was just the head gasket which is much harder to ID. The dilemma is, if the heads are good do I want to take them back for the core or keep them just in case.
The rear main has been leaking since the start so this is a good time to replace that.

 

[RonD]

Old style heads................send them back for core refund

 

[Josh P]

How much did the yard charge for a set of heads? New castings are just under $650 a pair

 

[2trux]

At the local pull apart they were $70 for the pair. It's my sons truck and he prefers to trade more of my labor for less of his cash.
We have the "new" heads on and it seems to be running great. We also changed the rear main while the engine was out since it was leaking a bit.
Now it's time to get him working on fixing his other problems, CEL, blinkers, and rear antilock.