cracked heads?

[HondaEater]

Took the valvecover off my 2.9 and this is what I found.

 

[nine-teen91stxranger]

is it a film? because it almost looks like a layer of that head gasket fixing crap

 

[adsm08]

Well it sure don't look good. Pro-longed operation with a bad PCV in humid or cold conditions can cause that too.

 

[HondaEater]

It was gooey. It. Was not found anywhere else but the valvecover and oil cap. Wasn't on the rockers or anything. Oil looks clean when checking it through the dipstick.

 

[HondaEater]

Adsm08 I assume you mean you have heads for sale?

 

[HondaEater]

I have been noticing loss of coolant but I pressure tested the system and found an external leak. The oil dipstick tube is broken on my truck (from where it bolts down) and is easily removed from the block if you're trying to check the oil level with the dipstick. If the head was cracked, the crank case would pressurized and have enough force to eject the tube, right?

 

[adsm08]

Adsm08 I assume you mean you have heads for sale?

They can be if someone is interested. I haven't had them checked and personally I'd want to work them over ( crack check, decking, new valves, springs, etc) before I reused them. They have over 200,000 original miles on them. I personally have no plans to use them again since they are the early casting and IF I decide to put that engine back together I am looking for aftermarket ones.

I have been noticing loss of coolant but I pressure tested the system and found an external leak. The oil dipstick tube is broken on my truck (from where it bolts down) and is easily removed from the block if you're trying to check the oil level with the dipstick. If the head was cracked, the crank case would pressurized and have enough force to eject the tube, right?

Probably not. If a head/gasket leak doesn't eat coolant by burning it or letting it into the oil it usually pressurized the cooling system since combustion pressure is hundreds of pounds, cooling system pressure is 13 to 16 pounds.



Given what you have told us though, I'd replace the dipstick tube and the PCV valve and hose and fix your external coolant leak. Clean the covers off good on the inside, and put it back together. See if she still leaks down or looses coolant. If no more coolant is lost you are probably ok. Run it for 6 months and re-check your oil cap.

 

[Captain Ledd]

My friend had a Jeep that did that. Disappeared after he ran it on the highway for a longer trip, came back after just a few shorter trips.

Never did figure out what it was.

That engine was pretty blown away though. By the time we pulled it you could hear the crank bouncing around in the engine at idle. 258, not that it matters. I thought I had a picture of it but I guess not.

 

[Ryannn]

I had cracked heads.

 

[AllanD]

On a 2.9 make sure the machinist knows where to look for cracks.

I've never actually seen one crack inside the chambers

Where I always saw them crack is near the bases of the rocker shaft pedestals.

AD

 

[HondaEater]

But my oil in the pan isn't milky

 

[jhammel85]

Frankly, I would chalk it up to humidity. I get snot on my oil cap every winter. If the heads are cracked, at least it's not too far along.

Best bet is to replace the PVC and fix those leaks. After a little bit, I would pull the covers again and have a look. It's cheap peace of mind to just replace those gaskets again if all's well.

 

[HondaEater]

Should I do a compression test

 

[adsm08]

A compression test and oil pressure test are good things to do just in general. Gives you a good idea of the health of the engine.

I will be very surprised if you don't just have a PCV issue sine you have very little snot on the valve covers.

The pics that Ryan posted would be what you'd be seeing if you had cracked heads.