OT - kind of - Chevy 350 question

A buddy came over last night so we could weld some new floor panels and replace rotten roll cage mounts on his CJ (see I am back on topic already).

When he went to start his 89 suburban it had power to the starter but the engine would not turn over. We used a wrench to manually turn the crank a little to prove that the engine , then by holding the starter it started to turn the engine slowly, until suddenly it fired up. It acted like maybe it was hydro locked and once we turned it a little to open the valves it allowed the fluid to escape and turn over.

Then the exhaust seemed to have a little water, then we notice a mixture of mostly coolant with some oil was leaking out from around the passenger side / rear area from the exhaust manifold. Also it was running rough, almost like it was missing a cylinder. He commented earlier that he thought that purchased some bad fuel and it was not running right. But now I am thinking that this is the reason it was not running right.

Am I safe to take a guess that this is a problem with a bad head gasket? How much is involved in replacing a head gasket on a 350?

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Rusted
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You can buy an adapter to pressurize the cylinders through the spark plug holes, and see if any air comes out the radiator cap. That is one of my favorite ways to check for a head gasket leak. You do this, of course, with the engine not running. A compression test might show something too. Usually, if you have cause to suspect a blown head gasket, you have one. :o(

Replacing the head gasket is not too much work, but you will want to know why it went bad, before you put the head back on. At the very least, check the deck and head for warping with a straight edge and feeler gauge.

My '89 Suburban had some coolant leakage and lost about a quart of oil in two hundred miles. It smoked like a gangster in a '50s movie. So I took it to a Chevrolet dealer with a good reputation, and told him to "replace the engine with a new one, and put it on this credit card". That worked a lot smoother than the other way. :^)

Earle

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Earle Horton

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L.W.( ßill ) Hughes III

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L.W.( ßill ) Hughes III

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