1994 GMC diesel

Can anyone tell me what a motor temperature would have to get to, too crack a head, or head gasket. This is a 1994 6.5 GMC ,turbo diesel, we just put a motor in it in Aug. of

2006, and have only put on 7000 miles on it. There is a temp tag on motor that is marked at 230. It had a 1 year unlimited mileage warranty on it, now the company does not want to stand behind it, said it got to hot. Any one wish to give any suggestions?

Carol

Reply to
dnysis
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Far too little information for anyone to give you any answer that might apply to your engine.

Reply to
Mike Marlow

I'd have to agree, although I don't think it was ever a specific temperature that caused problems, but how the motor was used. You should know that these motors did have issues with burn-through of the head gaskets on the rearmost cylinders if used for extensive hauling or towing. This problem was solved in the post-'97 motors by the use of a higher capacity water pump with dual thermostats and a crossover. The increase in coolant flow solved this problem. In addition, anything that reduced the cooling system's efficiency on the early motors could accelerate the process.

Anytime anyone asks for advice on these motors, the late model water pump and dual thermostat set-up is one of the suggestions I always make.

Good luck - Jonathan

Reply to
Jonathan

This motor was not abused, just run normal. Hauled snowmobiles on trailer twice, and car trailer to Pa. Ohio line 1 time with car on it going out, then hauled our blazer home, with it. Other than that it was just used to run errands, never run on a day to day basis. This motor has used water from the time we had got it from the company. We could never figure out where the water was going until we were on our way home from Ohio, while stopped at a red light smoke was coming into window and we could smell antifreeze, at that time we put 2 and 2 together, it has smoked white from the time we had got this motor, but didn't think about having a head gasket broke, or cracked head, as it was supposed to have been new. I would think that warranty coverage should still be good, as it was year unlimited mileage for it. Guess we will probably get screwed on this deal. Seems like no body ever wants to stand up to there word anymore.

Carol

Reply to
dnysis

Hi Carol:

I'm not suggesting you abused your engine in any way, having seen this explanation, but I am wondering if you ever contacted the vendor you purchased the engine from when you noticed the water consumption in the beginning. It would be quite understandable for an engine supplier to respond with the position that they won't stand behind an engine that was noted to have a problem, but the consumer continued to use the vehicle for a long period. That would in fact, likely result in an understandable claim by the supplier that you caused further damage by not addressing the problem earleir. It's conceivable that a minor head gasket problem has resulted in a cracked head due to not addressing the problem when first observed.

Reply to
Mike Marlow

We did tell the guy that there was something wrong with this motor after we put it in, but did not know what the problem was. We told him it smoked when started.

Reply to
dnysis

Did he ignore or dismiss your concerns? I'd certainly go back on him then. Don't be afraid to file a claim in small claims court.

Reply to
Mike Marlow

When I talked with him today after I told him we were going to file a claim against him, he was more than willing to send a head gasket, at there expense. But who can say that it is just a broken gasket. Bye looking at a picture of the temp tag, can you tell that it is gasket, just because it looks like rust on it, and not just a mark on the tag?

What would you say? A cracked head or just a gasket? Is there any way of checking, with out re-moving motor? There is no water in oil, and truck runs fine other than smoking a little when starting and stepping on gas pedal. Carol

Reply to
dnysis

Nobody can tell you decisevely without seeing the motor and even then there is always room for speculation. A cracked head is sometimes very easy to see and other times requires sophisticated examinations. Yes - as long as the head can be pulled without removing the motor, then the examination can be performed without taking the motor out. You'd be best off taking the head off and taking it to a shop for examination. If they tell you it's not cracked, then you're golden. The new gasket should fix your problems. Pay particular attention to the gasket as you *carefully* remove the head. Examine it for signs of web failure between the water jackets and the rest of the gasket. If you see gasket damage, still inspect the head. You may well have a simple gasket failure, but head failures are often accompanied by subsequent gasket damage, so you can't just assume a bad gasket is all there is.

There need not be water in the oil for there to be head or gasket problems. The water can travel into the combustion chamber and never be visible in the oil pan. White smoke from the tail pipe is a tell tale sign of water though.

Reply to
Mike Marlow

Thanks, Mike for all your information. It's just humiliating to have to tear this thing apart again. Carol

Reply to
dnysis

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