Hey guys, i had the unfortunate experience yesterday of blowing my first headgasket. What happened is somehow the coolant got low (which it never does, i had checked it 2 weeks ago and was fine like every other time i have checked it) and it overheated. What was wierd to me though was i noticed it running a little warm on the way home from work, but it was a hot day so nothing unusual, and there was some traffic. Well it got up to 220-225 before i shut it off. Let it cool down and run some errands later that evening. When i go start it up it is running real bad, really rough. So, i go and check it out later that evening and see cooland up on the valve cover that looks burnt and dried up. I check it out and remove the alternator to get a better look and i see it is coming from the intake side of the passenger side head.

I drain the oil to make sure no water and it is very clean, i only changed it 2 weeks ago. Cut the filter open just for checkings sake and it is clean also. OK, good no bearing damage. So today i am going to pressurize the cooling system to make sure it is a head gasket just to double check. While i am down there is there anything else i should look for. I watched the exhaust for a few minutes before i diagnosed it and it didn't smell funny or smoke, so i don't think there is any blowby. I think the coolant passage in the front of the head blew out. I would really appreciate any help or suggestions on how best to pursue this. I didn't build this motor so it will be kinda interesting to dive into it.

Also if one went should i replace both, or just leave the other one on there. With the intake and everything already off i am tempted to take them both off and check out the good side even though it didn't leak. Once again thanks a lot for your guys help.

Daniel

The first time I blew a head gasket, it also included a cracked head. I couldn't see the crack, so I had it tested at a shop before I put everything back on. It was cracked and had to get a new one. I did both gaskets at the same time just to be safe, and that involved all new intake gaskets and stuff too.