cracked block i think

I took water pump off and it is fine but i noticed residue on it. so i took a coat hanger and stuck it down the right side of the block and it came out oily. is that a cracked block or a blown head gasket.

Only one way to know, take it to da machine shop!

More then likely it is a blown head gasket......that would definately explain your overheating problem as well. A cracked block is very hard to do in the 6. Unless of course you live in colder climates.

I am not trying to step on anyone's toes...but what if he...changes the head gasket, and then... the engine continues to leak? It would be a lot of work and money on parts for nothing. Is there a way to be sure?

well....if he has the money he can always take the block over to have it hot tanked and then magnafluxed to look for cracks.....but that is costly.....

I took water pump off and it is fine but i noticed residue on it. so i took a coat hanger and stuck it down the right side of the block and it came out oily. is that a cracked block or a blown head gasket.

Have you checked to see if you have any water in the oil?

What about oil in the water?

What does inside the radiator neck look like?

Was/is it white smoking out the tail pipe?

You might want to start by taking the head to the maching shop and have them check that first.

Did it try to push the water back out when putting it in it, as in blowing it back at you?

Yes it does shoot the water out as i try to put it back in and my water is considerabley clean but i did just change my head gasket and all of you are going to think i am very smart when i did this. my torq wrench broke so i just tightned them down as much as i could. sorry. that is probably it. ha ha. man i am smart.

my torq wrench broke so i just tightned them down as much as i could.

OUTRAGEOUS!! :eek: :eek: :eek:

now thats a good way of cracking a head! I6 need to be torqued down in a specific pattern and to a specific range! Id go and borrow one just to make sure!

not to be the one to drag out and point to the obvious (or what should be obvious) but the point of a torq wrench is to stop you from putting too much torq on the bolts. :loser:

btw- just for future reference a new torq wrench is generally cheaper and a lot less hassle to replace than a new head, or removing a broken bolt from the block.

Funny you guys should be talking about 'cracked blocks'.

I think I may have that same problem. I assumed that I had plenty of time due to the warm-rainy weather here in Canada, BC. However, mother nature pulled a nasty twist on me and turned our rain into snow! I neglected to add Anti-Freeze to my water before the freeze hit. So when I went to start my car, the belts would burn on the pulley's due to the frozen water pump. So I consulted some friends and got some opinions on what to do. I was told to take off the belts and run the motor without them in order to 'melt' the water and free up the water-pump, so I did that. It worked. As soon as the waterpump began to circulate (spin), I then turned off the car, and put the belts back on and tightened everything up.

I then continued to run the motor in order to melt the remaining ice within the hoses and radiator. I was having success, but as the motor heated up, I noticed two distressing things.

1. A small pin-hole fracture formed in the top of my radiator.

2. Steam was rushing out of my breather cap on my valve-cover, (driver's side).

I checked under the engine block to make sure that there were no water leaks, and it was water-tight, no leaks. So that would indicate to me that the "frost-plugs" are still intact and didn't pop. I then checked the oil via the dip-stick. I noticed a creamy-grey colorization on the dipstick, which indicates to me that water is somehow mixing with my oil.

Now, I'm an optimistic (and very BROKE) individual. I am hoping that this is nothing more than either water/condensation evaporating from the engine block, or merely a blown head gasket.

Does anyone have any advice or assistance they can offer?

here's a couple bits of advice.
1. you live in canada & drive a rig that runs very close to the boiling point in summer time. so unless you are trying to flush out the cooling system that thing should never have plain water in it.

2. start shopping for a new engine, or at least a new block. you might get lucky and 'just' need a new head.

3. slap your 'friend'. next time you get in this spot, push it into a garage and make sure it's completely thawed out before starting it.

they way you did it if you didn't have a cracked block from the freezing you'd have one by the time you got to operating temp. assuming you are extreamly lucky and did no damage as you melted the ice in the engine, I wonder how much pressure you built up in the engine as the engine heats up and melts the water (but cant circulate because the radiator and hoses are a block of ice), so the ice turns to water, turns to steam. not a pretty picture.

here's a couple bits of advice.
1. you live in canada & drive a rig that runs very close to the boiling point in summer time. so unless you are trying to flush out the cooling system that thing should never have plain water in it.

2. start shopping for a new engine, or at least a new block. you might get lucky and 'just' need a new head.

3. slap your 'friend'. next time you get in this spot, push it into a garage and make sure it's completely thawed out before starting it.

they way you did it if you didn't have a cracked block from the freezing you'd have one by the time you got to operating temp. assuming you are extreamly lucky and did no damage as you melted the ice in the engine, I wonder how much pressure you built up in the engine as the engine heats up and melts the water (but cant circulate because the radiator and hoses are a block of ice), so the ice turns to water, turns to steam. not a pretty picture.

Ok, here's whats happened now.

I succesfully managed to thaw the motor to the point where I was able to put in Anti-Freeze and circulate the water/AF mixture. The Steam from the breather is now gone, and it would seem that the pinhole on the radiator is no longer visible (but still exists) at running temperature.

There are still no leaks from under (or around) the block, it's water-tight. Everything sounds normal, no clanking, friction, ticks/knocks, no steam, idling nicely.

Now, I have been monitoring the oil at this point and for the last few days. I have noticed that the creamy-chocolate color has now got a "dark green" coloration to it. Hardly noticible though, you really have to squint under good light to see it. Which at this point would indicate that the anti-freeze that I just recently added to the motor, is somehow mixing with the oil. Cracked Water Jacket or possibly Blown Head Gasket?

Anyway, I also checked the Radiator periodically, and I noticed that the oil isn't mixing with the water. The Water/AF mixture in the Rad is completely clean. So, after all these tests, I am still not sure what this could be. It could be that the water/moisture got into the oil-supply, and whats sitting in it now is just residual, otherwise -- why isn't the radiator water/AF mixture contaminated with oil yet?

So in light of that, I decided to take off the driver's side valve-cover to closer inspect the head. I didn't notice any damage, but there was a residual chocolate-milk colorization to the oil of small proportion underneath the valve cover and inside the head.

So here is what I know for certain....

1. No leaks of any kind/any fluid from any area of the engine/tranny.

2. The water/AF mixture is completely clean after hour(s) of running the vehicle.

3. The dipstick oil-level is the "same" level each time I check it, but of a milky-chocolate with the slight dark greenish colorization to it.

4. No un-usual sounds or running condition, everything appears 100% normal.


So with all of that, could this just merely be a blown head gasket that's allowing the water to enter the oil supply, but preventing the thick-oil from entering the water supply? Or some variation?

yep, the water/coolant is definately mixing with my oil. I'm sure there is a leak somewhere. Hopefully a blown gasket of some sort.

I'd think your guesses of cracked water jacket or possably blown gasket are the most likely suspects.

don't run it with that water in the oil or your problems will multiply.

would stop leak do any good in this situation?

it might. I'm not a big fan of them though. you usually end up with cooling problems (if it fixes the leak) when it clogs up your cooling system, and jeeps already have enough problems with that.

I've heard good things about a ceramic stop-leak that works real well. aparently using it is a lot more involved than the usual 'pour it in and go variety'. but I've never used it myself so I can't really say for sure. maybe someone else here has more info on it.

I'd think your guesses of cracked water jacket or possably blown gasket are the most likely suspects.

don't run it with that water in the oil or your problems will multiply.

Yeah, cracked internally. 98% it's the water jacket. Gasket's are fine. Damnit!!! I ran the car for about 3 hours of the day running some arrans, and at the end of that third hour, the motor started to shake and mimic the "..about to stall" effects. I can only assume thats the loss of proper lubrication in the pistons with the water/oil mixture and what have you. Well, let this be a lesson to anyone who runs a car without anti-freeze in the winter. DON'T DO IT! Of course, I was only being lazy and ignorant not expecting the sub-arctic temperatures to hit us this winter. Oh well.. Live and learn.

First and best signs to tell if you have a cracked block, or internal cracks.. is ... if your oil is watery/chocolatey, coffee-colored, or a coloration that is NOT normal, then your water is mixing with your oil, and I wouldn't recommend running it more than a couple hours or you'll blow your engine, or cause worse damage. If the exterior of the block is cracked, or the frost plugs popped, then you'll see water/oil leaking from the bottom or sides of the block. Either one of those indications and your motor will be "JUNK" from that point on.

Thanks for everyone's help. This forum was very informative, and I thank the people for their advice. Time to order a new block! =(

Last question, does anyone know if a '455 olds' will mount up to a 'Turbo-400 HydroM Tranny' ? =)

Thanks.