Posted by Steve on March 09, 1999 at 03:44:43:
In Reply to: I have the head off - any thing to check posted by Drew Rogers on March 07, 1999 at 21:32:44:
Drew
As long as you have the head off be sure to look at the valves. The seats should be clean with no pits where the valves make contact. The valves should also be clean where they contact the seat. Take a dab of grease and put it on each valve one at a time and rotate the crank until the valve is fully seated. Then rotate the valve with your fingers a turn or two. This may take some effort. Turn the crank to bring the valve up and look for spots on the seat and valve which didn't get greasy. If you have voids then it's time for a valve job. If you do need a valve job this is an excellent time to do it because the biggest expense is the head gasket. I think you have found the main cause of your problem with the blown head gasket.
How many miles on your truck and how long has it been sitting? I ask this because I wonder if you should drop the pan and do the cylinders.
Good Luck