So my truck recently rolled over 260k miles and I noticed that I have been loosing coolant slowly but not very obvious. Had a mechanic check it out and he said the water pump was leaking and he thought he could see some indications that coolant had been in the heads by looking through the oil filler line but could not diagnose fully without pulling the covers off. The covers leak a little bit of oil at this stage but at this many miles I would not be surprised by any oil leaks I find. Although I only loose about a quart of oil for 5,000 miles so I haven't been worrying about it.
Since I suspect a coolant leak I also took note of the recent revival of the "mysterious coolant leak" thread. I checked and do have the 706 casting on the passenger head. So it is likely that if I do continue to loose coolant that it is due to the head being cracked. At this point this truck is not daily driven and will be monitored.
So now I have to consider plans for the future. With 270k miles I question if it would be smart to pick up a set of performance heads, new cam, and basically the whole top end or should I be considering a 6.0? At the current time I checked an I can get a junkyard 6.0 with 150k miles on it for $1500. So if I got the 6.0 I really should be rebuilding it anyhow unless I get a low mileage motor.
My biggest concern is if I put a whole new top end on my truck is that I still am using the old piston rings and rest of the lower end and am almost better off yanking it and having a full rebuild done. If I go through that effort I would likely look at upgrading the motor for potential forced induction down the road. But then again forced induction on a 4x4 is looking to replace the rest of the drive train too.
When I retire in 5 years I will have much more financial flexibility...
But for now I am still in school and working full time and more interested in a reliable vehicle. (Note I have a 2009 CTS-4 with 170k miles as my "beater" car. Those in the rust belt understand what a beater car is... )
So I would like to open up discussion on what options are out there. I will be getting some quotes on changing the heads as well. I have the ability to do the heads myself but virtually no experience in doing such work. I just took on a promotion at work that will have me doing maintenance work which will range from rebuilding machinery that we use to rebuilding electric motors (bearing installation) as well as rebuilding industrial pumps. So I am mechanically inclined but not sure that I want to be working on the heads of my truck. There certainly is value in getting something done by someone else that does it day in and day out. But then again if I can save myself $1500 and do the work myself it might be worth the shot...
And I assume changing a CAM when the heads are off is not a big issue. Basically pulling off front over, pulling off the timing chain and change the cam.
Rodney
Since I suspect a coolant leak I also took note of the recent revival of the "mysterious coolant leak" thread. I checked and do have the 706 casting on the passenger head. So it is likely that if I do continue to loose coolant that it is due to the head being cracked. At this point this truck is not daily driven and will be monitored.
So now I have to consider plans for the future. With 270k miles I question if it would be smart to pick up a set of performance heads, new cam, and basically the whole top end or should I be considering a 6.0? At the current time I checked an I can get a junkyard 6.0 with 150k miles on it for $1500. So if I got the 6.0 I really should be rebuilding it anyhow unless I get a low mileage motor.
My biggest concern is if I put a whole new top end on my truck is that I still am using the old piston rings and rest of the lower end and am almost better off yanking it and having a full rebuild done. If I go through that effort I would likely look at upgrading the motor for potential forced induction down the road. But then again forced induction on a 4x4 is looking to replace the rest of the drive train too.
When I retire in 5 years I will have much more financial flexibility...
But for now I am still in school and working full time and more interested in a reliable vehicle. (Note I have a 2009 CTS-4 with 170k miles as my "beater" car. Those in the rust belt understand what a beater car is... )
So I would like to open up discussion on what options are out there. I will be getting some quotes on changing the heads as well. I have the ability to do the heads myself but virtually no experience in doing such work. I just took on a promotion at work that will have me doing maintenance work which will range from rebuilding machinery that we use to rebuilding electric motors (bearing installation) as well as rebuilding industrial pumps. So I am mechanically inclined but not sure that I want to be working on the heads of my truck. There certainly is value in getting something done by someone else that does it day in and day out. But then again if I can save myself $1500 and do the work myself it might be worth the shot...
And I assume changing a CAM when the heads are off is not a big issue. Basically pulling off front over, pulling off the timing chain and change the cam.
Rodney