Sons truck started having water in the oil, it was after the hard freeze that hit Florida (of all places) and he was running straight water in it, figured the head gasket got messed up since the truck has 280k miles on it and the freeze plugs popped. After getting the heads off (gasket was bad) I noticed 2 spots on the drivers side. I have never seen a cracked block but I am pretty sure that is what I was looking at. Am I correct.

 

That may or may not be a crack and the only way to tell for sure is to pull the engine and have it tested. If you also popped the freeze plugs too then it can also indicate that he might have cracked the block. Also did you find any spots where the head gasket had blown? If not he could have also cracked a head which is very common on these engines.


You can go to a junkyard a pull a rebuild able engine and then just rebuild it that way. Most junkyards give a 30-90 warranty that the block will be good. This is one of those deals where you're going to have to spend some money to find out so it might be cheaper to just buy the JY engine and rebuild it. If you do end up doing a rebuild do not put stock heads back on. There is aftermarket heads available now that have thicker castings and cure the cracked head issue.


Good Luck

 

If it was cold enough for your block to kick out multiple freeze plugs and straight water was in it, I'd suspect that may be a crack in the block. With 280K on it, I'd say that you got your money's worth out of it. If it were me, I'd check around to see if you can find a good used motor. I was in need of one myself a few years ago and found a good used engine on craigslist. Auto salvage yards are another good source. Some will offer warranties and will also install the motor for a fee.

 

That's a crack. New block time. If it froze hard enough to blow the freeze plugs, the block is toast, and that is probably not the only crack you are going to find.

 

Welcome to DF

Yes it is toast like others have posted.

I have had marine motors that have kicked out every expansion plug they have and somehow the blocks have not cracked. Others have had all the expansion plugs still in place but have had huge holes in the water jacket, one reason not to JB weld/loctite the expansion plugs into the block.