Any tips? Engine is clean and lots of new parts like water pump and radiator.
But oil had water in it... Did not run long that way so I feel the bearings are ok. I did drain the oil and run some old oil in there to clean out the watery oil. Checked after I ran it for a few minutes and the oil still looked like oil, so think I got all the water out. I just did that to help start the flushing of the insides and I will do it again later after the headgasket.
I am not sure if the plenum has been changed before but I find out when the intake is off.

I like to take things off with minimum removal. Like taking the whole intake off and not take TB off.. I know to set the air comprssor to the side and not discharge it. So any other tips

Also how do I clean the deck surface and the intake mating surface?
I will take the head to a shop to check for cracks. If they find any, where is a good place to find cheaper replacement heads.. Not really wanting any added performance so stock stuff is fine.

 

You can get better heads from Odessa/Clearwater cylinder head service. They sell on Ebay, and also have websites. They offer stock NEW castings, that are much better than the stock head castings. In all reality, If you are pulling your heads, I would recommend swapping them out, and not wasting any money on them at all.

I use an angle grinder, with the rol-lok discs to clean the surfaces. Some folks claim its a bad idea, but, I have been doing it that way for 40 years, and never had a problem, just make sure you clean up the mess REALLY well before reassembly.

If your truck is a 4x4, it is actually fairly simply to drop the oil pan, and then have a look at the bearings. Might plasti-gauge them as well, see what clearances look like. I have seen to many engines dump water into the oil, and then, after the gaskets are fixed, they end up with a rod knock......

 

I wouldn't advise using the roloc/scotch brite pads on areas with exposure to the crankcase. The particles produced are too small to be caut be the oil filter and will toast your bearings. GM and many other companies have put out TSBs and other info regarding NOT to use these types of pads.

What I use is the Roloc Bristle Discs. The white one is good for aluminum. Just don't push too hard or the bristles will fly off.

 

450 for a set of heads is about half the cost I paid for the truck..

Whats the chances it has crack in head?
Are there any casting numbers that are better than the others? I am a jeep guy and we had a run of 4.0 heads that cracked a lot and we knew the casting # and avoided using them.

 

Did you have coolant in the oil after changing the water pump? Sometimes when trying to pull off a stuck water pump, you can cause a leak at timing cover, both internal and external. We need more info about your problem, but a timing cover gasket (and chain) would be a lot easier and cheaper than head gaskets.

 

HMMMM...... I did not do the water pump... It was done JUST before the water in oil happened.....
Got me excited that I can avoid that cylinder pull.

Gonna run a compression test here in a hour or so and I will know then I guess.

 

I think you should put in fresh oil and new oil filter, run the truck and monitor the oil very closely, for a few days. If there is head gasket problems, you will probably have running or smoking problems also. You should probably pull the timing cover at some time and replace the gasket, very common failure. I am on my third one. There also may be a problem with pitting on aluminum timing cover at water ports. Of course you should replace the chain and gears while you are in there, if they are worn. Many guys recommend a double roller chain. It may be that the previous owner had an overheating problem, thus the radiator and water pump replacement. He may have damaged the heads or head gaskets, but I would do more checking before I pulled the heads. Good Luck.

 

I used this stuff about a year and a half ago. Solved my issue without pulling the heads.

 

Well I did the compression test and it was all over.
1--170
2--150
3--190
4--180
5--170
6--150
7--150
8--185
The ones that only went to 150 they seemed to hold there even after a few more spins of engine. The others I think kept adding to the total so I dont know how to read that. I never had a stock engine run that high before.
Most times its 150 I see for a normal engine.

 

I dont want to resort to using that stuff.. I have a whole bottle of it I found IN a car trunk. I just dont trust it and it could make things worse.