How is it going? first post
i have read all threads 13 pages back about this problem

my mom has a 97 1500 5.9
she just had the head gasket done with the head press. tested (good) due to coolant in oil, low power, overheating
the heads they said were not O.E.
they also did T-belt hoses resurfaced heads T-stat T-up

PROBLEM: it did not go away all the same problem are there they said she needs a motor (for no good reason just that it is bad some were)
now that is not fixing the problem to me what should i ask the mech to check
the plenum? intake?

also if i was there i would find it out but im in th USAF and she is 1 day away from me

Thanks

 

New motor is a bit extreme. I'd tell him to check the plenum, assuming he knows how...Those tech's can actually be pretty dumb...

Also I'd tell him to do a compression test and find out what each cylinder is reading. If those are way off, or if one of the cylinders is below like 100 (I think thats about right) you'd probably be looking at a new engine.

 

Socha_62 thank you i agree a motor is extreme good words
he said he comp. tested it when it first went in he said they were fine so i guess a plenum ck it is going to be

 

could it have a cracked block?

 

Could very well be the heads. They have a tendancy to crack between the valves. If they're cracked I hear good things about the R/T heads Course junk yard ones work too

 

i thought the heads also untell the mech said that they were pressure tested good but still
a cracked block would mean it would compression ck bad right?

 

first off, welcome to DF!

what I would recommend is having the heads yanked off again, get some new head gaskets from summit racing along with an ARP head bolt kit. have the heads checked out once again to make sure that they are flat and there are no cracks anywhere. then check the deck of the block to make sure it is also flat. if all that looks good, then put the motor back together with the new head bolts & gaskets (gaskets are $25 bux from summit vs $50 ea from the dealer and it's the same part).

I had my heads off last summer to put on r/t's and found that my head bolts had stretched to the point were they would not clamp down the head properly. I did a lot of research and talked with some friends who were mechanical engineers and they explained to me about the bolts and their strength and why they stretch. bottom line is the head bolts are probably shot.

get new ones (ARP's) and torque them down using the ARP's spec of 85 ft lbs using 30wt oil on the threads. Do not torque them to 105 ft lbs per the manual. these bolts are much stronger and you only need 85 ft lbs to clamp the head down properly.

a new motor is most likely not needed unless you spun a bearing somewhere in the block or the block is cracked. either way, do not use the same head bolts again.