Can anyone give me some insight on old 12V engines? I have had this old truck for about 6 months and it's been a really great rig, I use it to pull my camper and sometimes pull the dirt bikes on a small trailer. I do not believe the truck has been abused during it's lifetime and it shows 167,000 on the clock; of which I have put about 8,000 on it since I have owned it. Here is the question, it has always used a little antifreeze and since I couldn't find the leak I kinda let it go. This last weekend, as I was pulling the camper, I smelled antifreeze and hoped it was someone else. I parked the truck and came back 6 hours later to find a puddle under it. I looked for broken hoses or something wet and found nothing. After further inspection I found the rear of the black painted block "stained". It looks like it may have leaked there and the heat of the engine dried the fluid after I turned the truck off. I guess my question after all of this is this...Can it be repaired successfully? I know the head and block are cast iron and the thing still runs great so I don't think I've hurt anything. Is this a common problem after this many miles? If I fix it will it be OK for another 100K+? How much should I expect it to cost for the repair? Should I leave it alone and wait for it to really die? The old truck is in decent shape but I don't want to put too much $ into it and lose my ****...As per usual, any insight is greatly appreciated.

 

It sounds to me like it could be your head gasket. Can't give you an accurate estimate on how much it would run you. When you change the head gasket, it's always a good idea to have the head decked. If you don't do this, there's a good chance the head is warped and won't seal right. With the head gasket the suspect, I really wouldn't wait on getting it repaired. If any coolant manages to get in your oil, you'd probably end up having to replace all of your bearings as well.

 

Sounds like the headgasket,but,if you can have the system pressure tested it will expose what the leak is alot easier for you to see.

If you have to have the headgasket redone then you will need to have the head checked for flatness and for cracks while its off.It can be done sucessfully and the motor will live along time afterwards.As for the cost of the job..Well that depends on how deep you get into the project and what you have done.remember,if you need to have this done consider the future modifications you want to do as this is the time you will want to do the studs and o-rings if your looking for more power.....Andy

 

Probably a head gasket, but there are a few plugs back there that can let go. So check them first. Could be a heater core hose too.

Personally, for about $150-$200 I would go with O-Rings if you have to have the head machined. Its cheap insurance. Studs can come later, without removing the head... O-Rings gotta happen while its off, so no sense doing it again later.