Engine trouble.....but how bad???

TDS 854X4 · May 30, 2001

Looking for anyone's thoughts on what might have gone wrong.

I was heading out to the lake to meet up with some friends for an afternoon of boating. Driving my '88 S-10 Blazer. It has the little 2.8 V-6. I noticed that the temp. guage was pegged at the high end. Noticed that the coolant tank was empty, and that the radiator cap was not real hot. Pulled the dipstick and saw the dreaded milkshake oil.

My thoughts were that the headgasket must have given it up. Although the engine was not burning any coolant, as there was no smoke and no coolant smell at the exhaust. Limped it back home and drained the pan. Nothing quite as bad as pulling the plug and seeing green pour out, followed by the brown sludge. This is where I stopped and had a few beers to drown my sorrow.

Is there any way that all of the coolant could end up in the crankcase, and none in the combustion chamber other than a head gasket?

Would appreciate your thoughts. Thanks!

May 30, 2001

Definitely not! You had a head gasket failure, it just did not fail next to a cylinder. Now, unfortunately, since the vehicle runs okay, there will not be any compression loss on the failed gasket. You should be able to tell if the first one that you pull is the bad one. If there is any doubt in your mind, change them both.

Charles · September 13, 2001

It's possible for the top of the heads to crack or in the lifter valley. The first thing you should do is a leak down test. Not a compression test. Any good shop should be able to do it.

Heavy Cruiser · September 13, 2001

Charles is correct in suggesting to perform a cylinder leakage test, definitely would tell you were leak is at. Could do it yourself, by injecting shop air into each cylinder with the proper adapters from shop air fitting to spark plug. Could even put a regulator onto the air line and turn down to 13-15 PSI, and inject into coolant system, check that way.

Look for bubbles in coolant, remove cap to let pressure release.

When removing spark plugs, check for the "cleanest" plug, this will be the faulty cylinder.

Also, another place to check for coolant leak is the intake manifold (alum) to cylinder head (cast iron) junction. Intake gasket may be leaking coolant into lifter valley. Air injection into coolant system will find this leak.

If truck was running good at time of overheat, no steam from tailpipe, chances are engine is still good, providing cool down was just let it cool on its own and get to it tomorrow.

Shaners · September 15, 2001

It sure sounds like it's almost catastrophic to me... Given the fact that the 2.8L is a week engine in the S-10 Blazer, I'd almost try to look for a junk yard motor, maybe a 4.3L to drop in it. Obviously the truck is old and you don't want to spend too much $$$ on it... I don't know alot about s-series drivetrains, but I'd almost guess a 4.3L would bolt in... The big problem would be the electronics, but I'm sure guys in here could help you out.

September 17, 2001

Hey all,

I ended up replacing the engine with a re-man. long block.

All of the research I did pointed to intake gasket failure.

Looked into the 3.4 swap. The same block, bored and stroked for more C.I. Should have gone that way, but didn't find anyone with any knowledge on how to make it work until the day my new 2.8 showed up. Just my luck!

The 4.3 is a completely different deal. The only thing the same in the S series 2.8 to 4.3 is the body and frame! Not something I wanted to mess with.

Well, I learned a lot about the dang little 6!!

Hope I never need to recall any of that knowledge, though.

TDS 854X4 · September 17, 2001

Oh what the heck?!?!

Gotta adapt to these new board changes. Looks good, though. Time to look at some of the new stuff here.

Signature is all messy now. I'm sure I'll get it straightened out.

Charles · September 19, 2001

A 3.4 would bolt right in and would have been the best way to go. If you were lucky you might find one in a wrecking yard. I think you can buy them GM too. Oh well, maybe next time.

CNona · December 20, 2001

GM states the 3.4 should only be swapped in place of the carburated version of the 2.8. My 92 2.8 is TBI, so I can't do it. Not that I need to, my 2.8s running GREAT. Sorry to hear yours crapped out on you.