Blown Head Gasket repair cost?

[Scooterwrench]

Yes. The scenario of sitting at a creeping idle for over 30 minutes and reaching 225 at the landfill was when I became more suspicious because when I arrived back home I checked the overflow and it was still at the cold line. I thought for sure it would have had some action?

The biggest culprit I've discovered for a non-working recovery system is bad radiator cap. Your rad. cap has two seals. The lower seal seals on the lower shelf in the rad. neck and that is the one with the spring for the rated pressure. The upper seal seals the top of the rad. neck and keeps coolant from just flowing out and down the side of the tank. If that seal fails it will coolant will leak out and maybe at such a small amount that it evaporates and not show a leak. When the system cools and pulls a vacuum instead of pulling coolant back in from the recovery tank it will pull air. After repeated cycles of leaking and not replenishing coolant you wind up with low coolant in the rad. It's always good to check your coolant level in the rad. when the engine is dead cold. The water level should be right up to the lower shelf in the neck where the main cap seal sits. If it is low than you have a problem with your recovery system. The upper seal is a thin rubber washer and I've seen those completely gone.

 

[scott2093]

The biggest culprit I've discovered for a non-working recovery system is bad radiator cap.

I forgot to mention the radiator cap is a brand new Delco. Well it was installed with the new pump and thermostat...

It's always good to check your coolant level in the rad. when the engine is dead cold. The water level should be right up to the lower shelf in the neck where the main cap seal sits

My level is always right at the top.Like almost too full where it seems like it wants to spill out but it doesn't. If that makes any sense....

 

[Scooterwrench]

I forgot to mention the radiator cap is a brand new Delco. Well it was installed with the new pump and thermostat...

Then that shouldn't be the problem.

My level is always right at the top.Like almost too full where it seems like it wants to spill out but it doesn't. If that makes any sense....

That is how it is supposed to be.
Is your water/antifreeze ratio more than 50/50? Antifreeze/coolant lowers the freezing point and raises the boiling point of the water but it's the water that does the cooling. Too much antifreeze in the mix will make an engine run hotter. I discovered this on a Model T where there is no water pump. It ran hot and puked coolant. Once refilled with straight water no more overheating.

 

[scott2093]

Is your water/antifreeze ratio more than 50/50?

it should be right at 50/50.
Interesting that you mention this because one of the things that I did differently when replacing the water pump,etc...was make my own mix when previously had just put in the premixed stuff. But I did measure well. I remember reading something after about distilled water not being good to mix with which is what I had used...
Maybe the prediluted stuff was different enough from my mix to cause different behavior?

 

[PlayingWithTBI]

If you're running cool when moving ~45+ MPH (that's about where you get enough air flow), it sounds to me that you need more air flow when sitting still at idle. What kind of fan do you have on it? Maybe think about adding a pusher fan?

 

[scott2093]

If you're running cool when moving ~45+ MPH (that's about where you get enough air flow), it sounds to me that you need more air flow when sitting still at idle. What kind of fan do you have on it? Maybe think about adding a pusher fan?

Should be the stock fan. It's just strange because these are all new behaviors as far as I can tell.
I used to be able to see the temperature drop at idle if sitting for a bit and temps got too much past 200.
Now it's like the temp will just keep climbing unless I'm moving.
It's confusing to me because it appears my system is working as it should, just different, depending on how you look at it. I expect to see different behavior I guess since some things were replaced but, I'm surprised that the behavior is so different than what I've grown used to...
And I've replaced the water pump, thermostats, radiator and cap in the past without noticing this different behavior...

 

[PlayingWithTBI]

I've replaced the water pump, thermostats, radiator and cap in the past without noticing this different behavior...

What about your fan clutch? Did you think about going to an 11 blade fan?

I'm not saying you don't have a blown head gasket, I did and it started running warm at idle but, I was losing about 1/2 gallon/week of coolant too. Before tearing into it, I'd make sure I eliminated all other possibilities. You know the old saying "when you eliminate all possibilities, whatever is left, no matter how improbable, is the solution" or something like that.

I even went so far as to throw some Bars Leak Head Gasket sealant (or something like that) before I pulled the heads. It helped some but, I didn't like the idea of having a band-aid on something as important as that.

 

[scott2093]

I'm not saying you don't have a blown head gasket, I did and it started running warm at idle but, I was losing about 1/2 gallon/week of coolant too.

eesh...
I don't think I'm losing any coolant at all. It almost seems like it just doesn't move...No activity on overflow tank and always super full to the top of radiator.
Will be trying to get to the bottom of it....
Truck seems to stay within range. Just something bugging me about the way it seems. It never ran above 200 and stayed there in the past afaik.. Now it camps out there...and will climb if sitting too long...... It'll go lower with movement but , like I've mentioned, I'm used to seeing it go lower regardless if I'm moving.....

 

[Scooterwrench]

That sounds like fan clutch or partially clogged rad. or condenser. Look in behind your grille and see if maybe grass clippings or something like that may be obstructing airflow. Wouldn't hurt to pull the upper fan shroud and look down in between the rad. and condenser.

 

[scott2093]

will do... Radiator is fairly new..less than a year ...
maybe I'll at least find a socket or 2 if nothing else...