Puked my 96 4.3L V6 vortec engine

[Stirgen]

I regret to inform this this discussion group that I blew out the head gasket on my 1996 Chevy Blazer yesterday afternoon. I drove it 25 miles or so before it started to lose power and began running rough. It then stalled out completely and I was forced to push it off the road to get it out of the way of traffic.

The engine temperature gauge indicated the engine was hot so i let it cool down and checked the coolant level which looked to be low. This seemed puzzling to me since I had recently flushed and changed to coolant in the engine about a month ago.

Not knowing exactly what the problem could be I refilled the radiator with coolant and was surprised to find it took almost 3 gallons to fill it indicating a massive coolant loss occurred before engine failure.

I still didn't know what the problem was but when I started the engine and observed massive amounts of smoke coming out the tailpipe after driving it a short distance I knew for sure I had a blown head gasket.

I had the vehicle towed home and now have to fix it. While inspecting it today i noticed that the hot water mixed with my oil and turned it into sludge which is dripping out the bottom of the engine, the TOP of the engine and even inside the air intake. Its coming out EVERYWHERE.

Apparently the technical term for this condition is "Puking" but I am unsure of what potential problems this could cause and how it should be corrected and dealt with during the repair.

I imagine the interior of the engine will have to be flushed out to ensure proper circulation but I need to know what the best method is for flushing it out.

I have also identified potential head warpage as another problem and will take the heads somewhere to get them checked and machined if necessary. Has anybody out there experienced this with the 1996 Chevy Blazer.?

[75K30]

Welcome to the site:
Too bad for your engine troubles. I have to say, just about everyone that has ever blown a head gasket has experienced a similar situation.
Your oil has not necessarilly turned to sludge, it has simply mixed with the water and become a milk shake like substance. Chances are that the engine is leaking from being full of oil and water, and the levels are so high that it has to leak.
I am sorry to say, that I suspect that you may have a little bit bigger problem than just a blown head gasket.
The last time I had oil all the way back up through the intake, I had a broken head. Yup, a complete piece of the head was missing, and the cylinder pressure pushed oil back out through the intake. Ok at that point it was oil and water, but you get the idea. I sure hope this is not the case, and you can salvage your engine by flushing out the bottom end.
Obviously you will have to get the water out of the bottom end, so draining it as soon as possible is a good idea, and filling it up with fresh oil would be a great idea, and continue doing this until all of the water is out, and the oil drains clean.
Do not attempt to run any chemicals, or cleaners through the bottom end. You will not get all of the water out on the first attempt, and cleaners could remove the protective film of oil that prevents the bearings from locking up. In this case, even water in the oil is better than no oil at all.
Keep flushing, until you are satisfied that the water has been removed.
Good luck with the engine, I hope the damage is not too bad.

[Stirgen]

Thanks for the tip 75k30!

I will check the head once I get it off and begin draining it.

One thing I am concerned about now is the drop in outside temperature.

I didn't think to drain the radiator after it was towed back and I live in a condo so I have no heated garage.

Its getting below freezing overnight and the radiator was filled with mostly water right after it broke down which may be freezing up inside the radiator. Hopefully it won't destroy the radiator.

Even though the maximum daily temp is above freezing its still going to be ICE inside the radiator. Maybe a few pots of boiling water would help.

[scottie]

is it water or coolant? coolant should not freeze on ya. if it is water, get some compressed air and blow it through there, get as much as you can out. the passages in there are really small and it takes a only lil bit of water to expand in there and crack it.

[nnunez]

Sorry to hear your situation.
How many miles did you reach before it pooped?

[wojeepster]

I did the headgaskets on my 1987 fullsize v6. It was not fun. The engine was not bad but I had to climb into the truck to work on it, work bent over and climb out of the truck to do it (150 times)

[Stirgen]

Originally Posted by nnunez

Sorry to hear your situation.
How many miles did you reach before it pooped?

I got 120,000 miles out of it before it blew out.

[Stirgen]

Yes my Blazer sits a little lower than your full size but I am expecting similar ergonomic difficulites.

[Stirgen]

Originally Posted by scottie

is it water or coolant? coolant should not freeze on ya. if it is water, get some compressed air and blow it through there, get as much as you can out. the passages in there are really small and it takes a only lil bit of water to expand in there and crack it.

Thanks for the reply Scottie

I managed to drain the radiator and found it wasn't frozen. When I broke down I had maybe half a gallon of Dexcool in the back which I put in before refilling it the rest of the way with water. I believe that depressed the freezing point enough to keep it from freezing after it was mixed up by the water pump.

[Hayden]

I've heard that pure straight anti freeze freezes unless mixed with water. Might just be one of those old wives tales but does anyone know if thats true.