Coolant in motor

STEVENSHANE

MEMBER
1996 CHEVROLET SILVERADO
5.7L
V8
4WD
AUTOMATIC
180,000 MILES

96 chevy z71 4x4 5.7 v8 Vortec motor
I have a lot of coolant in my motor, I believe it was caused by a head gasket failure. I am almost to the point of removing the heads, but I am seeing a lot of coolant in the motor. Real milky. It was not ran very long at all after the issue. Lost power, and the truck sat for 3 years. My question is, is it possible to fix this problem with out pulling the motor? If it is just a head gasket. My concern is milky oil in the crank case area and main bearings that I will not be able to get to. Is there something that I can add to the oil that will remove the water? Or could I just drain, fill with new oil and filter, start up for 3-5 minutes after head job, then drain oil and replace filter again? Anyone have this problem or have and thoughts on this issue?

1 Reply

CARADIODOC

MECHANIC
33,871 POSTS

The issue is sitting for three years. Antifreeze melts the very soft outer layer of the engine bearings. Time is the problem, not mileage. If you have verified the problem was caused by a head gasket, I would start by removing the oil pan, then replacing the crankshaft and connecting rod bearings. If you can do that without removing the engine, then do the head gaskets. I would only try this with my own vehicle in hopes the engine will survive. You still have the camshaft bearings to worry about. Unlike the crank and rod bearings, there is no hammering action taking place with the cam bearings. They don't have to stand up to the same forces.

No mechanic would do this for his customer's engine because we know from experience if the job goes sour and has to be done again, the customer will be more angry about the additional time required than their mechanic's attempt at saving them some money. We have fewer angry customers when we only present them with the proper repair, and don't offer less-expensive options that can lead to more problems.