head gasket?

 

Most probably - yes.

Several indications to that.

"Liquids have been constantly topped."

All the other possible things seem to be ruled out. Obstructed radiator and such.

So I had a friend come whom works at Autozone (Doesnt say much but he'll know more than me lol) and first thing he did was smell the dipstick and oil cap.
Well... He said he smells coolant in the oil, oil is milky with white in it, I'm losing coolant without any sign of a leak, blah blah blah.

As for the exhaust it seems that some coolant finds its way through places where it should not be. Despite the cool temperatures seems to me to be a little bit too much. At the time you took the picture of the exhaust fogging - was it warmed up or just after starting? Does it make a large puff of white/grey smoke when starting?

Looks like gasket failure of the manifold (LIM lower intake manifold) "or" head gasket(s). With coolant in the oil (confirmed by looking milky/brownish) I would not longer run the engine until the leak is fixed.

 

This picture was taken right after starting it. I'm not sure if it puffs out a big amount of smoke. I sorta broke one of tbe plug wires so I cant start it now. Guess I have no choice but to do the bead gasket and see if theres any cracks through it. If I dont see any I'll replace it anyways then go on to the LIM gasket. I have no choice but to just do that now. Is there anything I should do when taking the vehicle apart? Like any tips? Grandpa said I should keep note of tbe position the distributor was in. Anything else that needs exact positioning? I'm not sure what all needs to be taken out but I guess I'll figure jt out after I rip out a few things. Would it be helpful to do compression test or does that not tell if its a head gasket?

 

For a cold started vehicle in a (cold?) barn then it looks quite normal.

I would suggest to go step by step. The head gaskets would require the block and head to be prepped correctly before replacement. Then it becomes a major engine overhaul. There is ways to check on the head gaskets and the need for the heads to come down.

Compression test (overall individual cylinder health)
Leakdown test on the heads (valve seats, piston ring sealing)
Leakdown test on the coolant circuit (head gaskets)

CAUTION: Some of this testing requires special tools AND knowledge in order not to harm yourself and the engine.

Depending on the knowledge and the time and money you have you can take it apart. To do things right I guarantee it will be a full overhaul, at least of the cylinder heads. That also means that you want the engine out of the truck to work on it. Something I'd consider anyways even for a LIM gasket change.

 

I'm just going to try replacing the gasket. Already have taken out or moved everything up to the block. Taking off the intake manifold now then figure out what to do next. Do I really need to replace the heads?

 

 

try the LIM gaskets and a good oil change first. those are an extremely common failure on these trucks.

 

I got the head gasket set. Replacing LIM, head gasket, exhaust manifold gaskets and so on. Also replacing spark plugs, radiator cap, thermostat and a few others. If this doesnt fix it then oh well... $280 in parts and a few days of work. Isnt a crazy loss.

 

You were right! Didnt take pictures but upon opening the engine the LIM did have a corner that was non existent on the gasket. I mean mustve been why there was coolant/oil mix all over that block. Then moving on to the head gaskets they were just fine but replaced them anyways to make sure I'll hopefully never need to open up the block again. I do hope we put it all back properly. My friend and I are certainly not professionals but theres only one way to learn. Luckily its a cheap vehicle and I have a backup.

 

I'm at a loss. I got the whole engine back together but now it wont start. It'll crank for 2 seconds then die, then repeat that over and over again. It seems to lose power but then if you let off the key and turn it again it'll be cranking at full power again. Any clue what it can be? Fuel pump is working, you can hear it. Car used to crank before this whole job...