Kidcutty

Hey guys after a coolant flush my engine got screwed.I added a flush to the coolant one day and ran it for a couple days because i forgot.Apparently the lower hose split and it might have been run that way for a day or two.The radiator still had coolant when i found out but now there is water in the oil and the exhaust and engine is not running like it was.What do I do? does the engine need a rebuild or is it just the intake or the intake gasket? what does it need and can I fix it without rebuilding it?

1968Cutlassfallbrook

sounds like you might of blown a head gasket as well but that's just my thought with the water in the oil.

455man

X2 on the head gasket. I'd take off the heads at least and see what's going on. It might be salvageable.

CutlassLegend

I would say Head Gasket for sure. Easy and cheap fix for the DIYer.

Good Luck

Kidcutty

Ok so I decided to tear it down today.It looks like the head gasket on the passenger side was craked and a piece missing,bad shape but the areas around the water ports were good so I still dont how how it would leak.

Looks like cylinder 6 was taking in some water. take a look at the pics and tell me if it still ok. Also im going to start cleaning the olds gasket residue on the block and heads.How should I go about this and how,any specific cleaner or gunk remover or should i just use a blade?

Also there is oil milkshake residue everywhere.should i leave it or clean it with something?

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1968Cutlassfallbrook

yeah I'd scrap it and maybe see if the heads are still level and not warped. Also I'd try my best to get all the water and milkshake mix cleaned out and drain the oil and change the filter. Do you know how many miles are on this engine? It might be worth pulling it out and changing the bearings and timing gear and oil pump and cam and all that.

hotrodpc

Those 350 heads are pretty tough. As said, check for warp with a straight edge. Clean those combustion chambers best you can and look for any obvious cracks. If heads appear to be OK, replace the head gaskets, clean all the gunk you can out of the engine and throw it back togehter. Without disassembling the heads and getting a magnaflux, there is noway to know 100% for certain if they are cracked or not, but if its not obvious in the combustion chamber, good chance they are just fine. Good Luck with it.

Kidcutty

What should I use to clean of the gunk of milkshake? Or should I just assemble the engine and then give it an engine flush? Also the engine is stock and only has 65k original miles,it seems like the engine was only leaking coolant into cylinder 6 and maybe the through the intake gaskets.

hotrodpc

Seals can go bad with age. With only 65K, I'd say your rings and bearings should be in good shape. I think you should be able to get by with a gasket kit including head gaskets.
Do you by chance have any motor oil laying around from a previous oil change in other vehicles or this vehicle for that matter? You could probably get by with draining whats in it now, including the filter. Put the same used filter back in it after you drained it out. Refill with some used motor oil from a previous oil change and let it run for about 10-30 minutes or so, then change it again filling with new oil and new filter. You may also want to rinse that valley with some used motor oil before reassembly, or soak it up with dirty rags that you intend to trash.