I think I hurt my 425 today I was rockin down the highway and passed a car when i slowed down the left head was tickin bad and smoke was coming out the tail pipe. I have B heads and was wondering if I should rebuild them and if so how much should it cost to bring them back to stock or maybe a little better I don't know this is my first Olds and it runs strong!!! thats what i love about it lots of torque. It has always sounded better in the morning after coolig of but has never sounded this bad. Thanks for the info.

 

What do you mean the left head is ticking bad? Have you done any types of diagnosis to see what the problem is? It sounds like a head gasket failure to me. Are you losing coolant and is their any in the oil? Keep in mind that their is many things that can cause smoke to come out of the tail pipe. Also, what color is the smoke, blueish, white, black? If it is a head gasket it could be more than just a gasket. The block may be cracked the head may be cracked, etc.. I would do a compression test on all cylinders and compare all of the results. That will help point you in the right direction of the problem.

Let us know what your results are.

 

It could be a lot of things, some of which are pretty easy to fix. Ticking usually indicates a bad lifter or rocker, or possibly a bent pushrod. Smoke could be bad valve seals, bad gaskets, or a number of other things. Start with basic diagnostics - compression test, leakdown test, pull the valve cover and inspect the rockers.

 

This may be a good opportunity for you to experience a head r/r and rebuild if you have never done it.

 

Depending on how many miles you have on the engine and how it was maintained before bouught the care it may be in your best interest to do a mild full rebuild. Remove the rocker cover and if its just a bent pushrod or a bad lifter the just replace and enjoy your car. If you have to pull the head you might as well pull both heads and check the cylinder taper and if the cylinders are still within spec the do a mild rebuild on the whole engine. There are inexpense rebuild kits available that will make you engine like new for not to much money. Good luck

 

Why does that advice sound familiar
Webbish ,trust me ,I am but several months ahead of you on this one .The job is not so huge ,broken down into little steps .
These guys on here and the info in the search facility , will make the entire process possible .Good luck

 

Yeah doesn't sound too bad of a problem.

But def keep those "B" heads