whoa is me and my poor s10

[chucklenut]

well, probably not that bad

a few years back i swapped the spark plugs and cables because there was a skip. in doing so discovered a bit of coOlant in the number 3 spark plug slot (hurray), cleaned it out, replaced new plugs, and bam, runs awesome

keeps running good till a week back, noticed the skip again. so i buy new spark plugs, replace all (and again notice coolant in the no. 3 slot) and it fires up and drives pretty good. i park it, it sits, two days later the skip is back and then engine shuts off.

so, im thinking one of two things now

1) head gasket
2) cracked manifold

i dont see any major leaks or gouges, so im banking its the head gasket (at least i hope, that would be easier)

so im asking odt community, on a 97 chevy s10 4 cylinder, what do yall think it could be?

and is doing a head gasket job yourself worth it, or should i fork over some bills to let someone else do it?

 

[ddennis]

Head gasket isn't too bad...if you have a garage to work in and a big fan. Too dang hot to work out in the sun, and the summer pop-up storms suck. While the head is off, with that many miles and suspected crack, I'd take it to have a valve job and the stem seals replaced and have it magnafluxed for cracks too...

 

[JamesG]

Spark plugs are in the top of the head, above the head and manifold gaskets. I would take the head cover off and look for a crack or pinhole in the head's casting that is allowing coolant from the head passages to weep out. If you're lucky a little bit of JB Weld will fix it.

 

[chucklenut]

Head gasket isn't too bad...if you have a garage to work in and a big fan. Too dang hot to work out in the sun, and the summer pop-up storms suck. While the head is off, with that many miles and suspected crack, I'd take it to have a valve job and the stem seals replaced and have it magnafluxed for cracks too...

its not too bad on the mileage, only 170K er something. but ya, probably not a bad idea.

i only have a driveway and so it can be difficult for me. last thing i wanna do is start it and not be able to finish easy or what not, and i know i can get it cranked and to the mechanic so im debating here

 

[chucklenut]

Spark plugs are in the top of the head, above the head and manifold gaskets. I would take the head cover off and look for a crack or pinhole in the head's casting that is allowing coolant from the head passages to weep out. If you're lucky a little bit of JB Weld will fix it.

hmm, ya, i should at least inspect it

lets see what the weather is gonna be like tomorrow

 

[CBH13]

id just do the gasket myself as that's what I've always done. one thing you can do is go grab a can of carb cleaner and spray all over your intake manifold and see if that smooths it out when its running, that will at least show if you have an issue with your manifold

 

[ddennis]

its not too bad on the mileage, only 170K er something. but ya, probably not a bad idea.

i only have a driveway and so it can be difficult for me. last thing i wanna do is start it and not be able to finish easy or what not, and i know i can get it cranked and to the mechanic so im debating here

One of those 10x10 popup tents would be handy in this case! :-) Hope you get it sorted fast...and cheaply!!

 

[CBH13]

also check your intake manifold gasket, I've had these go and lead to exactly what your talking about. have you taken your radiator cap off while its running to check for bubbles?

 

[chucklenut]

also check your intake manifold gasket, I've had these go and lead to exactly what your talking about. have you taken your radiator cap off while its running to check for bubbles?

have not checked for bubbles. that is good troubleshooting idea

 

[woodstock]

V8 it!