Possible HG or Inj, Cup??

[C-Power]

alright im kinda gettin mad about my truck,

1) every once in awhile the low coolant light will come on and its been on for awhile now but i just said heck w/ it and havent added any, i think when i bought the truck the owner had the system full of water not anti-freeze, but i've gone through 2 full resovors of coolant (well 1 of coolant 1 of water b/c the first time it popped on i freaked haha and water was all i had) and when i take my resevor cap off the tank will start fillin up fast haha!!!!!!

2) my truck smokes bad at an idle, i know i need new injectors unless its b/c the cup isnt seated right so its messin it up that way,

3) after i shut my truck off, alittle smoke still rolls out of my stack, for pri 30+seconds....

idk im kinda lost, i dont see how it could be a HG when the temp never gets over 180-190*, and i dont have the resovor full right now its empty and still it doesnt get hot, so i dont know any suggestions would help out!!!!!

 

[Redbowties88]

it may not be full when you add......ever take the bleeder screw out then fill up?

 

[hondarider552]

mine was full till the thermostat opened...

 

[C-Power]

yeah im gonna see if my top hose is still full today when i go to start it,

i guess this weekend ill have to run it up to temp then open it, only problem is i cant b/c it bubbles out so fast when i open the cap.....

bleeder screw???? didnt know there was one

 

[madmatt]

Just because it's not overheating doesn't mean it's not a headgasket.

 

[C-Power]

yeah i know thats why i put that its possible head gasket.

i just had the way it smokes after i shut it down haha.....

 

[SmokeShow]

hows your balance rates on the injectors? The 01s are more known to blow headgaskets than the other models so it's possible to be that as well. Could even be both, injectors and headgaskets. Just throwing some things out there. Hopefully it's neither. :thumb:

 

[KEVINL]

Mine was injectors and headgaskets


is your coolant tank black?

Upper radiator hose rock hard?

 

[C-Power]

idk i havent had them checked yet, i dont want to pay gm to test them, i think i could have watched them w/ my quad stealth 2 but i was too nervous to turn my truck on while the chip was plugged in even when it was on diagnostic haha.....

 

[C-Power]

no black in the tank!!!!!!

 

[C-Power]

went out before i started it and check and sure enought, the upper hose was pretty stiff still, so im goin w/ head gasket, my injectors are pri bad too but now i know its a head gasket, looks like i ll just sell it for what i owe and get somethin i want,

 

[Jared Duramax]

just because your upper hose is hard that doesnt mean your head gaskets are bad it just means you are getting pressure into the cooling system. now it is very difficult to figure out weather its head gaskets or inj. cups. when my cups went my valve cover gaskets were leaking so that may be something you want to check.

 

[SmokeShow]

That sucks. What a ya owe on it? :angel:

 

[madmatt]

If it's leaking very bad, you could pull the glow plugs and pressurize the cooling system and narrow it down to which cylinder it is then pull that injector and use a borescope to maybe tell where it's coming from. I've only been able to tell once or twice this way. Or, just pull and reseal the sleeve on that cylinder, fill back up with coolant then see if the leakings stopped. Again though,, this will only work if it's a bad enough leak to leak under the small amount of pressure you can put on the cooling system.

 

[maine04max]

do like i did and pull the glow plugs and see what you find . i only had one g/p wet then pulled that injector cup stayed and i installed new copper washer and its ben great so far . may be an easier fix than you think . good luck either way

 

[C-Power]

yeah im gonna start easy like pull off the valve covor and glow plugs, then the injectors and if nothin pops up then its on to takin the heads off....

 

[Bluemax]

Just to throw something else out there. I had a water pump go bad that did most of the things you are describing, aside from the smoking part anyway. Didn't leak while sitting and idling or after parked over time. I drove it for several months before it finally started to leak at an idle out of the weep hole. Never got hot, started by using a half gal every other week or so and slowly started to go up till it got to the light coming on about every other day. The tank wasn't black, the top hose got hard as a rock and if you were brave enough to pull the cap off when it was warm you got a nice hot shower along with anyone standing around you as it blew coolant out like it was 300* . It would hold pressure in the tank overnight even.
Just something to keep in mind before you go throwing a bunch of money at it.

 

[C-Power]

hmmmmmmm i guess i've never heard of a water pump doin that, im gonna fill it up, and let it run w/ the cap off and see if im gettin bubbles and stuff, thanks for your post, i learn new stuff every day!!!!!!

i still think its head gaskets and so does another guy from this site, horsehaulin.... he reved my truck up and listened and said its a HG from the sounds of the truck.....

 

[Bluemax]

Very well may be, just thought I'd get it out there as a possibility in case it might help.

 

[C-Power]

i really hope its somethin easy like that, but like i said im gonna fill it all the way up and see how long it takes for the light to come back on....