1997 Vortec 454 head gasket
My 45,000 mile 1997 Tropical 235S has been diagnosed with a head gasket leak between two cylinders. The symptoms were: upon stopping for fuel after highway speeds and no overheating, a restart at the pumps yielded pinging and it would only go 50MPH after a mile of dogged acceleration. So a return to the station where it was filled up was done to check if bad fuel was bought. After confirming that the fuel was good, and letting it idle for about 20 minutes, I tried it again, and a ticking was heard, but no pinging and full acceleration. That was in New Jersey about 20 miles from the Cape May Ferry. Then after the boat ride to Lewes Maryland, it started up and still ticking but full power. Then after an overnight at Wall Mart on 113 just north of route 9 in Maryland I changed the fuel filter and air filter and headed south 13 to find it ran well but still ticking. Then all the way to South Carolina and an overnight in a rest stop for the night. Next morning a restart and heading south to Florida on I-95 it was now knocking slightly but still full power running plus 70 MPH with traffic. Then arriving in Florida and leaving it at Gibbs Chevrolet for an oil change and asking about the noise and being told they won't work on it, I picked it up and it ran about 20 minutes and shut down. So after a $300 tow to Allied Towing on US route 1 and I-95 in Ormond Beach, Florida they wanted to put a new engine in for about $10,000 I said lets check for fixes before I go for a new engine. So after $480 worth of taking the intake off after I said take the valve covers off and check for valve damage. So that did it with Allied and I had it towed for $300 more to Atlantic RV on Flagler Beach. They did a compression test and found left head full compression but right with two cylinders really low. And, you guessed it, blown head gasket between the two center cylinders. That explained the sweet smell for two years and the intake of antifreeze when I shut it down for fuel in New Jersey, as it heated up from while sitting at the pump causing the antifreeze to go into two cylinders and thus the ping and subsequent knocking. Now heads out for magnetic fluxing and surface planeing as no valves were bent and just the two pistons and cylinder walls were a bit rusted due to sitting for a month with antifreeze in them. Hope to have it running and back on the road soon, with somewhere around $3,000 instead of the $10,000 new engine Allied wanted to charge me. Thanks to my friend John and others at the local Starbucks in Palm Coast, Florida who gave me confidence in the head gasket conclusion, John being a former GM service expert, and Joe a former race car driver. Now with the new roof installed two years ago and all the repairs done over the 16 years I've had it, it should be good for many more miles and enjoyment.
