Less than 200 miles ago I had the water pump in my truck replaced and they did a coolant flush. Total bill for those repairs was close to $400. Now it has white smoke coming out the tail pipe, and when I checked the coolant level, the reserve tank was almost empty. Is this most likely a head gasket issue, or could it be something else? Does it have anything to do with the previous work? Thanks!

 

Well if you had a small issue before the water pump, and coolant system pressure was low, then you might not have noticed the issue before. Now with the new pump pressurizing the system more than before, the existing problem is more evident.

Coolant is either getting through your intake, head gaskets or cylinder wall. I suggest having it checked out by a good technician before you have a gasket job done. If you do have head gaskets/intake gaskets done, make sure that they send your cylinder heads off to a machine shop for inspection/decking. The machine shop will machine down the heads so that they're flat. They will also clean the carbon deposits and gunk out of them.

Sorry, doesn't sound good. Cheap things to check before paying lots of money: Have your coolant inspected for exhaust gases, pull the spark plugs to see which cylinders are burning the coolant (This might not be completely relevant to your issue, but it can't hurt), you can have a cylinder leak down test done. The leak down test will do one of two things. It will either further emphasize and confirm that the issue is a head gasket, or it won't show you any meaningful results.

Park the truck on cardboard over night, and look for drips the next day. Your truck might look like it's blowing white smoke, but cold weather, water moisture can form inside your tail pipe and not clear out for some time. It can take several minutes after the engine is at full operating temperature until all the white smoke/moisture will be gone.

 

Okay, that makes sense with the water pump. I'm taking it in today. I guess I am just going to have to figure out where to cut my losses here. It's been a great truck for me, but it's got a lot of rust on it so probably not worth putting tons of money into it for repairs.

Thanks!

 

Well the verdict is in and it wasn't good news. The coolant loss was from something leaking in the cooling system (can't remember off the top of my head.) That was about a $300 repair. Unfortunately, the truck also needs an entire back end. Rear diff, wheel bearings, brakes, shocks, etc. Total bill is going to be just under $2k. Since I don't drive this truck very much, I decided to just go ahead with the repairs. Hopefully it will last me a couple more years. It beats paying $35k for a new truck!

 

Yikes! Perhaps a leaking radiator hose?

From my experience with these Chevy pick 'em up trucks, they tend to get newer the more new parts you put on them. I would certainly expect many more years of service out of it after all of those rear end repairs.

Also, to avoid future rust issues, perhaps park it in a garage when you don't need the truck, or look into having the truck frame de-rusted and undercoated. This will really make your truck last forever - forgiving mechanical repairs, of course.

Hope everything turns out okay!

 

Thanks! I hope you are right. I probably am only going to need a truck for the next 3-4 years, so if it makes it that far, it will be money well spent.

I wish I could keep it in my garage, but it is just too big. Do you think rustproofing would be of any benefit now, after so much damage was already done? It was undercoated when I bought it but I am sure that has worn off.

 

Rusty proofing the frame will only help you as long as there is no "rot" in it. That is, if there is any metal missing, the frame got weaker in that portion, or there are thin spots. The only real way to know if your frame is 100% good or not, is to lay under there with a ball peen hammer and lightly tap on different spots on the frame, and visually look at each different portion of the frame. If it makes a loud thud, then your frame in that section would be considered good. If it makes a light tap, and the hammer bounces back, then you have a weak spot.

Most likely though, your frame only has surface rust that only blemishes its appearance. Perhaps talk to your mechanic about it and see what he says. He'll be the one underneath the truck looking at it while he does repairs. He should have a decent idea how good your frame is.

 

You are actually lucky that the coolant did not get into the engine's oil which can easily happen in which case the engine is toast. Leaking intake manifold gaskets are a common problem with GM vehicles in general. I get a good after market set and keep it handy until needed. I have had GM vehicles with less than 40K need the gaskets replaced and other vehicles have lasted for 85K and 96K respectively. First signs were symptoms similar to an engine running too rich and a leaking gasket will not show up on the scope.

 

Yikes! How would I know if that happened (coolant into the engine oil?) What are the signs of a truck running too rich? I am pretty sure that is what they fixed; the intake manifold gasket. My truck has just under 95k miles on it. Thanks!

 

WOW! It may have been cheaper for you to head to the boneyard and find an entire rearend and just swap them out. That is usually cheaper and better than someone trying to set your gears. I have done it a few times with people who set them all the time and they can never seem to get them juuuust right. Hope it works out for you!