Hello, I bought a 36 dodge truck with a 426 hemi in it. It had been sitting since 2012. The guy we bought it from said his dad parked it in 2012 and found out he had cancer and passed. Said something happened on the trans is why he parked it. We checked and the pressure plate was broke so we fixed it and changed the fluids. She fired right up and ran smooth. We shut it off finished putting coolant in it and fired it back up. After about a minute it started puking gravy out of the valve cover vents. My mind says cracked block but someone said could be a cracked head and someone else asked if there is a freeze plug behind the timing cover. Is there one behind there? I'm just trying to think of everything to check and do before I have to pull the motor because it's going to be a task pulling it out of that truck. Sorry so long I just wanted to give what I could about the truck. Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

B -

It could be as simple as a blown head gasket, but yeah, your going to have to take it a part to find out.
Pull the heads first, that should allow for an inspection of the heads and cylinders. Hopefully, is something obvious and simple. not requiring an engine removal.

Archer

 

Thank you Archer for the response. We pulled the valve covers and bingo a huge crack in the head. Only bad part is either the motor is going to have to come out to remove it or were going to have to lift the cab. It's crammed in there tight

 

B -

I'm not really familiar with trucks, but would just breaking the motor mounts and shifting the motor give you enough access?
Big blocks are pretty heavy, so I feel your apprehension.

Good luck and please keep us posted.

Archer

 

Not without pulling the fender's off I can't shift the motor forward. I'm going to try an post a picture of it for you

 

 

B -

Might just be the angle, but I'm not seeing a problem. The blower assembly naturally has to come off, and once you pull the head bolts, you should be able to remove the heads.
Hardest part might be getting to the header bolts.
The real question might be, what caused the head to crack in the first place.

Archer

 

I guess I should have said we lifted the valve covers as far as we could to see the head but it won't come off all the way because of the cab. I'm assuming it froze because it sat in a open garage since 2012

 

I would be tempted to pull the motor and do a complete inspection. If it did freeze, there may be other cracks. I would have thought the block would crack before the head. I am wondering if the blower contributed to the head cracking. What else was done to the engine when they put the blower on?

 

I would say pull the motor and go through it... If its been sitting that long and it has Muck in it... It's going to need a freshen up and some good seals and gaskets to keep from leaking.... Just my 2 cents !!
Looks like a fun project..
Keep us posted--- Cheers

 

Thank you. I'll keep posted

 

I think it easier to find the issue also... Cool truck Im sure...

 

Thank you. The truck definitely needs updating lol. We had a little family emergency this week and it's put me behind but I will for sure keep you all updated.

 

Sounds good..... Hope all works out with the family emergency.... Prayer

 

Thank you very much