I would like to begin by introducing myself. I am located in NW Indiana and am somewhat new to the diesel performance world. I locally own a small irrigation company (hence the user name) and am reasonably mechanically inclined. I've built big&small block caged/chassied cars & have always had my hands in something interesting.

Now for my problem. I apologize in advance for the long post.
Three months ago I brought my 2001 LB7 w/196,000 miles to the dealer for what I thought was a MINOR cooling problem. (It was in 6 months prior for a clogged heater core, flushed, and all better). Usually I would not consult a $dealership$, but I have a friend at the service desk and know the "Big Boss" well. The day after installing the Juice w/Attitude it began spewing coolant from the reservior; and I was conservitave on the break in process. After inspection, they assumed a head/head gasket. After my own research this seems to be a not so uncommon problem. My question is why/how is this happening? Is the alum. head & coolant causing electrolosis on the gasket? It takes a while for it to happen, so is heat a factor? Could it be a cracked head? If so, heat would expand the head and in essence, close the crack, correct? I read a while back that while replacing the warrantied injectors, some dealers were doing head gaskets at the same time for this reason. Is that true? Would I possibly have a chance of the dealer covering at least a portion of the cost? (maybe with my small connection) 23.8hrs @ $4,800 is a big fish to fry.

Nevertheless, the "certified Isuzu service dept." that the truck was at won't touch it. I just found this out LAST WEEK. The highest ranked service tech's are afraid of it. They are scared of adjusting valve timing(who knows why, they're mechanics) & also afraid that it could be more than just a gasket. (i.e. scored cylinder walls, heads, etc.) Obviously fingers are being pointed at the programmer, but I feel that it was an existing problem waiting to happen. Hot egt's were more able to push their way through, right? The programmer/dealer/warranty is not an issue. First off, it's not under warranty, second, the guys that I know don't care-it's off now anyway. They have been able to warranty a handfull of other smaller problems. The bottom line is that they are going to have to deal with this problem. Especially now that these trucks are getting more and more miles on them. I never thought I'd see the day that a diesel would have serious problems at 200K!

Maybe my best bet will be to find a lower milage engine and swap it. It doesn't look too complicated under the hood. It's just a matter of finding one that I trust. I bought a spare pickup for the time being, but this is driving me nuts. I need the truck to plow come winter time (I hope:) ). Well, thank you all for taking the time to let me vent, and I hope to become more involved with your issues in the near future.

Thanks again,
Bill

196K miles. How many times has the coolant been recycled/renewed or changed? Has someone used ordinary anti-freeze instead of silicate-free? Dex-cool is pink, ordinary is green. If so the radiator/engne passages may be clogged with silicates that settled out and plugged something. If the radiator is plugged I would buy a new one instead of cleaning this one. The price difference is not that much, and peace of mind is worth the difference.

goth2o, First of all head gasket failures are rare on these engines in the stock form. As with all makes if you start bombing the engine with drugs you increase your chances of problems. Also, if you post your vin # I'm sure someone here would be more than willing to check the history of your truck. BTW, Which dealership has their highest ranked techs scared to touch the truck. This is what they do for a living so I find if funny that they are worried about properly timing the camshaft. :rolleyes:

Thanks so far guys. It was full of Dex-cool when I purchased the truck. It was quite nasty though. When I brought it in this past winter, they gave it a good flush, and changed both t-stats. Not to say that it cleared the sludge completely out. One thing is, it doesn't overheat. I'm getting unbelievable pressure without the heat. If I leave the cap off, it eventually just runs out. Seems like exhaust pressure. My first incling was to check the obvious(hoses, radiator, water pump), but after their half a**ed diagnosis, I haven't thought to check. Thanks for the tips, and I'll keep you posted. I'd be quite upset if I changed engines & had the same problem!

I agree about the dealership, but I'm still on too good of terms to disclose location yet. They are a "medium duty truck" service dept. They just have had the luxury of only having to do minor repairs on new diesel trucks. They will be in for a rude awakening in no time! As far as that goes, I'll try to have them get me a print out of any repairs performed by GM. Carfax showed clean&clear.
Thanks again,
Bill