Bought a M929A2 today, I changed the oil before starting & found 2 Quarts of anti-freeze; assume blown Head Gasket?

[74M35A2]

OK, Thanks guys. Heading out shortly to hopefully driver her home. Very little traffic so at least there will be airflow for the radiator.
The manual states the coolant normal operating temp is 190-200F so that makes sense; what is the worst case shutdown temp 215F?

Leave the cap loose and it can never get above 212F. You can also engage the fan temporarily by bolts in the front of it. Driving so can’t fully explain, look and figure it out.

 

[levitate]

I had my M929A2 purring like a kitten after locking the fan in place and taking apart the upper radiator hose assembly..
About two miles out she lost all power and died on the side of the road; I had to tow it which was a site to see:

(Make sure to disconnect the transfer case from inside the cab when towing, luckily the driver knew this)

It appears they didn't even use a proper head gasket; they used sealant.
There was also no thermostat in the system unless I'm looking in the wrong place:


Bottom line is at the very least I need to replace the head gasket; any help in ordering the right parts and the process would be appreciated.
If there is a mechanic that knows what they are doing (with references); I'm willing to pay someone to come out onsite and do this right.
I live in Bothell WA which is about 25 miles north of Seattle. Please send me a private message if anyone is interested.

 

[fpchief]

Thermostat is located on the bottom of the housing you are looking at...a couple more bolts and the tubing has to come off too.

 

[levitate]

Thermostat is located on the bottom of the housing you are looking at...a couple more bolts and the tubing has to come off too.

Thanks! I should have looked at the manual myself, I can't really chew out my helper since my father works for free..

The behavior when it died on the side of the road was to cough out water from the reservoir cap and overflow; would a stuck thermostat cause this?
(I'm still trying to avoid the fact that I need to change the head gasket)..

 

[fpchief]

Thanks! I should have looked at the manual myself, I can't really chew out my helper since my father works for free..

The behavior when it died on the side of the road was to cough out water from the reservoir cap and overflow; would a stuck thermostat cause this?
(I'm still trying to avoid the fact that I need to change the head gasket)..

Yea, you cant gripe about that help. Please enjoy every second of it!!!! On the truck, how hot did it get? One of these pro's will offer some advice I am sure.

 

[levitate]

Yea, you cant gripe about that help. Please enjoy every second of it!!!! On the truck, how hot did it get? One of these pro's will offer some advice I am sure.

True, I will - He's a retired Army Col.; 72 and still motorbike riding.
The Cummins 6CTA8.3 got up to about 212F, I was running distilled water because I was told Ethylene glycol was harsher if it leaked into the engine through a blown gasket or otherwise. After the engine had stopped the temp did climb to 220F and sat there for over 20 minutes.

 

[levitate]

Don’t waste your time with any snake fluids in the cooling system, it ruins things; I did a head gasket on my 8.3 and sent the head off for a clean up and resurfacing job. All in my front yard with basic hand tools and lots of elbow grease. Lower output 6cta engines are known for head gaskets being a weak point and if it is blown I’d bet someone was working it off-road and the shutterstat failed, not activating the fan and poof next thing you know it’s mixing fluids.

Coolant can also enter the engine oil in (3) other ways that I’m aware on an A2 truck; the oil cooler, the air compressor, the turbo after-cooler, all of which are pretty rare.

To go cheap and safe, go to your local harbor freight and pick up a coolant pressure test kit, pump up the cooling system to 15 psi and watch it close. Or if you finish changing the oil and crank it, look for lots of bubbles in the reservoir tank, if you know anyone with a carbon monoxide detector you can pop the cap with it running and use it to sniff the reservoir.

If you do end up having to do a head gasket job reach out to me and I’ll send you a picture by picture break down of everything I touched, and a complete parts list of everything you’ll need to order. If you machine the head all total you’ll be out $1000 on the high side


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

You mentioned I could reach out to you for a parts list and pics.
I'm at the point now where I'm going to rebuild it. I figured I do some other maintenance at the same time.
Attached is a parts list from Eastern Surplus. If you or anyone else in the forum could review it to see if I'm missing anything that would be great. I know there are extra parts/seals in the list; I just want to order as much as I can all at once. I appreciate any assistance, she looks sad sitting in my side driveway..