Cylinder leakage test and loose head bolts.

Short of pulling the head, by the time you see signs of a blown gasket - the deals done.

Preventative maintenance is your friend with a 2.6 cooling system.
-Rod the radiator
-Change the t-stat
-Check the fan clutch
-Flush your system

So . . .

If you get any indication that the cooling system is not working right, or is overheating, FIX IT NOW!

Other than this, there are no signs that the system is about to fail.

This is a good checklist of maintenance issues that can prevent overheating and head failure.

Putting this in my own words, this says that we should service the cooling system regularly, and keep an eye on proper functioning of the radiator, fan clutch, and water pump. We should check out the catalyic converter and replace it if it looks rusty. High demands on an older engine can cause failure, even if the engine is well maintained.

If you are thinking about buying a Gen I, check out the cooling system. Any sign that the cooling system has had little or no maintenance would make you question whether the head was still intact. If the oil is milky, there may be a cracked head leaking water into the crankcase. If the head bolts are loose, that's a give-away that the head gasket is already gone.

Most head failures will result from long-term blatant neglect. The great majority of all these problems could be headed off simply by paying attention to maintenance.

If you give these vehicles good maintenance and look after the cooling system, overheating and head failure should not happen.

Sometimes, though, the head will fail from overheating, even if maintenance is good. This can happen without any last minute warning signs, or there wouldn't be so many cases of cooked heads here on the forum among skilled mechanics.

As far as preventing overheating -

Has anyone tried the thermal wrap that Advanced Auto sells? They claim you can wrap this material around the exhaust manifolds and lower temperature in the engine bay dramatically.

I don't think heat from the exhaust manifold is the issue unless your cat or muffler is restricted. I have seen a lot of 2.6 engines without the exhaust manifold heat shield, it should be in place. It's only a $20 item. I posted about the wrap a while back and someone said that it will rust out your manifold. They said it traps water.

Picture of my Grand Canyon <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" />



Picture of the fix <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />

i remember when mine looked like that.

what do you guys think about the ceramic headers?
i am doing a rebuild on my engine and am going to try to do the fuel pump swap for electric maybe even electric fans
definately clearwater head/ already cussed out my mechanic for suggesting to get the head rewelded which i did in stupidity now i have an entire rebuild in the works so i start fresh with my little honey <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cheers.gif" alt="" />

Awesome truck!

My first indication was running too warm. The head was cracked and compression leaking into the water jacket. It kept getting worse.