So, I got an engine installed in my truck about 5 months ago. Thought this would get me in the green for a while. First things first, I have had an awful trouble with the engine pulsating while I am waiting for it to heat up. Then once it reached temp. (which has always been super low) every time I hit the brake it would pulsate again. The pulsating has been happening ever since I got new head gasket three years ago. After the pulsating persisted I realized at some point that I wasn't getting any heat. I decided at that point to switch out my thermostat, which cured the heat problem and the pulsating, but only for a couple of weeks. This last week I went back to not having heat and pulsating again. yesterday I woke up to find that my truck would not start.

I started to diagnose the coolant issue and found that it might have been clogged by the heater core. I blew it out with a hose. I filled the coolant back up and tried to start the truck, which still won't start. I checked for spark which seems fine, I blew some starter fluid in the throttle body and still nothing, and then I pulled the cold fuel injector and plenty of gas is flowing through there. Also when I am cranking, coolant it over flowing through the top of the radiator.

I think I have a blown head gasket.... could it be anything else?

 

First I would check the oil for any water. Then pull the spark plugs look at them to see if they are burning anything but gasoline. Along with those a compression and/or a leak down test will help tell what's happening inside the engine.

 

ok, so my buddy who knows more then me showed up yesterday and wouldn't you know it but everything decided to work just reeeeal nice and happy like nothing was wrong. Did a compression test and everything had good compression except cylinder two read 140 while everything else was up at 170. No tell tail signs of what happened either with the coolant or starting trouble. Any guesses out there for why the coolant was over flowing from the radiator when I was cranking the engine? Any advice on why it might not have started even if I had fuel coming in through the intake and spark? the truck sat for two days and went through a rain storm. I am going to clean up the injector ground next chance I get.

 

Without being there anything would be a guess as to what's exactly happening.
Cleaning all the grounds on my 88 22re did wonders for the starting and smoothed out the rough running at idle on this old truck. Just one crank of the starter and it starts now.
I recommend if your gonna do it, clean all the grounds on both battery cables at both ends. Clean the engine to body/frame ground and the fuse box/fusible links and any others you can find. Get the ends nice and shiny with a brush or some emery paper then some WD40 and a clean rag.