Replace head or replace engine?

Trashed a head gasket. I hit a pole in a parking lot a week after I bought the truck in 2010. Replaced the radiator, but the mounts didn’t QUITE line up, so the new radiator was under a little stress. It held up till 2018, but driving home it overheated. I pulled over and found the radiator was cracked. Got towed home, bought a new radiator, replaced it, and filled with coolant. I then drove it for a year with no issue. In mid 2019 I bought a second truck and converted the truck in question to a hunting truck. Fall 2019 it blew a radiator hose, but seemed to do so just as I pulled into a gas station. I put it back in place, topped it up on coolant, and didn’t have any further problem. A few weeks back it died at a stop sign in the way to a big hunt. I got out, and the lower radiator hose had blown again. The temp gauge showed it was normal, so I filled the radiator with my drinking water...steam launched out and hit the hood...once it cooled enough that I could fill it with water it wouldn’t start. I towed it home and a compression test registered 35psi. A compressor connected to the cylinder leaked into the radiator. I pulled the head and it’s clear the head gasket has failed BADLY. That said, the cylinders don’t look all that good either. Is there a good way to determine with the rings/pistons/cylinders are good enough to to forward? The compression test doesn’t mean much with a failed head gasket, and can’t really be done now that the head is off. I don’t want to put a good head on with failed pistons and rings, if the correct play is to install a salvaged engine. Thanks for any info you can give.

 

strange it kept blowing radiator hoses

what will be the future use of the 2010

how long if U fix the truck do U plan on keeping it/driving it

a low mileage replacement engine might be the best bet

 

As far as I know. The only way to do a compression test, is to have the engine assembled and crank it over.
If you blew a head gasket the head could still be okay. But you'd have to get it checkled for any warpage, and possible cracks. Or any other potential damage caused by the head gasket failing.
Getting it all repaired is costly.Many here have looked for a low mileage replacement engine.

 

My assumption is that the first over heating when the radiator cracked caused minor damage to the head gasket, which only caused a hose to blow when I was driving WOT for an extended period. Both times the hose blew I had been pushing the truck to the max. Then I assume that the last time it blew a hose it got so hot that the head gasket was completely thrashed.

 

The radiator cap is supposed to be the pressure release valve not the hoses - the caps should be replaced every few years to make sure they work in cases like this so you don't end up losing coolant pressure.

Can you take a straight edge to the head and block and look for warping? Shine a light from behind and see if you can see it.

 

The cap works. I assume the hose only blew because at WOT it won’t bleed the pressure fast enough.

 

on a bench a head can be flat

most manufactureres use a 'Torque Plate ' rather than use a spider pattern to assemble

the torque plate allows each stud is fastened down at the same time

to Avoid Distorting the head / block at the same time

several factors better for the longevity of the Head Gasket

seldom the method available on a rebuilt engine