Hello all, This is a long and neverending story it seems. I bought a 1989 mighty Max 2.0 from my next door neighbor the original owner. He never bothered to tell me the spark plugs were in for about 7 years and did not use antiseize when he put them in.Got three out and the last one (of course) twisted off leaving only threads in block. well I used heat, easy out (snapped one off) reverse drill bits, threats , voodoo,pb blaster etc. Finally got old plug threads out and tapped it for a sav a thread. worked for about a month and then I heard compression escaping with motor off and plug boot was somewhat melted. took out plug and sav a thread came with it and had a path fom one end of the SAT threads to the other allowing gases/ compression to escape. put in a new SAT and it happened again going up The Sunshin Skyway here in FL. Not a good place to stop/breakdown. got her home on 3 cyl and when it cooled off I pulled old plug out and it totally melted metal on plug where plug wrench would go(never seen anything like it) ok next step break piggy bank and buy Time sert Big sert kit ouch but I love this old girl with 251k on the clock. while turning crank to close valves for big sert install I noticed a few drops of green coolant on the piston, not a good sign. went ahead with big sert install and mighty max fired up and ran like a swiss watch...well maybe a Seiko. Great! prob solved . drove truck about 100 miles no prob, ran great. woke up this morn and it was raining so a little steam from exhaust no big deal, goes away when at operating temp. Not Today! now I have constant white smoke/steam coming from exhaust. Question, will the gods smile on me and a new head gasket fix it? The way things have been going lately I'm thinkin not likely.I'm a decent shade tree mechanic(did timing belt and silent shaft belt myself) but taking apart something this old could result in lotsa bolts and such breaking and who knows what..well I hope you guys do! I'm kinda thinking of getting a used head and having it refurbished at a machine shop and just putting that on after the teardown because this one may be warped/cracked . If anyone has a rebuilt cylinder head, or a good one I can get renewed, I would be interested. I am a paycheck to paycheck kinda guy so try not to hurt me too bad. Parts and advice welcome.Thanks in advance! Mark PS:I will admit to being a Dumb*** for continuing to drive her home (about a mile) on 3 cylinders and I probably caused this additional damage myself. but with 3 bucks in my wallet and no phone, a mans gotta do what a mans gotta do .Even if its Moronic. woulda, coulda,shoulda...Thanks again Guys...

I would honestly try Steel Seal if it is a headgasket problem and you're worried about disassembly.

http://www.steelseal.com/?gclid=CLH-gdC ... 4Aod0g2DaQ

I used KW block seal on mine for several years. Just install it exactly the way the directions say.
With that many miles on your engine, if you install a rebuilt head, I'd replace the rings and connecting rod bearings, at a minimum.

Thanks Guys I found a product called Blue Devil head gasket sealant . Has anyone used this? or is it just a total waste of money? I also found a reman head "Early model SOHC Mitsubishi 8 valve remanufactured head. This head is electric fuel pump type and comes with No auxilary valve.Also it comes complete with cam rockers lifters and etc. It's been 3 angle valve job,resurface pressure test and assembled.this head has never been welded or patched for cracks. " for about 100 bucks or so.I wonder if this will work or will I just cause problems with rings/bearings on such a high mileage motor? AUX Valve? is that where the Nitrous goes? just kidding...

Hey Two Bills ,Saw what you said above about rings /rod bearings, I Better have more coffee to get Brain running on all Cylinders......

Where did you find the head? I need one pretty bad for my 94. 8 Valve as well

Used the blue devil stuff and it seems to have fixed the prob haven't decided to run it til it dies or get a used head from ebay . Would reeeeaaalllly like to put the Starion turbo mtr in it but thats in my wishlist. Would probably need someone who did a conversion available to help...Thanks to the members who put in their two cents, love this website and might even consider buying a turbo truck thats already done even tho that would cut down on the "fun" of doin it myself...