Head gasket opinion?

[cavell]

Cyl with reddish exh valve certainly looks suspect? 06 equinox 120k miles. Seller had it for couple months and person they got it from said they had gaskets done in the past. Didn’t say how long ago. It has metal intake gaskets so I assume intake has bee

 

[95-007]

Water intrusion in that suspect cylinder, most of the carbon has been steam blasted and likely from the piston as well. Best to have both heads validated by a machine shop. We have the 7th ever made, '05 and both banks leeched water requiring head jobs. The car has been great ever since with over 210k miles on it. Some of the early 3.4's were built with some manner of head gasket issue but I never knew what the fix might have been.

 

[SteveK]

Why is only one valve reddish on face, what about the backside, was it reddish?

 

[95-007]

Why is only one valve reddish on face, what about the backside, was it reddish?

It looks like the color of the coolant sealant that Chevrolet put in at the factory. Why only the exhaust valve is tainted? Anyone's guess. I hated that stuff, it cloggd the heater core easily. and coagulated at the drain port on the radiator, reqiring probing with a firm piece of plastic to clear it in order to drain the radiator.