91 suburban big block

[rt66paul]

I have a bad head gasket, I think. The coolant seems to be disappearing and it is not leaking outside the engine. I only have 140k on the vehicle. If I have to get someone to do the work(I am handicapped) and the heads come off, I want to check them out, do a valve job at least. I am in Ca, so smog is a problem, if I were to use older heads, which ones will work? Will I be able to use the same chip, if I go with a higher compression set of heads with better than the peanut ports? I am afraid of Ca smog, they want to get all big blocks off the road, so if I change out the chip, they may give me a lot of grief. Is there anything that can be done to the peanut heads that will make the performance better? I don't want a race car, but would like to be able to tow a midsize trailer, it has the full trailer setup with the towing package chip.

 

[bucket]

Normally, a blown head gasket will be accompanied by overheating and excessive pressure in the cooling system.

Older heads should not be used, the coolant passages changed enough in the '91-'95 motors that it is likely you would end up with coolant in the oil. You can use aftermarket heads (they fit both generations) or the '96-'00 heads. However, upgrading the heads won't really gain much without ditching the tiny factory cam.