Need advice for my truck, about the battery and head gasket.?

Yes and no. You need a new battery. get that and have the charging system tested. also make sure the battery terminals are clean and not corroded.

Your head gasket is probably good. They almost never fail on those trucks. you have either a 4.3 5.0 or 5.7. Those engines are notorious for leaking intake manifold gaskets. There are coolant passages that run through the intake manifold. You friend is right about the engine burning the coolant but not through the head gasket. its most likeley through the intake manifold. You are looking at about $300-$800 depending on if the intake manifold needs to be replaced or can be reused.

below is a link for replacing it on the 4.3. it works the same for the other 2 engines if you have one of them.

A lot of these trucks had problems with the intake manifold gaskets, which will cause rapid coolant loss.

Whatever you do, do NOT drive the truck like this under any circumstances, you could easily overheat the motor and ruin it. Have it fixed ASAP.

Yes your friend is right, if it is indeed a gasket leak, it is very labour intensive to fix, and the cost will be pretty close to what he said. Unless, of course, you can find a backyard guy who has done this job before and you pay him cash, it will be cheaper. Talk to friends relatives or associates, ask if they know anyone who does his own work. I do. LOL! Good Luck!

The advice on the batt soundsgood If the water put in the rad is leaking because of a blown head gskt you may get water in the oil.Best way to check is to take the spark plugs out and see if there is water in one or more cylinders.Is the water leaking from another location.If it's a blow en head gskt it is a fairly expensiuve repair.Check your engine oil and see if it is milky.

most batteries only last 3 years and I have seen dead batteries go bad after sitting for a year. I do not believe you need a head gasket. if you can see a drip when you fill it, follow it up to where it is leaking, maybe a hose.

yes i would say you need a new battery but as for the leak it could be leaking someplace else like heater core, radiator or a busted heater or radiator hose. before tearing it down check for other places it could be leaking at. it could even be a freeze plug. you have at least 3 on each side of the engine. but first you have to get it running first. also sitting that long it would pay you to get the oil changed too.

have you radiater pressure tested that is the first step .then dcide what to do. dont go fixin things that aint broke. or you will be broke.