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  #1  
Old 07-26-2009, 08:29 PM
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Default Blown head gasket, which one?

I have a big-block Road Runner. I replaced the passenger-side head gasket after having to remove the head to remove a bolt from the cylinder that I simply could not locate.

Long story short, the car now smells toxic, smokes really bad white smoke, and even after the car is shut off, really thick white smoke (and water droplets) will continue to emit from (mostly) the driver-side tailpipe after about 5-10 minutes. The only problem is, I have a tti X-pipe exhaust and so I really can't tell if the passenger side that I replaced is crossing over to the driver's side, or if the driver's side just went out by coincidence. The car sat for a good while before I fired it up and I replaced lots of other things in the meantime, so I'm thinking I just screwed it up somehow. The engine is a '70 440 block that is bored .040 over (or it may be .060, can't remember now) so I'm thinking that maybe I used the wrong Felpro gasket (the one that doesn't work with overbored cylinders, 1007 or whatever, not the "PT"). Again, I forgot to take good notes on things.

Also, hypothetically, if I left the rocker-shaft assembly loose, could this cause white smoke from the exhaust? I'm pretty sure I bolted it all together because I'm really anal about torque settings and whatnot, but I'm also really anal about taking notes, and again, I didn't note this.

Thanks!
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Old 07-27-2009, 11:10 AM
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JVMopar JVMopar is offline
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Well you could pull the exhaust up by the manifolds and run it again to determine which side. The head gaskets are the same for the 440 as is the 400 which has significantly larger bore so can't be the gaskets fault.

Did you blow all the liquid out of the bolt holes? If you don't do this the bolts will reach their torque without clamping the head down properly. I know it sounds stupid but I watched a co-worker (he's been working at a Gm dealer for 15 years) break 3 head bolts on a colorado pickup all because of this.

I'm real anal about having the gasket surfaces spotless. I watch the guys at work scrape a head with a putty knife shoot it with brake cleaner and slap it together. Makes a guy cringe. I clean them with a 3M rollock disc (protect the valley with rags and wash the drebris down good) and hit them with brake cleaner then wipe them with a rag then brake cleaner again and wipe with a new rag till the rag comes clean. Then I wash my hands and run my hands over the surface and some compressed air to blow off any fibers left from the rag. It only takes a few minutes extra. Never had one come back.

I also change the oil before I start it up. While the other guys start it first and then change the oil. Well usually there is coolant in the oil and that sinks to the bottom of the pan. So when you start it up the first thing the bearings get is a gulp of coolant which doesn't lubricate good. Bearings don't last long without oil and they start knocking. Seen that happen more than once.
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Old 07-27-2009, 04:24 PM
John Kunkel John Kunkel is offline
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Pull all of the spark plugs and turn it over with the starter, any coolant in the cylinder(s) will be pumped out the offending hole.
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Old 07-27-2009, 09:36 PM
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During the install I actually didn't blow out all the liquid from the bolt holes, but I did get real anal about surface cleanliness. Thanks for the tip. Will do next time.

For diagnostics, I like the idea of just pulling the spark plugs since it's a lot easier than anything else (like pulling the exhaust manifolds even). Thanks for another great tip.

Thanks guys, I'll keep you posted!
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Old 07-28-2009, 12:14 AM
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JVMopar JVMopar is offline
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I was thinking more like just unbolting the exhaust pipe from the manifold or header.

You may also notice the spark plug tip is washed white on one plug VS the others.
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Old 07-28-2009, 12:37 AM
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It has exhaust manifolds, so yeah, that'll work, two bolts per side, easy.

I did remove random spark plugs from both sides today and they were very fouled (huge black carbon deposits all over). Almost seemed like oil, and it could have been when I fired it up with bad oil (gas had gotten into the oil from too many start attempts). I since changed the oil and it smells way better. Weird, oil doesn't seem milky, but it definitely drips out the pipes and white smoke bellows out, and it's toxic. I'm guessing if I put new plugs in today, they wouldn't be as fouled, but I could be wrong. I'm totally confused by this issue.

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Originally Posted by JVMopar View Post
I was thinking more like just unbolting the exhaust pipe from the manifold or header.

You may also notice the spark plug tip is washed white on one plug VS the others.
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Old 07-28-2009, 01:58 AM
dave5711 dave5711 is offline
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Even pulling the plugs should tell you. The offending cylinders will be washed clean.

Very good chance that not blowing out the holes was the cause.

The bolt hydrolocks, and you get a false torque reading on your wrench.
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Old 07-28-2009, 07:29 AM
DJM DJM is offline
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everybody seems to be parranoid about head gaskets. They are that common a break down. Check alot of oterh things first. After a engine has been apart they will usually smoke and clean otu for a little while after assembly. Coolant level ok (it may drop some when first filled)? Oil you say is not milky.
even on a summer day there are conditions when you will get condensation out of the tail pipe. I have seen condensation water drip out of a tail pipes on a 80 degree day.
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Old 07-28-2009, 12:15 PM
Rigormortor Rigormortor is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pv View Post
It has exhaust manifolds, so yeah, that'll work, two bolts per side, easy.

I did remove random spark plugs from both sides today and they were very fouled (huge black carbon deposits all over). Almost seemed like oil, and it could have been when I fired it up with bad oil (gas had gotten into the oil from too many start attempts). I since changed the oil and it smells way better. Weird, oil doesn't seem milky, but it definitely drips out the pipes and white smoke bellows out, and it's toxic. I'm guessing if I put new plugs in today, they wouldn't be as fouled, but I could be wrong. I'm totally confused by this issue.
Oil dripping out the tail pipes is a big problem.... usually bad valve seals will do that.... as for the smoke you are burning the oil... or your oil level can be too high, I have seen cars that when you overfill over the full mark on the dipstick they smoke like crazy.
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