New Heads, White Smoke

[DryDog]

Please help,

Originally my "91 was blowing coolant out the exhaust. I just replaced both heads (new from Clearwater Cyl Head.) I finally got it all back together late last night and found white smoke just pours from it. I don't smell coolant. But before when coolant came out it did not smoke. And it doesn't smell like oil. I only ran it a couple minutes.

Was I supposed to do some sort of prep to the new heads? I followed my Haynes very carefully. Did I miss something???

 

[Brain]

Doesn't the manual say to prep the heads and block by cleaning the sufaces really well (I used an abrasive pad disk and wire wheel) as well as degreasing it (I used MEK - a bit stronger than acetone)?

My first suspicion would be that it is just smoking off the coolant that got into the exhaust system before the head swap, and you did say you didn't let it run long. I would probably check the PCV valve really quick to make sure it isn't stuck open (letting oil into the intake manifold) and then start it and let it warm up fully. See if the smoking continues. But one quick question though -

The sealant is supposed to take about 24-hours to set up and cure (as long as it isn't cold or wet, if it is it takes a bit longer). How could you get it back together last night and find a problem already?

 

[DryDog]

Thanks for your reply Brain

I am new at this and have been working on this beast weekends and after work. I put the heads and lower intake on, on Sunday but didn't get all the little crap (plug wires, vacuum lines etc...) put back on until lastnight.

The heads are new castings. I cleaned the block really well with a scraper and acetone. I put in new plugs, wires, and PCV. One thing I thought of, initially when I was torquing down the lower intake I was thinking in Ft-Lbs. That No. 1 bolt I had to loosen to get it to 36 - 72 in-lbs. Could I have caused a leak around the left front water jacket port? I guess I need to run it and see if the coolant level drops. If I did cause a leak, is it harmful to run in that condition?

 

[Brain]

Gotcha....yes that inch/pounds vs. foot/pounds thing almost got me too, because it had an asteric next to the 36-72, but when I started to put it on I thought "whoa...this is aluminum, no way these little bolts can hold 72 ft*lb of torque when those big head bolts only get about 60 ft*lb, and those big bolts yield".

It might have squished out enough sealant when you overtorqued and then had to back off, but I don't know much sealant you put on or how much you overtorqued it before backing it off. I do know that the head gaskets are meant to crush a certain amount, but the manifold gasket seemed to just have some raised elastomer material to help seal the different passages.

If there is a leak, it isn't going to hurt to run it long enough to diagnose it, but extended running with coolant in the exhaust will eventually kill the catalytic converter. I don't know if MN has emissions testing, so I don't know if having a functional cat is a big deal to you. After I replaced my head (cracked between valves in two cylinders on the same head) I had to get an emissions test, and though it did pass, it wasn't running as clean as it had before (according to the documentation).

#1 - is that the front driver's side one? If I remember right, that one isn't a stud that goes from the block through the manifold and is held in place with a nut, but rather a bolt. Is that right?

 

[DryDog]

Yup, #1 is a bolt. I took tomorrow and Fri off to go huntin' figuring I'd have my truck done. I think I'll be redoing the lower intake instead. I ran it up to operating temp. The white smoke smells like exhaust but left a good sized vapor puddle.

Hey the last step in the intake manifold torque says, " Retighten in sequence to 180 to 216 in-lbs after the engine has been run." I missed this, but I don't think it would have helped. How long after runing it should I do this?

 

[Brain]

Did you just torque to 72 in*lb, or did you get them torqued up to ~200 in*lb? I remember that I went as high as my small torque wrench would go (~210 in*lb) in the sequence shown in Figure 7 at this link:
http://www.alldatadiy.com/alldata/A...100411974/34856156/34856653/42063475/42527966

The Felpro gasket set instructions said that the new gaskets didn't need the bolts to be re-torqued after running it, which is good, because how do you run it without the valve covers in place - or do you have to re-install the covers and all that small crap as well?

Well, I didn't re-torque, but I did torque them close to the upper limit (head, manifold, and valve covers). I also know that when I started it, it looked like it was smoking a bit, but eventually it went away. One of the by-products of combustion is water after all, but I was a bit on the paranoid side myself as to whether it was right or not.

Which brand of gasket did you use?

 

[DryDog]

I got the gasket kit from Ford $250. No instructions, just gaskets. I only torqued to 132 in-lbs. Hope I can re use it.

I'd better get to it. Thanks for the link. That was great!

 

[DryDog]

I think I got it. I cleaned the old heads with acetone. But, I was so thrilled with the shiney new heads that I neglected to clean them. On the plus side, the silicone sealant pealed right off!

I reinstalled the lower intake with goop in all the right places, and torqued to approx 210 in-lbs. It is 45 degrees F in my garage. How long should I let it cure before I start the engine?

 

[Brain]

I used Permatex Super-Black to supplement what came in the kit, and it says on the tube that it fully sures in 24 hours. I gooped both sides of the manifold and valve cover gaskets, as well as the locations in the instructions on the head gaskets, so I wanted to be sure to give plenty of time before I started it. I would let it go at least 30 hours in colder conditions, because they usually give cure times that are when it is 70 degrees. If it freezes at night, I'd probably let it go even a little longer. I figure that there isn't as much to gain as there is to loose by hurrying it.

 

[DryDog]

Brain I need your help,

I used the gray sealant from Ford that they said was for “assembling an engine.â€￾ I waited about 36 hrs. Initially I got some white smoke but not near the disco fog machine that it was. Eventually the exhaust cleared to what looks normal for a 35-deg MN day. Except it has excessive condensation, so much that it is running out the muffler. AND it is missing slightly. It sounds like a VW when accelerating.

Yesterday about 15 miles into a 20 mi test drive (it was missing the whole time) I got the CEL while waiting for a light. At the same time idle dropped from 600 to 400 and I thought it was going to die. I kept my foot in it until the light changed.

Today I ran the codes. My 1st time for this but after several times it looked like KOEO: 22, separator, 18, 41, 18, 41. And ER: 3 (6 cyl) 13, 13. The 18,41 didn’t make any sense in engine off, according to my book, so I cleared them. I drove (4 mi) around the block to get CEL back. CEL did not come on but the idle dip happened 600-400, 600-400 x 4 then OK. I ran the codes again, KOEO: 22 sep 22. Nothing for ER codes.

On both drives the temp gauge fluctuated briefly from N to L and back to N. But it did this even before I found the cracks at #5 & #6 head. I may just need to burp it.

So according to Haynes, 22 is “Manifold Absolute/Baro Pressure Sensor out of range.â€￾ Do I still have a poor seal on the lower intake manifold, or did all the coolant pouring out my tail-pipe damage a sensor?

 

[Brain]

22 is a "MAP/BP sensor out of self-test range" code, so you are right there. The coolant going through the exhaust might kill off the O2 sensor, but not the MAP/BP sensor because it is on the intake side and wouldn't see any coolant passing through it. I wouldn't worry about the excessive condensation, especially with a cold day and the possibility of it running in "open-loop" mode, which it what can happen when the MAP sensor isn't working right. I would check the connections to the MAP sensor, as you might have a vacuum leak or didn't get the electrical connector plugged in all the way.

When you do the KOEO test, after the separator pulse, the continuous codes are read. So 41 looks like it could be "system indicates lean", which means that the O2 sensor is not working right and the computer is trying to compensate by running ultra rich (which could cause bogging and excessive condensation), but this code could also be a by-product of the MAP sensor fault. Just FYI, my O2 sensor was bad after I had a cracked head, but whether or not the O2 sensor is dead the MAP sensor issue needs to be corrected. The missing MAP sensor signal can cause the O2 sensor code, but not vice-versa.

So basically - check the MAP sensor and get it working right as it might fix all of the codes that are being set. Any of the vacuum lines should be suspect as having any of them disconnected or unplugged would lower the manifold vacuum (at either end of the line). Unplug and reinsert the electrical connection. Make sure the vacuum connection at the bottom of the throttle plate assembly isn't unhooked. Double-check the vacuum line that runs to the heated intake air mixture valve (passenger side on the valve between the air intake in the front and the air filter, where the hose that comes off the exhaust manifold shroud connects).

There's a lot of stuff to be reconnected, and that would be my first suspect before the lower intake gasket as I'm pretty sure you sealed it up good the second time around (because you didn't want to do it again).

 

[Brain]

I forgot to ask if you replaced the thermostat...that might be the cause of the temperature spike (stuck closed until higher temps are reached and then popping open). Also, did you change the oil and filter after the head replacement? It is very likely that the oil is contaminated with coolant and should be changed out. They treat oil contaminated with coolant like toxic waste...they don't take it at Checker etc.. I had to bottle it up and pay the haz mat disposal site to take it (cheap but still something).

 

[DryDog]

The thermostat is about 6 months old. I had replaced this one with a Heavy Duty Stant just before the crack in the head made itself known. But the heavy duty doesn't have the air hole I'm used to and this one tested OK so I put it back. I did change the oil and filter.

The MAF connector was not on good. The clip on the connector is broken so I wire-tied it in place like it has been for the last 45K miles. I drove 10 mi today. Seems like it is back to normal except for a slight miss when I first take off. I have a 60 mile trip tomorrow. I'll see what it does.

Along with both heads I replaced plugs, wires, pcv, air filter, oil and filter.

 

[DryDog]

Ahhhhh, nothing like the warm glow of the CEL on a frosty MN evening. I put 100 miles on it today. Got the CEL when I was almost home. Codes are 67, 67 sep 41, 41. I think I'll look for an O2 sensor.

 

[Brain]

Try clearing the codes and re-running the KOEO test....

 

[DryDog]

After clearing KOEO is 67, 67 / and either 11, 11, or a 22. My mileage today was down 1 to 16.5 mpg.

 

[Brain]

The second set of numbers is 11 then repeated 11, which means no codes in continuous memory (which is right because you cleared them).

The 67 is A/C related.....Did you have the A/C turned on when you did the KOEO test? If so, shut it off, clear the codes and do it again.

If not, check that the A/C connector is making good contact.

 

[Brain]

BTW, I had a code 172, which is equivelant to 41 ("system indicates lean"), and changing the O2 sensor fixed it. My suggestion is giving it a good dose of WD-40 and letting it sit for a while before trying to remove it. Located on the passenger's side in front of the catalytic converter. I found it impossible to disconnect the O2 sensor (sometimes referred to as a HEGO sensor, or heated exhaust gas oxygen sensor) electrical connector at the back of the engine (held in place with a bracket) without removing the front right wheel. Even then it was really tight.

 

[DryDog]

I have 1500 miles on the X since my last post. It is still not quite right. The CEL went away when I replaced the O2 sensor and it ran much better. But, I still get much more condensation than before the head swap. There is a slight hesitation during idle and when I first take off, and it is down from 18/17 mpg to 13/12. There seems to be plenty of power for on-ramps and passing but the mileage is killing me.

KOEO still shows just 67,67. The AC compressor doesn't come on. This could be because the pressure sw is not making. Those lines hissed everytime I moved them while doing the R head and I probably lost my pressure.

The cruise control drifts down from 67-65 after about 10 minutes. It has done this in the past after a good underbody wash but always corrected itself by the next day. I am thinking a vac line. Is there on in common with fuel feed and cruise control?

 

[DryDog]

Close this thread I'm an 1D10T.
While listening to the injectors with a stethoscope I found I had one unplugged.

The cruise control is related to days colder than 25 F. I have to run it 15-20 min down the road until thigs warm up and my speedo starts reading accurately.