Blown Headgasket and the Headaches it comes with

[Drvlikeustoleit]

As the title says i lost my headgasket, and im comng to find it hasnt been alot of fun. After a few weeks of working on the car for a few hours a day i finally got the head off. I had coolant sitting on top the #3 cylinder as expected, put upon looking at my actual gasket the results kind of suprised me. There is definitly a hole in the gasket and it looks old and worn down, but when i blew it up i had tons and tons of white smoke. Im wondering if this little hole...say maybe an 1/8th inch big could cause all that smoke?

So as i wait for my gasket set to arrive im starting to think of all the things ive done wrong in the removal process...first off i took the cams out, but i did mark their position very carefully, so in know exactly how the cams were set with the motor sitting as it is now. I never did set the motor at TDC howeve because i didnt realize you needed to.

So now the timing belt is still in there, around the pulleys and tensioners behind the bi*** of a cover i cant get off. The only missing link is the cam gears that i took off with the cams. When i do get my new gasket can i just put everthing back together the way it was before or how should i go about doing things?

Also is there a special procedure when putting the gasket on? Should i clean the block beforehand because it has some kind of wax looking material all over it..im assuming from the previous gasket?

sorry this is so long and may not make much sense but i need some advive as soon as possible. thanks in advance you guys.

 

[kahl23]

For some reason people link to vfaq less and less often lately, but there is a ton of good info there. It's a really go to if you ever have a question. VFAQ Site - Visual Frequently Answered Questions, but more specifically for your question FAQ Locator Engine. That will give you a step by step on how to do a timing job. As for your other questions, yes, that little hole can cause all that white smoke as coolant is constantly circulating through the engine, it only takes one break in the seal for a lot of coolant to be dumped into your engine. I would definitely check the head and make sure it isn't warped. Also, did the gasket break between two cylinders? If so, make sure there isn't any pitting or corrosion between the two combustion chambers. When the gasket breaks between cylinders the gasses flowing between the two can actually wear down the aluminum. Last time we lost a head gasket there was actually a pretty deep pit between #2 and #3, so it is something to be aware of. As far as cleaning the surfaces goes a personal favorite method of mine is to use a plastic dish scraper, for lack of a better word. It's hard plastic used for scraped baked off crap from dishes, roughly squarish with a fairly sharp edge. Use that and copious amounts of brake cleaner. I like using the plastic because it's harder than the composite material but not nearly hard enough to do anything to the head or block. If you're using a stock composite gasket and your head isn't too warped then you should be ok with cleaning the surfaces and slapping it on. If you're going with an MLS gasket I would take the head to a machine shop and at least get it tested for straightness, if not get it decked. Flat sealing surfaces are vital for MLS gaskets. Whatever you do, do NOT reuse stock head bolts, they are torque-to-yield, which means they stretch as they are tightened. Now would be a great time to go with some ARP hardware if you haven't already. Good luck!

 

[alansupra94]

Well considering the amount of pressure in the coolant system, that hole can cause that amount of smoke. Also a small drop of coolant causes quite a bit of steam.

I am sure that even if you didn't mark the camshafts, you can still line up the timing using a repair manual of some sort.

 

[cougarelimin8or]

Different liquids in a car produce different colors of smoke coming out of the exhaust when burned. If it was truely white smoke than you had coolent entering you combustion chamber.

As for the timing belt, you have to get the botom cover off to get the timing belt back on, that's covering the tentioner...line up the marks and put the belt on counter clockwise and after you get the tentioner ready by taking it out putting it in a vice and getting the pin back inside the tentioner so the holes line up. Put a small allen key in to lock the pin inside the tentioner and bolt everything back together, after the belt's on and the timing marks are right, pull the pin and rotate the crank backwards two full turns and make sure the the timing marks line back up.

 

[talonDSMerr]

Also, did the gasket break between two cylinders? If so, make sure there isn't any pitting or corrosion between the two combustion chambers. When the gasket breaks between cylinders the gasses flowing between the two can actually wear down the aluminum. Last time we lost a head gasket there was actually a pretty deep pit between #2 and #3, so it is something to be aware of.

That's the first time I've heard somebody mention something like that happening. Was it from the instant the headgasket blew or is it from driving too long with the gasket blown between cylinders?

 

[kahl23]

Actually, to be more specific it was from the head warping and allowing gasses to circumvent the gasket. The car was only driven to and from the track like this and made enough power to go 12.025 @ 115. It actually may have been happening for a while, that head had been decked so many times it was really at the end of it's useful life.

 

[talonDSMerr]

Thanks, that makes more sense. I would think it would take a ton of compression and heat for the gases to gouge the aluminum like that, but anything can happen in internal combustion engines.

 

[kahl23]

Thanks, that makes more sense. I would think it would take a ton of compression and heat for the gases to gouge the aluminum like that, but anything can happen in internal combustion engines.

You're going to be confused here for a second. My brother and I share the screen name Kahl23 and you've been talking to him. What he doesn't realize is that the cause of pitting is actually that when you mix exhaust gasses with coolant, it creates an acid. Just an FYI.

 

[eeeewidner]

So will not doing cooling system maintenance..i.e. flushes.... Antifreeze will over a period of time go through electrolysis. Not saying that DSM's are immune from this, unfortunately, anyone that has owned a 2.8 chevy with blown head gaskets has probably encountered this problem..... Just something to look into.