Leaking fluid between head and block??

[mcintosh816]

Any help here is appreciated. Just finished the install of a freshly rebuilt 7 bolt longblock. Upon startup I noticed excessive white smoke from the exhaust. Thought maybe it was just the assembly lube burning off. After letting it idle for 15-20 min plus driving it around the block it never stopped. Pulled it into the garage then noticed a puddle where it was parked in the driveway. Soaked it up with a fresh paper towel. Felt like oil, smelled a bit like coolant it seemed. I looked under the car in the garage and sure enough about a 3" diameter puddle under the car. Figured I missed torquing something down so I chased down the leak. What I found was it was dripping down from between the head and the block. See the picture below. You can see the blue edge of the head gasket. All around it was wet and the fluid was dripping down the block to the floor. Any clues on what may be the cause?

As info: I already tried torquing the head bolts and they were already torqued to spec, also no oil in the intercooler piping... Checked that too. The builder is telling me to pull the exhaust manifold and check for fluid there next. Im in the process of doing that now. He doesnt seem to believe that I could actually have fluid coming from between the head and the block but my eyes are definitely not lying to me.....

<a href="http://s32.photobucket.com/albums/d4/mcintosh816/?action=view&current=HEAD.gif" target="_blank"><img src="http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d4/mcintosh816/HEAD.gif" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

 

[kahl23]

What kind of headgasket is that, a stock composite one I take it? It could definitely be a sealing issue with any of the coolant or oil passages between the block and head. What color is the fluid coming out? White smoke is typically coolant and smells sickly sweet whereas oil typically has a more bluish color to it. Have you tried draining your oil to see if the oil and coolant are mixed? That is usually a sign of headgasket issues.

 

[johnmarines]

sounds like head gasket didnt seal properly. remove it and see what it looks like.

 

[mcintosh816]

Well I was afraid everyone was going to say "pull the head and take a look at the gasket"..... I bought this thing fully assembled as a long block and timed, spent months on the build only to run into this. So looks like Ill be dismantling most everything in order to pull the freaking head. This royally pi$$es me off.

 

[casperfast]

sounds like head gasket didnt seal properly. remove it and see what it looks like.

+1 on that.there could have been some debris in there. i have seen a hks 3 piece metal headgasket with a rivet in a bad spot that caused it to fail and leak, i have also seen coolant jacket liners that were ripped out or squished between the head and the block. ......... sorry....... pull the head, you can verify by compressing the cooling system to 15-17psi on a hot motor and.... bingo there it is.

 

[mcintosh816]

So in the case that it is in fact the head gasket, what do you all think I should expect out of the engine builder?? This thing has a 12 month 12k mile warranty according to him. Only problem is he is 3 states away. Also, I really dont feel like tearing it all apart and putting it back together now that Ive already wasted months on this build... What would you think itd cost to have the HG replaced at a shop?? I need this thing running asap and cant really waste another month of two working in my free time trying to get this thing running..... :sigh:

By the way, pulled the exhaust manifold as instructed to check for oil/fluid in the ports and they were bone dry as well....

Oh and to those who asked, no I havent drained the oil yet to check if its mixed. I just got this build finished today including putting in all new fluids, but now looks like Im going to have to turn around and waste that by draining it all back out as well. Ill be curious to see what I find there...

 

[hpi_nitro_guy]

sounds like head gasket didnt seal properly. remove it and see what it looks like.

+1 pull the head

 

[mcintosh816]

Anybody in the KC area that has experience with changing head gaskets on these things?

 

[mcintosh816]

Ok all found the problem and got it fixed! Turned out theres a small allen head bolt/plug located directly behind the thermostat housing on the head that wasnt coated with teflon tape or thread sealant of any kind. As the engine would get up to operating temp, oil would begin to seep out and run down the head and along the head gasket and down the front of the block. Pulled the t-stat housing and had her fixed in no time at all. I will also add that the new motor runs like a champ! Now if I could just figure out the DSMLink side of things......