Soooo,,,,a giant puff of white smoke rolled out

[FastCraig]

I suspect that the head gasket is the problem. If the engine has no overheated there is no reason for the head to be cracked or warped unless it was improperly installed. Head gaskets are a known problem when a aluminum head with a different expansion and contraction rates than than the cast iron block if the wrong head gasket is used. There are composite head gaskets that are recommended for the aluminum heads on a cast iron block

The current configuration was purchased from, and installed by Jegs in 1990. I do not believe the engine was torn apart since then. I would assume that Jegs put it together correctly since it had no issues for over 27 years {13000 miles}. The car sat a lot for 2 to 3 years before I got it. The gasket may have just failed due to non use.

 

[fleming442]

Cometics for the replacement......

 

[FastCraig]

Finally got to work on the SS. The head gasket was shot. It was leaking into the exhaust ports. It looks as though it was seeping for awhile before it failed. There is some corrosion but no damage. It cleaned right up. I took the precaution of having the heads checked. The pressure check was good. They were milled just to make sure they were true. Haven't taken the bottom half apart yet. The headers appear to have been custom made and at one point were chrome. The chrome was gone a long time ago so I sanded, cleaned and painted them aluminum. Tomorrow, hopefully, I'll finish tearing it down. I've got an 010 block, 1.5 rockers and ARP bolts and rods. Trading the TCI 3600 converter for a 2600. I'll know more about it tomorrow.

 

[FastCraig]

Started putting it back together. Everything tight and clean. Just like it should be. I screwed up though. Didn't get the casting number off of the rods or the crank. I have searched for the 3412 GM155 but cannot find it anywhere. Does anyone recognize those numbers? Can you tell the rod type/size from that?

 

[86MCLS]

Too late for you now, but I had symptoms of a leaky head gasket once in another car where there was no water in the oil & vice versa, but the cooling system was getting pressurized by the combustion chamber and would push out a bunch of coolant.

I threw a torque wrench on the head bolts & the tightest one was around 25 lb-ft!! They had stretched over time. I re-torqued them & the problem went away.

Just a word to anyone with head gasket symptoms that don't include milkshake in the oil or coolant. Might be worth checking head bolt torque before tearing it all down.

 

[FastCraig]

There were some other things that needed done There were several small oil leaks, temp guage inop, oil pressure inop, and I wanted to change the 3600 stall for a 2800. No more leaks, so far and the oil pressure is a solid 50 to 60 lbs. That 3600 TC sure made a difference in performance but it is much easier to drive now, which was my goal.

 

[1badgbody]

Head gasket would be chugging white smoke all of the time especially when you accelerate not just at startup and you'd definitely have some more symptoms like running hot. There's always bubbles in antifreeze sitting at the top of the radiator and coolant tank, its when its actually bubbling when the car is running that you know you have a problem. If it was a head gasket you'd have water in the oil or coolant coming down the side of the block. I would bet that your problem is bad valve seals or worn valve guides and that puff of "white" (blue) smoke is just a bit of oil that dripped down into the combustion chamber. Valve seals are dirt cheap and a piece of cake to replace. Start there.

 

[1badgbody]

Head gasket would be chugging white smoke all of the time especially when you accelerate not just at startup and you'd definitely have some more symptoms like running hot. There's always bubbles in antifreeze sitting at the top of the radiator and coolant tank, its when its actually bubbling when the car is running that you know you have a problem. If it was a head gasket you'd have water in the oil or coolant coming down the side of the block. I would bet that your problem is bad valve seals or worn valve guides and that puff of "white" (blue) smoke is just a bit of oil that dripped down into the combustion chamber. Valve seals are dirt cheap and a piece of cake to replace. Start there.

 

[FastCraig]

Head gasket would be chugging white smoke all of the time especially when you accelerate not just at startup and you'd definitely have some more symptoms like running hot. There's always bubbles in antifreeze sitting at the top of the radiator and coolant tank, its when its actually bubbling when the car is running that you know you have a problem. If it was a head gasket you'd have water in the oil or coolant coming down the side of the block. I would bet that your problem is bad valve seals or worn valve guides and that puff of "white" (blue) smoke is just a bit of oil that dripped down into the combustion chamber. Valve seals are dirt cheap and a piece of cake to replace. Start there.

You're right. However I quit driving it the same day it spewed smoke. The head gasket was leaking along with several other places. Replaced all the gaskets and seals. Had the valve seals checked and the head milled.