got truck started after lots of cranking white smoke like crazy

[stamina]

i believe it is the intake manifold gasket, because it took so long to crank i’m assuming it was pulling in a ton of water/antifreeze i though i did a pretty good job of installing it but i guess not, brand new head gaskets as well. any tips for when i redo this gasket (probably this weekend) i did the ttb on the curved edges on the front and the back but other than that i though i did a pretty good job, seemed like it was pulling in a ton of water so i guess i messed up pretty bad, pretty sure it’s not a head gasket as i did those to a T with new bolts and the oil is not milkshaked definitely did not take as much care on that intake manifold, also used an intake manifold from a junkyard truck instead of reusing mine because i broke off a bolt or two for the thermostat in the original, think it has anything to do with that? i still have it and can use it for the reinstall but i’ll have to remove those bolts maybe they’re not lining up properly because it’s not the original? not sure any help would be appreciated especially tips for after i get it put back all together and go to crank it.

 

[RonD]

I would drain the coolant first
Then do a compression test on all 6 cylinders, should be at least 150psi on each but you are looking for 1 or 2 that may be lower than the others, not high numbers
So write down all 6 and compare, all should be within 10psi of the others

Lower intake manifold does have coolant pass thru ports at each corner, but 2 are blocked off, so just 2 pass coolant
If these leak you always get coolant in the oil, as coolant leaks into the valley under the intake and directly to the oil pan
Very rarely does it leak into a cylinder causing the white "smoke"

Head gasket leak doesn't get coolant in oil pan unless its a really really bad head gasket issue, just leaks coolant into a cylinder and causes misfire and white "smoke"
A cracked head only leaks coolant into a cylinder never to oil pan

Hope it is the lower intake, but................doesn't read that way
Inspect the lower intake when its off, look for cracks between coolant passages and air passages, that can happen, extreme long shot but not a no shot

 

[stamina]

I would drain the coolant first
Then do a compression test on all 6 cylinders, should be at least 150psi on each but you are looking for 1 or 2 that may be lower than the others, not high numbers
So write down all 6 and compare, all should be within 10psi of the others

Lower intake manifold does have coolant pass thru ports at each corner, but 2 are blocked off, so just 2 pass coolant
If these leak you always get coolant in the oil, as coolant leaks into the valley under the intake and directly to the oil pan
Very rarely does it leak into a cylinder causing the white "smoke"

Head gasket leak doesn't get coolant in oil pan unless its a really really bad head gasket issue, just leaks coolant into a cylinder and causes misfire and white "smoke"
A cracked head only leaks coolant into a cylinder never to oil pan

Hope it is the lower intake, but................doesn't read that way
Inspect the lower intake when its off, look for cracks between coolant passages and air passages, that can happen, extreme long shot but not a no shot

man i hope it’s that lower intake, i did those head gaskets perfectly man and i mean perfectly, had them dry as physically possible and scraped every last bit of everything off those things, installed and followed torque specs to a T, how could it go bad before i even started it for the first time? when i first tried to start it it i put in the distributor completely wrong and while trying to start it back fired/made a very loud popping noise and so after some tweaking with a few things it never made that noise again, could that be the reason it failed? is it possible that it failed off first start up from some kind of detonation or preignition?????

 

[RonD]

Were the heads surfaced and pressure tested(looking for cracks)?
2.9l and 4.0l heads will always crack if ever over heated, no "do-overs" always, ask me how I know, lol

 

[Eddo Rogue]

sounds like head Gasket

 

[stamina]

Were the heads surfaced and pressure tested(looking for cracks)?
2.9l and 4.0l heads will always crack if ever over heated, no "do-overs" always, ask me how I know, lol

nope but i called up a machine shop near me and i will have them surfaced and pressure tested this time for sure, thank you for telling me i should do that

 

[Angie]

I want to ask a couple questions here. does the truck start now easily, or does it turn over many times to get started? when the engine is warm/hot does the "smoke" or shall we call it steam, disappear? and look normal now?

I know your threads about lash, and timing issues you had fixed, so i am wondering if you let the engine run enough to get back to normal. or just jumped the gun thinking you made mistakes.

cheers, and what was the 1st problem you had before you changed the head gaskets.

 

[RonD]

I would do a compression test first before pulling the heads again

 

[stamina]

I want to ask a couple questions here. does the truck start now easily, or does it turn over many times to get started? when the engine is warm/hot does the "smoke" or shall we call it steam, disappear? and look normal now?

I know your threads about lash, and timing issues you had fixed, so i am wondering if you let the engine run enough to get back to normal. or just jumped the gun thinking you made mistakes.

cheers, and what was the 1st problem you had before you changed the head gaskets.

i wanted to do lifters and rebuild cylinder heads/valve train, it took a good 10-20 minutes to get it to start and it kept trying to die if i didn’t rev it up and the smoke did. not. stop. it was constant, and i didn’t run it long enough to try to let it stop because it didn’t seem like it was going to it was coming out constantly in the sense that it wasn’t changing how much it came out. and yes i assume if i tried to start it again it would take a while because there is so much water getting in there, i didn’t let it run no more than 60 seconds and cut it off, i will do a compression test when i get home, what’s the best way of doing that? also the engine even with the spark plugs in was very easy to turn over right now. but not before i tried starting it for the first time and it made those crazy loud popping noises because the distributor was so off. i’m assuming that’s when it blew. after that happened it became very easy to turn no matter what and you can hear air whistling out even with the spark plugs in

 

[RonD]

Drain coolant out, so its lower than head level, leave rad cap off
Remove all 6 spark plugs first
Install tester
Crank engine with gas pedal pressed down to the floor
Listen for 5 or 6 "hits" of compression stroke, you will know when you hear it
Write down results
do next cylinder

Most cylinders will be within 5 to 8psi of the others, lower usually means a leak

 

[Angie]

I would first go back and check all valve lash to make 100% sure you have it proper. recheck your timing. firing order... i will guess you have torqued the intake bolts down to spec and have all the re-assembly proper, so with that in place the intake shouldn't allow that much coolant into the firing cylinders. so, go back and check the simple things first cuz it should run even rougher than normal. if all the above is correct.

Just picked up on this..... 100% check the valves, they might not be closing properly.

you can hear air whistling out even with the spark plugs in

 

[Angie]

i wanted to do lifters and rebuild cylinder heads/valve train <<<< how did you rebuild the heads if you didn't take to a shop?

for now ignore warped heads. if gaskets are proper it should run. even rough.

cheers

as ron said.... do a compression test..... if you are not 100% sure how to do it properly... find a friend who has the tools and knowledge. very important to do and most cheapest way to confirm what is going on. this test will let you know if your valves are correctly positioned.

I just went way back to January and remembered your first posts about ticking lifters and your tear downs from then. I thought this was sounding familiar.

cheers

ps, this stuff takes time, do not expect it to be a 5 minute job to be done right. could the "steam/smoke" be un-burnt fuel/exhaust?

 

[stamina]

i wanted to do lifters and rebuild cylinder heads/valve train <<<< how did you rebuild the heads if you didn't take to a shop?

for now ignore warped heads. if gaskets are proper it should run. even rough.

cheers

as ron said.... do a compression test..... if you are not 100% sure how to do it properly... find a friend who has the tools and knowledge. very important to do and most cheapest way to confirm what is going on. this test will let you know if your valves are correctly positioned.

I just went way back to January and remembered your first posts about ticking lifters and your tear downs from then. I thought this was sounding familiar.

cheers

ps, this stuff takes time, do not expect it to be a 5 minute job to be done right. could the "steam/smoke" be un-burnt fuel/exhaust?

just did a compress

Drain coolant out, so its lower than head level, leave rad cap off
Remove all 6 spark plugs first
Install tester
Crank engine with gas pedal pressed down to the floor
Listen for 5 or 6 "hits" of compression stroke, you will know when you hear it
Write down results
do next cylinder

Most cylinders will be within 5 to 8psi of the others, lower usually means a leak

just did a compression test
1 - 163
2 - 170
3 - 170
4 - 160
5 - 155
6 - 155
does this mean i don’t have to pull the heads???

 

[Angie]

did you recheck all the lash settings? timing is ok? 5-6 are a bit low but should run ok with those numbers.

she ran ok before you did all the work correct? you were just worried about ticking? she should fire up and run ok now.

 

[stamina]

did you recheck all the lash settings? timing is ok? 5-6 are a bit low but should run ok with those numbers.

she ran ok before you did all the work correct? you were just worried about ticking? she should fire up and run ok now.

yea dude i just wanted to get rid of that damn noise man, it started ever so slightly in december or november and ever so slightly got louder. also want to do all new valve train components as springs, valves, seals, pushrods and lifters. i’m going to try and start it again tomorrow and maybe it won’t do it again, i shut it down and came to the forum cause i was spooked man and yes before i took it all apart it ran like a top, a loud top.