Bad head gasket?

[PorterzSupra]

Okay, im gettin constant (mild to medium) smoke at idle out the exhaust and I cant tell what color it is, but im NOT running rich my friend hooked a wideband up. When the car starts the next day it stumbles and smokes a little. I am getting constant steam instead of oil vapor out the breathers, (even water droplests) now and then when I get on it at WOT I get a stumble sometimes its bad, sometimes I dont get it at all but it seems like the motor suddenly gets choked up even though the mixture is correct. When on the highway for a while and the engine is cool it wont really do it but going slow for a while when the engine is slighty warmer its more common at WOT it almost feels like fule cut on and off but its not. I dont see any water on the oil dipstick but I havent pulled the drain plug. The smoke and stumble seems to be getting worce overall, now at idle the engine has a shake to it untill u bring the rpms up. I think at idle im getting some water leaking in and at WOT I get more. I was planning on changing the HG anyway because I noticed when I changed the plugs one piston top was really clean so it might of gotten steam cleaned. Would the WOT bogging/exhaust smoke/breather steam indicate a BHG?

 

[7M-GTE]

I'd say stop driving it if you're having these problems... you're only going to make it worse... it sounds like you could have a blown hg... but does it smoke all the time or in spurts? it could be your turbo seals (someone correct me if I'm wrong on this) this is what happened to me when my seals/turbo went...

 

[PorterzSupra]

hmmm... the turbo is brand new... and I am gettin steam and even water droplets out the breathers, the oil level is not going down (if the seals were leaking it would slowly be going down) if anything oil level is going up...

 

[7M-GTE]

hmmm... the turbo is brand new... and I am gettin steam and even water droplets out the breathers, the oil level is not going down (if the seals were leaking it would slowly be going down) if anything oil level is going up...

if your oil level is going up I'd say you have a bhg... take your oil cap off and see if there is some sort of sludge up under it... it should be almost yellowish white... that milky oil... that is a clear sign of a bhg

 

[xarewhyayen]

id say the steam and water out of the breathers ( im assuming you mean the PCV, designed to ventilate oil vapor) would indicate some type of water/coolant in your crankcase/valvetrain which is most likely BHG, if not a cracked head or block somewhere. More likely a bhg though. stop driving it that way, its not good for the motor.

 

[johnathan1]

check the oil, It should look milkshakey by now, right?

 

[7M-GTE]

check the oil, It should look milkshakey by now, right?

thats what I'm thinkin if he's been drivin it like he says...

 

[PorterzSupra]

the dipstick is NOT milky though..., its not turbo seals the turbo is new and the downpipe is dry of any oil. The thing that gets me is the oil level is not going down, if anything slighty up. Also I had this wierd thing happen the other day my temp is at normal then all the sudden BOOM the rad cap pops off and A/F everywhere!! Is there any other oil engine seals that could cause smoke and stumbling of the engine at WOT?

 

[7M-GTE]

the dipstick is NOT milky though..., its not turbo seals the turbo is new and the downpipe is dry of any oil. The thing that gets me is the oil level is not going down, if anything slighty up. Also I had this wierd thing happen the other day my temp is at normal then all the sudden BOOM the rad cap pops off and A/F everywhere!!

this is a clear sign of a bhg... check your coolant levels also... you'll have oil in your coolant and coolant in your oil...it sounds to me like a bhg...

 

[IJ.]

Well that didn't take long!

Only thing that will pop the Rad Cap like that is over pressure from the BHG.

 

[PorterzSupra]

I have herd that stock gaskets work just as good when propery tightened with ARP studs is this true or do I need a steel one? Also is there any writeups on here about headgasket install because I have no idea how you keep the correct cam position and timing once the cams and gears are off. What do you guys use for spec on the studs 70-85 lbs? (only reason id use OEM is because I herd the block does not have to be as perfectly flat as when useing the steel I guess both surfaces have to be planed?

 

[IJ.]

Any gasket will be fine if the tune is right and it doesn't detonate.

I've ran stock type gaskets in other motors at 30 psi with no issues with a nice fat tune, lean it out and they would last seconds.

 

[PorterzSupra]

"Any gasket will be fine if the tune is right and it doesn't detonate."

just drained oil it is JET BLACK and very thin, water like viscocity, it was just put in 50 mile ago, a/f was also oily and brown. I can get a feltpro for $68 then I imagine all I need is valve cover, exhaust and intake manifold gasket, ARP studs at 80 lbs I should be good for years of abuse?

 

[jetjock]

That engine has already suffered years of abuse

 

[suprahero]

I was hoping someone would chime in about the timing issues of the head gasket replacement. I'm worried my timing is going to be off. I've got the head back on and putting other things back together, but I havent put the distributor back in yet. When I look down through the oil fil cap, what am I suppose to be seeing? The tsrm said I should see a whole. I dont have my print out, so I dont know exactly what it said I should see. The thing is I didnt see anything other than the cam. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[johnathan1]

Set the crank to the Zero mark, align notches on each cam with the notches in the backing plate... CPS: Align the center of the flange with the hole, then slide STRAIGHT in, then tighten the bolt, put on timing belt, jumper the two terminals on the daignostic block (can't remember which two, but I believe it says on the sticker under the hood) hook up timing light, adjust CPS until the timing is at +10 degrees.

Any questions?

edit: I just realized you have an NA... umm I am not sure, but I think it will be the same on an NA, just adjust the distributor as opposed to the CPS??