TR2/3/3A Is it possible for an intake manifold gasket leak....

[karls59tr]

cause white coolant smoke?

 

[mastaphixa]

I can't come up with a scenario that would work that way.

 

[mctriumph]

Did you get the head magnafluxed???White smoke is coolant in the combustion chamber.
There will also be bubbles in the radiator.
Mad dog

 

[karls59tr]

Did you get the head magnafluxed???White smoke is coolant in the combustion chamber.
There will also be bubbles in the radiator.
Mad dog

Did not do that. The issue is a few hairline cracks on the block at a rear head stud. I installed a new head gasket anyway but it looks like it did not hold? I have a spare lock but it's a big job to tear everything down and do a rebuild. I know about block stitching and welding.This goes against my mechanical nature but I might try a last ditch effort just to see what happens and get one more summer drive before the tear down. Will get the head skimmed then I plan on V-ing out the tiny block cracks,cleaning everything out,installing JB weld (ya I know I hear everyone saying it wont work) loading up the area with red high temp RTV and installing a new head gasket with lots of copper gasket spray. Might even try Randall's 23 AWG wire trick on the gasket What have I got to lose? This is a true story: Years ago I had the bottom end of the motor rebuilt at a shop. A friend and I went to install the cylinder head and I noticed 2 hairline cracks at the rear stud. We loaded that area with RTV and installed the head. Drove the car for 20 years with no problem! Guess those cracks finally got a little bigger. What the heck I'm going to give it a shot.

 

[CJD]

I may be confused...is the white smoke coming out of the tail pipe or from under the intake?

 

[karls59tr]

I may be confused...is the white smoke coming out of the tail pipe or from under the intake?

Under the intake only. Good compression in all cylinders.I don't think I am getting coolant into the cylinders.I think it's a head gasket leaking coolant to the atmosphere rather than leaking internally? I can't see any white smoke coming out of the rear of the head where the possible block hairline cracks are....cant feel or see any leakage there but looks like at some point there was some rusty residue on the block there. I suspect a gasket leak underneath the manifolds but I just can't make out where because of the smoke/steam.....maybe if I pull the manifolds I will see evidence there. I did put a pressure tester on the rad set at 4 psi and it was holding with engine not running.Next morning pressure had leaked out. Dont know if that's normal for a pressure tester to hold overnight or does pressur just dissipate over time?

 

[CJD]

You must have one of these issues:

1) bad head gasket.
2) Warped head or warped block in the area of the steam.
3) Cylinder liners are sitting too high, so that the head cannot seal the gasket against the block under the intake.
4) A cracked head or block in the area of the steam.

You will notice none of these possibilities are at all related to the 2 cracked head studs. The cracks around the head studs will be sealed by the head gasket, but coolant will make its way up the stud, around the nut, and into the valve area of the head.

 

[karls59tr]

In regard to 3) .....what issue was Randall's thin wire soldered to the head gasket trying to solve? ....wasn't it that the liners were sitting too low? Well I'm going to pull the head and see what I can see. I had never done that before. It should go easier the second time around.

 

[mctriumph]

The most deadly cracking is in the head around the valves.The block crack you describe
is not a serious problem in most cases as it is a dead end 98% of the time. My bet is the head
is toast.
Mad dog

 

[CJD]

Randall's technique was to ensure the head gasket sealed well with the liners. He recommended it for the larger bores and did it on all his rebuilds, not just those with lower liners.

Copper is an interesting gasket material. If in the dead-soft state, it compresses well...but it also can flow with heat and time. When I was into RC model airplanes, the little high compression engines used solid copper gaskets. More than once I had an engine loose compression, and when I removed the head, the copper near the exhaust had pushed out. It looked like it was made that way.

I think the gaskets we normally use are copper covered composite, mainly to help prevent the copper from creeping like a solid copper gasket does. Adding an extra copper bead around the liners should improve the "crush" and help the combustion seal.

 

[karls59tr]

Randall's technique was to ensure the head gasket sealed well with the liners. He recommended it for the larger bores and did it on all his rebuilds, not just those with lower liners.

Copper is an interesting gasket material. If in the dead-soft state, it compresses well...but it also can flow with heat and time. When I was into RC model airplanes, the little high compression engines used solid copper gaskets. More than once I had an engine loose compression, and when I removed the head, the copper near the exhaust had pushed out. It looked like it was made that way.

I think the gaskets we normally use are copper covered composite, mainly to help prevent the copper from creeping like a solid copper gasket does. Adding an extra copper bead around the liners should improve the "crush" and help the combustion seal.

 

[karls59tr]

I believe someone mentioned that the size wire used was 23 AWG. Does it have to be copper wire? I think he mentioned that soldering was not really necessary and that Super glue would hold the wire in position just as well.

 

[CJD]

I have never done the wire technique, but I would think it does have to be copper. It must be soft enough to crush into the gasket.