[Tiersin]

OK, well, maybe not literaly. I finaly got my engine back together, and with some timing changes, got it to run. But there are problems. Before it ran ok, it would turn over, and gurgle, then die. Now it runs ok, i took it for a quick drive up my street and it stalled once. The only problem is that there it white smoke comming out of the engine. I can see it in the front by the header and it is also in my valve train if i take the cover off. Its also comming out of the exhause pipe like none other. Its really worying me. I will be trying agin tomorrow and buying a compresson tester. I replaced the piston rings, could that be the problem. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[ollie]

OK lets start by thinking this one out rationally.
First is the smoke thick and white?
Also what kind of work did you just do?

 

[Tiersin]

You can see through the smoke, but it is thick and white at the exhaust. d0wnest thinks my HG is seated wrong. I rebuilt my engine, tore everything except the crank out, cleaned everything, got new rings, HG, Intake Gasket.

 

[downest]

Yeah, white smoke makes me think coolant. Either the HG isn't torqued down right, or the surfaces weren't clean enough. The pipe could be just leftover stuff in the cat if you blew the HG before, mine was like that and smoked for around 100 miles. Make sure all the gaskets are sitting right and everything is tight. When I did mine it sounded like a kettle and was doing a similar thing, the intake mani got some stuff stuck between it and the head,thinner than the gasket, but about the size of a dime, and it wasn't sealing so coolant was blowing out the side and steaming off.

 

[purplecrx]

Not trying to burst your bubble here so take this w/ a grain of salt...

My buddy w/ a N/A Eclipse was pouring out white smoke, so we figured it was coolant. Started to narrow things down... then did a compression check. Pulled a 20 on cylinder 4 >.<

His ringlands went. I doubt that is the case w/ yours, but just to rule it out I would do a compression test. Hopefully it's just a bad headgasket seat.

 

[Tiersin]

Thanks guys. I'm goin to pep boys to a compresson tester. I started the car last night and got it to run ok. It still smokes, but not as much. Thanks for yur input.

{Update}
so i drove it again. Still smoking a lot. The smoke has a funny smell. I opened the radiator cap to see if it was low on coolent, its full, but theres less in the resivore. There is also what apeares to be oil floating in the collent. I'm safely betting that this is the head gasket not sealing. Sould i get a new one or just take it off and clean it. I put this copper spray on it, but now i've herd that its bad for MLS head gaskets. Oh well, thats an 80$ mistake... :evil:

 

[downest]

How did you clean the mating surfaces of the block and head?

 

[Tiersin]

I got the head milled and i sprayed gasket remover on the block then scraped it with a metal wire brush. before that i used a rasorblade to get big chunks of the old gasket off.

i'm in the process of taking my head off again. I will inspect the gasket. I put this crap on it that i think may have been the problem. I will check for any signs of leaks. Is it safe to reuse the head gasket if i havnt really drivin on it or sould i get a new one to be safe? BTW, while draining my collent, i noticed oil in in, lust a little, but enough. I'm sure a leaking HG is my problem.

 

[downest]

I re-used mine after about 50 miles of driving when I went back in to do the rings. It should be ok. The wire brush might have scored the metal enough so that the HG didn't seal right.

 

[Tiersin]

I just finished takin off my head again. It seems like the HG was leaking between the middle section. (MLS). Definatly was leaking though. I am going to replace my HG with a decent non MLS gasket. It just seems easier. i used a smal copper brush that isnt to abrasive. The block still has the factory grind on it, and it dosnt apear to be scratched. Like i said, i think it was leaking between the middle part of the HG. I will follow up once i get the new part.
BTW, how would i go about getting my block ground so it was as flat as my head? or is there no way.

 

[downest]

It's weird that it would leak between layers. Did you torque it right? The only reason I can see it doing that is if you didn't follow the right torque sequence and it somehow folded or bulged a little.

 

[Dren]

what's the best way to take a head gasket off when cleaning the block? i am going to have to do this "soon" and want to get it off as quick as possible. i'm just swapping heads so the block will stay in the car.

 

[stick]

what's the best way to take a head gasket off when cleaning the block? i am going to have to do this "soon" and want to get it off as quick as possible. i'm just swapping heads so the block will stay in the car.

I too would like some suggestions on this. The head gasket is a real pain to take off.... there's got to be an easier way.

 

[ComposiMo]

There is a 'gasket remover' spray you can buy that softens it up greatly... check out your local autoparts store. Alternatively, VERY CAREFULLY with a plastic scraper... most autoparts stores sell these as well that are made just for scraping gaskets.

And if you want to eliminate scraping gaskets ever again on your car, check out an MLS gasket... something like this one:

http://www.iconautoparts.com/cgi-bin/category.cgi?item=MLSG_D16A6

 

[Tiersin]

Ok, turns out the head gasket is crap, the holes dont even line up right. thats the last time i buy anything on ebay. I'm going to order the one off ICON that was posted earlyer. Thanks for al the help.
Does anyone have any experience with the MLS HG from ICON. It looks like a steal for 30$

And i agree with that gasket spray. It helps a ton removing the old gasket.

 

[downest]

I got the one from ICON, it's great. The best way to get rid of the old gasket I found is to first use a credit card (an old one) and get the big stuff off, and then use a plastic abrasive wheel on a drill to get it really clean. I didn't use gasket softener, I used carb and choke cleaner, which worked pretty well.

 

[stick]

Are there any drawbacks to using an MLS headgasket? Or is it all benefits when compared to the regular paperboard ones?

 

[Dren]

how thick is your icon head gasket comp?

thanks for the replies

and i hope you get your head gasket deal all worked out with this car man

 

[ComposiMo]

Tiersin: I have them in stock, ready to roll. And it is exactly the same as an OEM Gasket... no downsides

StickerShop: No drawbacks at all really... doesn't hurt anything, seals just as well, and is easier to replace. Its also a LOT more difficult to actually blow a headgasket with an MLS gasket.

Dren: The MLS gasket is 0.037 i believe, versus the stock paper one that is roughly 0.046 (as-measued by my caliper here). So it will bump compression up just a tad (0.13:1 higher to 9.31:1 according to the C-Speed Calculator).