1985 Smoke Stack:(

[1QUICK85]

Well my fears from last fall, since my V2 intake conversion, have come true. Or at least I am 99.999% sure!! I have a blown headgasket! The other day I had a little white smoke from start up but I just thought she may have some moisture in the exhaust from storage......but then friday night I was out beating on her. She laid a nice 75ft black mark when I did a smoke show. The I drove it for an hour or so and the white smoke starting pouring out of the exhaust........I had to roll my windows up it was so bad

The good news is there is not antifreeze in the oil.........I have been checking that all the time. I am guessing I blew it right before I did the conversion. So, this whole time I have been chasing down little problems and the whole time is has been a headgasket. The other good news is I finally know what my boost problem is.

Couple of questions:
What am I in for? I have had the intake, downpipe, up pipe, turbo.......all that good stuff off the car already......so pretty much it would just be the valve covers and heads? Any tricks to doing headgaskets? The heads shouldnt need a valve job as the engine was rebuilt about 10k miles ago. This will be my first headgasket change, so it should be interesting. I am thinking I can probably bang it out in a couple of days. The car never overheated or anything so warped head shouldnt be a prob.

Should I just do both sides, if it is just one side blown? How hard is it to do a individual compression test of every cylinder and how do you do it? Do you need two guys to do it and were to get a tester?

Nick

 

[racemybuick]

if your motor is a pretty fresh rebuild, then you can get away with just the head gaskets, in my opinion. You are right, just the valve covers, and heads come up, but be sure to keep those rods in order, and in the right direction...watch the lifter rods! I would suggest replacing both sides for the head gasket. Get a stock 87 set, or the felpro's, but most people I have talked to said spend a little more and get the dealer 87 set. Do both, and make sure to torqe them right.

As for the compression testing, it is definately a two person job. You need to diconnect the 3CI, and one person turns the car over, while the other tests each cylinder. A compression tester can most likely be found at any car parts store like advance auto or auto zone...Sears craftsman also sells them, but I am not sure if they are cataloge order or just at the store. Mine came in a kit I bought a few years ago. Either way, you need the guage, shich screws into the spark plug hole...Just remove the spark plug for the cylinder you are checking, anc have someone turn the car over. Do that for each cyl, and make sure you leave all the other plugs on.

I am not totally sure of the numbers you should be looking for, so anyone else please cime in and shoot em over. Good luck!

John

 

[1QUICK85]

Does anyone use the 85 head gaskets? What is the difference between the 85 & 87 gaskets(are the 85's metal.....I thought I read that somewhere)? Will the push rods come out with the head or stay seated in the engine?

Do you know if Autozone has compression tester on there equipment loaner program thingy they do or how much do they run?

Thanks much, Nick.

 

[boostmaster]

Head Gaskets !!

If you have an early model 84-85 engine block you must use the stock steel shim or equal head gasket. The later 86-87 head gasket is much thicker and will lower your compression ratio as well as cause possible intake misalignment.

 

[1QUICK85]

How do you know which block you got? Should I just stick with the 85 gaskets?

TIA, Nick

 

[Bat]

Hot airs use

Hot air cars use the steel shim head gaskets. There not the same as the 86-87 ones. Some of the 86-87 crowd are using the steel shim stacked together. Do a search and see what others have used here. Lee comes to mind without thinking a lot.
You may have to take the push rods out because they may not stay in place. A scrap piece of wood with holes drilled in it and marked rear to front will hold them. Just make sure they are returned to the holes they came from.

 

[1QUICK85]

The more reading I do on this the more I feel damn lucky that the antifreeze didnt get in to the oil system. I am actually kinda of glad.......kinda........that I finally know what is going on with the damn car and now I can fix it. Hopefully have her running in a week once this semester of school is over........ugh and then I can hit the streets and dragstrip with full boost.

Anymore info or suggests would be great......thanks much guys!!

Nick

 

[WFO]

first off...are you losing coolant?does the smoke smell like antifreeze?if so then it's a safe bet that you have a blown hg or cracked head...

if not i'd pull your downpipe off and make sure it's not oil dumping out of your turbo.yeah,i know oil smoke is supposed to be blue,and when it's coming from the combustion chamber it is...but i've seen bad turbo seals blow grey smoke out of the tail pipe.

if it is a hg you will want to use stock 84 head gaskets and arp bolts.

 

[1QUICK85]

I really couldnt make out the smell at all.........I will have to go sniff around again at her...........I have noticed the coolant lose but I havent driven her much this year and I just replaced the thermo gasket again.......finally sealed too.......so she just got fresh coolant.

Well, since there isnt any coolant in the oil.....is it going to hurt to drive her a little to see what is up with it?? Just around town to see if the coolant goes down and what she smells like. I am doing a leak test before I rip into anything major.

thanks WFO for the heads up on that, Nick.

 

[1QUICK85]

I got the compression tester today........the directions say to do it when the engine has warmed up............So, what am I suppose to do........burn my damn hands off.......especially on the passenger side?? What will happen if I do it and the car has been run in a day or two??Cold!!

I took her out a little today........for like 5 minutes......still no antifreeze in the oil and running at a high of 11# of boost........still breaks the tires loose.

If it is my turbo seal would that cause me from getting more boost I cant get anymore boost then 11#. For that reason I am almost positive it is a headgasket. I guess my question will be answered with a compression test.......just have to find time to do it. School gets out soon........thanks much guys.

Nick