Very Cool Parts

Visit our community sponsor

Thanks Thanks:  0
Likes Likes:  0
Results 1 to 7 of 7

Thread: Running Rich Or ..........

  1. #1
    Senior Member RickP's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2016
    Location
    Boyertown, PA
    Posts
    683
    Post Thanks / Like

    Running Rich Or ..........

    Ok gents, looking for a little direction while GoDadGo sorts out his block issue. Maybe he will stumble across this post and put his issues at ease knowing he's not the only one having motor problems.


    The current symptom I am having is white smoke out the passenger side pipe only. At idle, I see the presence of white smoke and a little water at the end of the pipe. I would say its about 20% white smoke at idle. It does not smell sweet indicating coolant. Not that I have tracked it but seems like I am driving from gas station to gas station. I know what this motor will make on paper but not in reality. I can't help but think she is under performing. The Fitech is just in learning mode and no special tuning applied. Pretty much out of the box with base timing set at 13 degrees.

    The skinny:

    Ford 331 stroker, AFR heads, 10:1:1 comp, FITech EFI. FFR aluminum radiator with Breeze top/bottom radiator pipe/ side puke tank. Prior to this incident, I had replaced the lower corrugated radiator hose with Mark's tube. Out came 2.5 gallons of coolant and back in went 2.5 gallons of coolant.



    I am in my first 200 miles running 10-30 with Lucas cam break in oil. Things were going along swimmingly until I decided to put my foot down. All day long she will run between 170 and 185 degrees. Right after my cannon shot, the temp ran right up to 223 degrees. Pegged the dash dial but I am monitoring engine output with the Fitech controller. We stopped the car and let it cool down. When it would reach 185 degrees, we would drive it a little further and repeat. Finally we got some coolant and in went 3/4 gallon. I bee lined it for home with the temp back down to 170 ish and thought I was out of the woods thinking I just didn't have the cooling system properly filled.. That is until I noticed white smoke billowing out the passenger side pipe while sitting at a stop sign..Luckily I was less than a mile from my garage by that point.


    I let the car sit until the next morning and when cold, I couldn't see any coolant in the top pipe. Hmmm, I was able to add an additional 3/4 gal of coolant. I then pulled the oil breather cap and saw pudding underneath. Fearing a blown head gasket, I ordered a NAPA block tester and ran a test on it tonight which yielded no combustion leak present. Well I should say I was not able to suck any gas into the test tube. I tapped into the side fill nozzle that goes to the puke tank. The blue fluid stayed blue because the bulb squeezer couldn't suck air. I can't open the radiator cap unless I want to wear coolant. I'm going to run another test to be more certain of no combustion leak.

    So my first few questions are: What is the proper procedure for filling the radiator? How much coolant can I expect it to take? If the engine is not consuming coolant (and I don't think it is), I can only suspect an exhaust leak. How can I determine if a leak is present?

    Thank guys for any input. I would like to send the car to a tuner but I want to know my foundation is ok before doing so.

  2. #2
    Senior Member Gordon Levy's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Location
    Maricopa AZ
    Posts
    1,273
    Post Thanks / Like
    Blown head gasket, wrong head gasket or gasket on backwards are your most likely cause.
    99/2000 NASA PSO Champion-2005 west coast FFR challenge series Champions
    Sponsor Tony B's 2007 ST2 National Championship
    2009 NASA TTC runner up-2010 NASA TTB runner up

  3. #3
    Senior Member RickP's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2016
    Location
    Boyertown, PA
    Posts
    683
    Post Thanks / Like
    Quote Originally Posted by Gordon Levy View Post
    Blown head gasket, wrong head gasket or gasket on backwards are your most likely cause.
    I hope none of the above Gordon. wrong head gasket and backwards are not on the list. Blown head gasket is a probability. Is there any sure fire way to test for a BHG other than what I have done?

  4. #4
    Senior Member Gordon Levy's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Location
    Maricopa AZ
    Posts
    1,273
    Post Thanks / Like
    Have you double checked the head torque?
    99/2000 NASA PSO Champion-2005 west coast FFR challenge series Champions
    Sponsor Tony B's 2007 ST2 National Championship
    2009 NASA TTC runner up-2010 NASA TTB runner up

  5. #5
    Senior Member Gordon Levy's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Location
    Maricopa AZ
    Posts
    1,273
    Post Thanks / Like
    If it's pushing white smoke there should be enough water in the cylinder to squirt out if you pull the plugs and crank the engine over. A proper compression or leak down test will also confirm this.
    99/2000 NASA PSO Champion-2005 west coast FFR challenge series Champions
    Sponsor Tony B's 2007 ST2 National Championship
    2009 NASA TTC runner up-2010 NASA TTB runner up

  6. #6
    Senior Member RickP's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2016
    Location
    Boyertown, PA
    Posts
    683
    Post Thanks / Like
    Quote Originally Posted by Gordon Levy View Post
    Have you double checked the head torque?
    I have not gone back and checked the head bolts. That's an easy to do.

  7. #7
    Senior Member RickP's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2016
    Location
    Boyertown, PA
    Posts
    683
    Post Thanks / Like
    Quote Originally Posted by Gordon Levy View Post
    If it's pushing white smoke there should be enough water in the cylinder to squirt out if you pull the plugs and crank the engine over. A proper compression or leak down test will also confirm this.
    thank you Gordon. I'll check those head bolts and if that doesn't yield anything, I'll move on to the testing you suggest. The head gaskets used were Fel-Pro 1011-2 and I remember checking the orientation a 100 times over before setting them in. I've never assembled and engine prior to this and anything is possible. If the gaskets are blown, it is what it is and I form a plan and get it fixed.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  

FFMetal

Visit our community sponsor