Since I did my heads and cam I thought I might have had a small coolant leak. Just the other day after the motor was warm when a started it, there was enough white smoke to fill the garage. The next day I started the motor when cold and there was very little smoke. THere is no oil in the coolant or coolant in the oil. I just pulled the heads and can't see a problem with the head gasket or any obvious cracks in the heads. What do think my problem is?

 

was there anything noticable with the gaskets with the heads off?

 

couldn't find anything wrong with the gaskets.

 

My car was burning an insane amount of coolant when it was warmed up, and when I pulled the heads I saw nothing wrong with the gaskets at all. They looked fine. I came to the conclusion that as the engine expanded from the heat, a path opened up between the water jacket and one of the cylinders. It would only burn coolant under deceleration at temperatures above ~140. I decided to rebuild the engine, and I had the heads surfaced and crack-checked to be absolutely sure they were flat and good to go. Been running like a champ ever since.

 

no, thats not an expensive option...

if its a problem with the block not being flat, put rags in each of the cylinder and use a metal straight edge to check where the problem is. if you do find something, use a fine metal file and fix the area. do the same thing with the heads. make sure you get some nice felpro, or if you have lots of money, cometic gaskets.

 

did you change the oil after pulling the heads? did you get teh heads resurfaced?

 

You check to see if there was any blockage in the water passage bolts in the back of the heads? Just thinking out loud.

 

What's not an expensive option? I think I only paid $70 to have my heads checked out. Money well spent as far as I'm concerned. Like Drew said, it's also a very good idea to check the deck surface of the block with a straightedge and feeler gauge. Anything more than .002" per foot is cause for concern. Just make sure everything is VERY clean and flat before you reassemble. Also, dson't forget to use liquid teflon on the head bolts, or your crankcase will soon fill with water.

 

i thought you pulled the motor and went all out for a rebuild

 

Ahhhhhh. I see what you're saying. Yeah, I decided to pull it out because it had 113,000 miles on it and I had a Hotcam and other parts waiting to go in, and access to a shop, and money. However, if I had only wanted to fix the head gasket problem I would have definately done it in the car. Sorry about the confusion.