I recently changed my spark plugs ON THE DRIVER SIDE and ALL OF THE wires.

Not to mention driver head gasket, both intake manifold gaskets and driver exhaust manifold gasket.

When I started the car up for the first time it started up right away. But began to make knocking noises in the driver side of the engine and SMOKE appeared to come from the exhaust manifold.

ABout the spark plugs- I bought the Bosch Platinums #4205. These spark plugs came with a gap of .045 . A Z28 requires a gap of .050.
So I regapped them. WOULD THIS CAUSE THE KNOCKING i HEAR?
tHE PASSENGER SIDE PLUGS WERE NOT CHANGED. AND I DO NOT KNOW WHAT THEY ARE GAPPED AT.
(I WAS GOING TO TAKE IT IN SO THEY CAN CHANGE THE PASSENGER SIDE SPARK PLUGS)

I did not know if the different brands would cause this or the .050 gap only applied to the RECOMMENDED spark plug brand.( I think AC Delco)

Can somebody help me out?

 

Gapping will not ake the engine knock. I would check the rockers first. If the rocker arms are all on and adjusted properly I'd begin to worry. Is it a loud knock or more of a tap?

 

Hard to say but you should start with the little things. First thing I'd check is spark plug wire order. May have a few swapped around and that will cause some real rough running.

Let us know what you find.

-Mindgame

 

Well, I have told my neighbor about the problem and he thinks it has something to do with the exhaust manifold.

If it is the exhaust manifold the only thing that could be wrong is, I didnt tighten it enough. I used a torque wrench at 35 pnds/foot. Which is what the Haynes manual said to do.

I will recheck the wiring sequence tomorrow when I wake up.

I would say that the noise is a pretty noticeable sound. I would not say it is very loud, but defintely cause for concern.

Once I check the wiring sequence and still find nothing I will admit defeat and take it to a private mechanic down the street.

If anybody else has an idea please voice it.

 

Is there smoke coming OFF the exhuast manifold or from behind it where it meets the head. If its coming out from where it meets the head then its not sealed good enough and your getting a loud ticking noise from the gases being released.

 

Well I found out what the noise was.... It was a loose push rod.

When I put the heads back on I ensured the pushrods were lined up correctly. Apparently when I put the valve covers on it knocked the rocker arm and it came off of the push rod.

Good news no more knocking noises... Bad news still have the smoke coming out of the exhaust manifold.

 

Probably bad valve seals.

Did you notice excessive carbon build up on the back of the exhaust valves when you pulled the heads?

-Mindgame

 

Well I am not that experienced when working with engines. So I do not know if I saw a build up of carbon compared to a non-build up.

But I did not notice anything really out of the ordinary from the pictures in the Haynes Manual.

The smokw is coming out of the exhaust manifold, I can not tell if it is coming from the exhaust mainfold gasket area or from where the exhaust mainfold connects to the Y-pipe.

 

Did it smoke before you did the work?

How much run time do you have on the engine since all the work was done?

Thanks.

-Mindgame

 

No it did not smoke smoke at all before I started the work.

The only problem I had before I started the project was the engine stuttering and acting funny after it got warmed up. After about two minutes when ever I would accelerate our shift into a higher gear the engine would stutter.
And of course overheating...which I have a new water pump in the mail for that.

I just finished the work last night and drove it only about half a mile since then. Around the block to make sure everything was put back on ok.

And the only thing wrong was the smoke (only noticed when the hood is up) and the low coolant level light, But that was on before I did the work.

 

I wouldn't worry about the smoke then. When you're working on an engine with oily/greasy hands you're gonna get some of that on the exhaust manifolds. It will smoke for a little while til it all burns off. Give it 50 miles and then check.

-Mindgame

 

Sounds good Ill try that

Thanks for the help.