LT1-LT4 Modifications 1993-97 Gen II Small Block V8

White smoke After Opti replacement

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Old Mar 21, 2013 | 08:08 PM
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Default White smoke After Opti replacement

well today i thought was i going to finish up my car after slowly replacing optispark, and waterpump and wires as well. 3 weeks in been in the garage on stands. well it fires up and starts blink with a misfire (P0300) but not specific to any cylinder and also lots of white smoke. oil is fine checked that. the car just hiccups a lot and isn't right. I triple checked the wires and made sure they all made it into their rightful place in the opti. The white smoke isn't making sense to me, its not faint either it doesn't get worse and it doesn't fade. the needle was on the outside of the redzone and that was a second before i shut it down, when it originally went out 3 weeks ago. no steam no smell. and ran fine home after a drink of water but not thinks aren't right. i'm 17 so the technician jargon won't help. This is very frustrating for someone like me who wants to know things about cars, but doesn't have very many resourses. Not looking for a pity party... just help. :con fused:
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Old Mar 21, 2013 | 08:18 PM
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Sounds like a blown head gasket or warped head to me, this is exactly what happened to mine a long time ago. The white smoke is probably from burning coolant (you can probably smell it). Check your coolant levels and see if it is burning any, it'll burn slowly. That's my guess, maybe someone knows of another reason for burning coolant.
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Old Mar 21, 2013 | 08:19 PM
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Are the plug wires attached correctly?
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Old Mar 21, 2013 | 08:24 PM
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Man i sure hope not.... this car only has 109,995 on it. first time overheating ever. i was refilling and bleeding the system today and the smoke just started today. if this is the case the car is going bye bye.
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Old Mar 21, 2013 | 08:50 PM
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One way to tell would be to see if there is low compression in any of the cylinders. That could be a sign of something IN the engine being wrong.
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Old Mar 21, 2013 | 08:54 PM
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Should be able to rent a cooling system pressure test kit/pump from your local auto parts retailer. This will be the simplest way to confirm if you have coolant going where it shouldn't. Although it does SEEM like you blew a gasket when it went close to redlining.

What happened the first time? over heated and leaked all over your opti?
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Old Mar 21, 2013 | 09:12 PM
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Check the waterpump collar, you should be able to see it behind the waterpump connecting to the engine. It has happened again and again that it comes off with the old water pump and returned for the core!
this would mean the water pump isn't hooked up and not cooling anything.
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Old Mar 21, 2013 | 09:36 PM
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thanks for the help. I'll finish filling and bleed the system and see if I still have a problem. Idk about the misfire though
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Old Mar 21, 2013 | 09:37 PM
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Originally Posted by 02v8ta
Should be able to rent a cooling system pressure test kit/pump from your local auto parts retailer. This will be the simplest way to confirm if you have coolant going where it shouldn't. Although it does SEEM like you blew a gasket when it went close to redlining.

What happened the first time? over heated and leaked all over your opti?
Yes, couldn't keep in coolant and ran like crap
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Old Mar 23, 2013 | 10:25 AM
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Car still smokes and has was appears to be a rod knock. Its done guys
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