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

White Smoke and Coolant Loss-Help Needed

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Old Apr 18, 2016 | 03:08 PM
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Default White Smoke and Coolant Loss-Help Needed

I put fresh set of LE2 heads on last spring. I got about 600 miles on it and starting noticing some white smoke and then eventually some coolant loss. At first I would notice a random puff of smoke occasionally when pulling away from a stop sign. Finally after doing a heavy datalogging run, I got some pretty heavy white smoke. This happened when I shut the car off when it was hot then started it up about a minute later. It blew out a lot of white smoke. I have not driven the car since then.

I pulled the heads off this past weekend. Just wondering if anyone sees anything that looks real obvious in these pics?

I did notice #1 cyl had some weird black gunk in the intake port on the head. All of the other ones were spotless.

I also saw one small knick in the #4 intake port. Maybe this is a small pin hole from porosity in the casting? All of the other ports are super smooth and spotless.

I plan to have either Lloyd on my machine shop check the heads out. Just wondering if you guys had any thoughts? Thanks!
Attached Thumbnails White Smoke and Coolant Loss-Help Needed-01-pass-side-block-gasket.jpg   White Smoke and Coolant Loss-Help Needed-01-pass-side-block-no-gasket.jpg   White Smoke and Coolant Loss-Help Needed-01-pass-side-gasket-down.jpg   White Smoke and Coolant Loss-Help Needed-01-pass-side-gasket-up.jpg   White Smoke and Coolant Loss-Help Needed-01-pass-side-head.jpg  

White Smoke and Coolant Loss-Help Needed-02-driv-side-block-gasket.jpg   White Smoke and Coolant Loss-Help Needed-02-drive-side-block-no-gasket.jpg   White Smoke and Coolant Loss-Help Needed-02-driv-side-gasket-down.jpg   White Smoke and Coolant Loss-Help Needed-02-driv-side-gasket-up.jpg   White Smoke and Coolant Loss-Help Needed-02-drive-side-head.jpg  

White Smoke and Coolant Loss-Help Needed-03-cyl-1-intake-gunk.jpg   White Smoke and Coolant Loss-Help Needed-04-cyl-4-intake-knick.jpg  
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Old Apr 18, 2016 | 05:23 PM
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From: Jackstandican
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1,3,6,8 look to be the cleanest, meaning most likely coolant was leaking into them. Did you pay attention to how the spark plugs looked and out of which cylinders they came out of? You need to get the heads pressure tested.
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Old Apr 18, 2016 | 06:08 PM
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Thanks for the reply. Yes I pulled the plugs a few months ago. Saw some definite differences. 2, 3, 4, 5 looked pretty clean.

The tune was real rich until we finally started getting it dialed in. We were having issues with the injector offsets. Finally had the tune pretty close and then started blowing white smoke. I think the rich tune was probably why some of the plugs were pretty dark. Would running rich cause any problems with the heads sealing? I know lean is never good.
Attached Thumbnails White Smoke and Coolant Loss-Help Needed-05-plugs.jpg  
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Old Apr 19, 2016 | 11:37 AM
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From: Jackstandican
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No. If it were me I'd take the heads to a shop and have them pressure tested and check to make sure the heads are not warped. What head gaskets did you use?
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Old Apr 19, 2016 | 03:23 PM
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I used Victor Reinz 5898 .026” Head Gaskets. Number side up.

Definitely planning on getting the heads pressure checked and checked for flatness. Lloyd said he would check them out, so I will probably send them back to him. If they heads are junk, that will probably change the direction I go with the motor and the car unfortunately.
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