post-head gasket replacement question...

DrFishbone

SCCoA Member
okay, i replaced the head gaskets and such...the passenger side rear cylinder (#3) was having water poured into it (the metal ring on the gasket blew between the water port and the cylinder) ...there was lots of coolant in the oil (nasty olive green color) and the level was mush higher (from water getting in the oil) i emptied all the oil i could and cleaned everything i could see that had the dirty oil on/in it and also drained all the coolant out of the engine...i've replaced the coolant with water (just to flush everything before adding antifreeze) and filled the oil back up with good clean oil. i checked the oil level before running the engine, and then after running it for about 10 minutes total, i checked it again, there was no significant addition of fluid (water) to the oil, so the level was the same, but the oil was nasty looking once again (maybe not quite as bad) . all new gaskets, rtv sealant, new head bolts (tighened in the proper sequence at the proper torques), and car starts and runs nice and smooth once again. (i haven't tried it after it has sit for awhile yet...to see if water would be leaking into the cylinder(s) while it wasn't running

anyways, what i'm wanting to know from anyone that had a headgasket blow this way. is how everything went after all was said and done....how many times did you drain/refill the oil before it was good and clean, and how much would be okay for the exhaust to smoke?? before i did all this, there was water POURING out of the exhaust with lots of smoke(steam that is :)), now it's just a medium-low amount of smoke (some may be from the residual water in the exhaust pipes and such) i'm just trying to decide if the dang head gaskets i put in are leaking, or if it's just burning out the nasty from before...anyways, any input is welcome!!!thanks guyzzz :D

dRfiSH
 
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3 oil changes, make sure you get it running for a few minutes at a higher idle to try to bring down the old residue, REAL STEAMY, the best is tell your buddy to rev the gas while you bring the exhaust hose into his window, dont ask;) , for some reason he wasnt happy?:rolleyes: . I think the biggest problem you'll have is worrying if the bearings will last, if driven for too many miles the water in the oil doesnt lube too well, slim chance though:D
 
Break-in Period

The heads on the car were ground smooth before replacement. A friend said this would cause the top of the engine to be tighter than the rest, and throw off the balance between the top and bottom of the engine until it's broken in a bit. If this is the case, how long should the break-in period be before the engine is ready for serious driving?
 
as soon as the coolants rid of air bubbles. There is no real break in time. Maybe if you want you can take it easy for the first 2 -3 warm up cycles, thats it at most.
 
A friend said this would cause the top of the engine to be tighter than the rest, and throw off the balance between the top and bottom of the engine until it's broken in a bit

I've never subscribed to this theory, and I don't understand the reasoning behind it. If your engine can't handle head gaskets and valves that properly seal, then you should probably be doing more than just head gaskets. The biggest killer after the hg replacement as AssClown stated is coolant in the oil. If it is driven for too long and the coolant gets mixed in with the oil and into the bearings then you run into trouble. That is where you get people that are all pissed off because they spun a bearing 2 weeks after they got done fixing their hg's. Personally, I've done several hg jobs on the 3.8 and never had a problem. The key is to shut it down as soon as they blow.
 
think i got it

should be one healthy bird, alls well! smoke cleared up (just coolant and oil i spilled on the block and manifolds) and drove it up front and back to teh garage....runs better than i've ever heard it run, course i cleaned just about every dang passage that there is in every dang part on teh thing!! :) anyways, see me post "brothas and sistas rejoice" to get an idea how happy and proud of myself i am ;) thanks guys, take care!

Derrktor feesh
 
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