Possible head gasket leak?

[wasco]

I know this is probably vague, but I have a rebuilt 383 and after the break-in I changed the oil and filter and have put about five miles on it, bombing around the neighborhood. A friend took a video of me squeezing it back into the garage and I noticed puffs of white exhaust coming from the passenger side. The day was fairly cold, maybe low 40s, and this was after the drive, so the engine was at 180. The upper radiator hose is HARD and hot to the touch - the bottom one is hard and cold. Shouldn't the upper hose be less hard after the thermostat opens or does the pressure remain constant? I guess the aluminum high-flow water pump and massive aluminum radiator are doing their job, since the radiator is hot to the touch on top, cold on the bottom. It doesn't seem to be low on coolant, and the oil looks clean. Are the rings still seating themselves and the puffs of white exhaust aren't a concern (yet)? I figured I'd get one of those dual-gauge leak-down test kits to check things, although I've never used one. Maybe I shouldn't worry about it until a more obvious sign? I checked the thermostat again and replaced the radiator cap, but haven't run the engine since.

 

[Cranky]

Full dual exhaust? How long did you drive it? It's possible there is still some moisture in the exhaust system if you didn't drive it all that much. Then engine takes water in from the bottom of the radiator and discharges from the top so if you didn't drive it much, the radiator may still be cool on the bottom....but not cold. How cold was it? Also, is the exhaust separate from side to side, X pipe or? Does the engine have a heat riser valve in the exhaust manifold?

 

[Mick56]

Did you retorque the head gaskets? Some require that. You could also do a compression check on all cylinders.

 

[wasco]

It has headers with no heat riser and full dual exhaust - no x-pipe. I drove it for maybe ten minutes. The head bolts are ARP and the heads are Edelbrock E-street aluminum. The gaskets are whatever Edelbrock required - didn't use the ones in the Felpro set. I'll check their instructions to see if they need to be re-torqued. I hadn't thought of that - never had a fresh engine before! I own a compression tester - I'll do that first before the leak-down, since I'll have to "rent" that tool. It's 60 over with flat pistons and 10:1 compression - what PSI should I be expecting? Thanks very much for the tips

*There is no mention of re-torquing the head bolts after warm up in the Edelbrock instruction sheet.....

 

[R413]

Sounds like a normal engine operating on a cold day.

With 17 head bolts and new heads the chance of a blown head gasket is very slim.

Can you post the video?

 

[wagonman]

Go to O Reillys and rent a CO sniffer easy to use and pretty accurate. Also check the breather cap for a mayo looking sludgy looking crap. Dipstick also. We called it Intermix. Recently pulled the plugs on a 383 with hedders, compression was 165 to 170 then did a leak down test 8 to 6% all cyls. Not fun. If you find a suspect cyl put shop air to it and look for bubbles in the Rad. Cometic gaskets should not require a re-torque but it wont hurt. Probably have to pull the hedders for that. Start with the easy stuff. Good luck.

 

[snakeoil24]

Get a carbon monoxide test kit and sample the coolant

 

[1967coronet]

I am betting on just the cool weather also and condensation.
Run it with the rad cap off at temp see if it is bubbling the coolant.
Also pull plugs looking for a washed clean one.
compression test will tell if you still have any doubt.

 

[Geoff 2]

Smoke, any colour, coming out one side only would worry me.
White smoke is usually coolant or brake fluid. Check your brake booster/master cyl seal by removing the vac hose, see if smoke stops.

 

[wasco]

Let's see if a link to the video will work:

 

[R413]

That’s not smoke, it looks like condensation, which is a byproduct of combustion. And new engine make a lot more than a worn out car engine.

see how it just comes out of the tip and disappears? Smoke won’t do that.

Go for a 20 minute drive in the freeway and then see what it does. Engine and pipes will be hot and you won’t see any of that.

That’s quite a garage.

 

[wasco]

That’s quite a garage.

Yeah, I sold the '67 Camaros (two) to get the Charger and now I need to widen the garage door opening this summer. Worth it!
Thanks for the comments - that makes me feel better. I'll keep an eye on things to make sure, maybe do a compression test after a few more miles.