White/steam exhaust

[70RR383]

New to the forum.. glad to be here.

I have a '70 matching 383 roadrunner. Had slight antifreeze white steam out of one tailpipe, but no major coolant level issue. Oil/trans fluid ok. Removed heads and intake, had the heads milled and pressure tested ok. Reinstalled everything, new felpro head gaskets (no sealant), started and ran great, but immediately had tons of white steam out of both tailpipes, never diminished only got worse and radiator was really low. Oil/trans fluids ok. When I was reinstalling the stock intake, with a new valley pan and paper gaskets on both sides, hard to get bolts started on one side, but evenually did. In another thread for a similar intake issue, moperformance suggested doing a visual check b/w intake & head, without valley pan. I will try that, and reinstall with just valley pan. I don't know if this could be associated with why i'm burning (alot) coolant on both sides now. Any ideas/suggestions greatly appreciated before I break it down again. Thanks

 

[detmatt1]

I got nothing for you but wonder if you got it figured out?

 

[MoparMitch]

Sound like a pretty weird problem. Please let us know what you find

 

[70rr-brian]

Am I missing something here? Why would you think the intake/valley is contributing to burning antifreeze?

How was the deck surface of the block?

Run a compression test.

Sounds like head gaskets are leaking. Possibly a warped or notched block?

 

[67 B-body]

A pressure check of the cooling system will point out any leaks, regardless of where the coolant is going. I wonder what the spark plugs look like? The intake should have no bearing on coolant consumption on a big block..... Did the machine shop check for cracks in the exh ports of the heads? Coolant runs along them and is why you need sealer on the exh bolts on factory heads. I would think by removing the exh manifolds / headers, you should see some clean exh ports on the cyl's in question.
In short, I'm betting on head gasket install issues, or cracked heads.

 

[70rr-brian]

I pulled this off of a google books. In case it comes to this...

To check for deck warp, select a machined straight-edge as long as the block deck. Set this on the deck and use a feeler gauge to check gaps between the straight-edge and the deck.
Measure several different places along the straight-edge, locating it at various angles across the deck. If any gap exceeds 0.007in. the block will have to be decked or, using the more popular term, milled.

Although the most accurate measurements will be made with a long straight-edge, a 12-in. one will suffice. Instead of the 0.007in. maximum, use 0.003in. If warp or notching exceeds 0.015in., the block should be discarded. Removing more than 0.015in could result in insufficient deck clearance-- distance between the top of the piston and the block's deck surface.

http://books.google.com/books?id=F4...um=2&ved=0CCYQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=warp&f=false

 

[70RR383]

Thanks for the suggestions. Heads were checked for cracks, all ok. When I get back into town, I will check all the plugs and if ok, hopefully it's just a lot of coolant in the exhaust pipes/mufflers from removing the heads. Will crank engine with no plugs in and if no coolant at plug holes, will run engine to burn off. Will post results.

 

[70RR383]

Thanks for the suggestions. Heads were checked for cracks, all ok. When I get back into town, I will check all the plugs and if ok, hopefully it's just a lot of coolant in the exhaust pipes/mufflers from removing the heads. Will crank engine with no plugs in and if no coolant at plug holes, will run engine to burn off. Will post results.

Ok, that did it. Pulled the plugs, cranked the engine, no coolant at plug holes. Ran the engine, some steam, but went away after burning off out of the pipes/mufflers. Runs great, no leaks, coolant level good. Seems like a lot of times it ends up being something simple. Next time I'll cover the exposed exhaust pipe flange when the heads are removed.

Thanks for your posts.

 

[moperformance]

GREAT! I just love happy endings:hello2: