94ZR1

I put new vale cover cover gasket to stop an oil leak yesterday
and drove the truck to work today and white smoke-steam was coming out of the exhaust and eventually it just quit- like it overheated
Oil looked fine, radiator cap was cold and it appears that a previous owner pored about a gallon of stop leak in it
After stting and cooling off it got me to work which was only a few blocks
Before I put on the pass side vlave cover gasket and upperintake gasket it didnt do this There was a lot of blue RTV gasket silicone stuff on it

Could a stuck t stat do this The white coming out of the tail pipes has me worried about head gasket warped head etc but the steam was coming out of both pipes

HELP

A search revealed that this often happens when changing valve cover gaskets...HMMMMM
I have put in all new plugs wires cap rotor etc
I just went out and started it and it started fine and then started smoking (steam) after about 30 seconds
I had the upper intake off but I dont think any coolant passages run through it??????

DixieDarkhorse

Yeah, i don't see how the valve cover gasket would do it, like you said you searched in the last part of your post. The upper definitly doesn't have any coolant passages in it BUT the throttle body on my year does but that still doesn't do much for me. I would go to the parts store and borrow a coolant system pressure tester (if you don't have one) pressurize the system to 16lbs pull out all you plugs and see if any cooland runs out the cylinders and if it doesn't run out of the cylinders it would probably goes past the rings so i would check your oil. I don't think a stuck thermostat would do it because it if was stuck closed it would overheat and you would notice that and if it was stuck open it would probably never heat up. Some auto parts stores also carry a tool called the "block tester" (i just recently got one for a friends car) You put some blue fluid in this tube, then hold it down over your radiator opening and squeeze this ball on top a few times to draw "coolant air" into the tube and if it turns the fluid yellow you 100% have combustion gasses in your cooling system, indicating cracked block/head or head gasket. That tester would be able to detect a pinhole leak in your head gasket where the pressure method might not show it. some thoughts

94ZR1

The upper intake gasket wasnt sealing at the back closest to the firewall
So I removed the upper intake (again) and sealed it with RTV gasket maker

Havent started it yet bc its rainy here and the RTV isnt drying very fast

Could that have been the problem???????
Why would it blow out steam????

Where is Sean???
Never let me down before

wde3477

Did your temperature gauge indicate that the engine was running hot? Could have a stuck thermostat, or given your comment about stop leak and a cold radiator cap - perhaps a blocked radiator core. White smoke can be a sign that the engine is running way hot - but don't understand why you see it so soon after starting up.

By upper intake gasket - I'm assuming you mean the gasket between the curved intake plenum and the 'conventional' intake manifold? If so - not seeing how the work you did would cause what you're seeing, unless there's something going on with the coolant going to the throttle body - a leak that is somehow getting sucked into the manifold area that would be common to both sides.

Just call me Sean

iTrader: (1)

How long have you had this truck? It sounds like someone had it apart before to doctor it up for a temporary fix and sale. The stop leak isn't a good sign, it could also be block sealer. Is your exhaust true dual? Because if it's not then the white smoke can cross over to both sides. The stop leak and the warped intake are signs that the truck has been overheated before, and this recent overheating didn't help. You shouldn't need RTV to seal the upper intake. You may have a cracked head or blown head gasket. Pull out the spark plugs and check the condition of them. They should all look relatively similiar, but if coolant or water (whichever you use) is entering the combustion chamber then one or two will be either cleaner than the others or it will have chalky white residue on it.

94ZR1

I havent had it for long but it did sit for a few years
Exhaust is a true dual and the truck ran fine before I put the valve cover on it
When I took the upper intake off this time I noticed it had been welded where the back drivers side bolt goes through so it wasnt sealing
I started it yesterday and I think its OK now but couldnt tell cause of the condensation but it did run better
When I replaced the plugs they looked fine so I dont think it is warped cracked etc but you are right it cold be block sealant
I will see if it ever quits raining

Good old Bill

Sounds like everything is fine now. Could you please tell me what a 302 5M engine is? The 5M is confusing me. Just curious.

DixieDarkhorse

5 speed manual ?

90150F

so in the end was it because the intake man was not sealed good? Mine did the same thing. I did the same thing you did. I changed all that stuff and got it driving and it smoked like crazy. Drove it long enough a fire got started by my pass side exhaust man. Got it put out and changed the valve cover gasket and wires again. Should I put rtv silicone on the intake manifold? someone told me I didn't need too