rocheman1 Posted January 1, 2011 Report Share Posted January 1, 2011 Hey Guys, I just got my 88 Quest, with about 30k on a rebuild. The dude just put on a new head within the last 1000 miles or so.. an aftermarket one, without Jet Valves. I had put 500 miles or so on the car when....on a VERY cold morning I went to start it and it fired and then died. I could never get it started and all of the ignition stuff looked good, so I had a local shop look at it. They found that the plugs were the "splitfire" kind, and they were fouled, with a lot of fuel in the cylinders. They swapped them with regular plugs (but probably wrong heat range for the big turbo on it), and then it started up and ran good. BUT IMMEDIATELY BLEW CLOUDS OF WHITE SMOKE. dang. Most of this motor is almost new, so I'm wondering how the head gasket could have given it up so fast. Compression is good in all cylinders, and I found that after the car has reached operating temperatures the smoke almost completely goes away. Given the fact that it smokes IMMEDIATELY after I start the car, wreaks of burnt coolant, and quits when the engine is hot... do you guys agree that I might as well plan to swap the head gasket? If so, any hints on what brand of new gasket to use, any gotchas to watch out for, etc? Thanks much!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Indiana Posted January 2, 2011 Report Share Posted January 2, 2011 I'll vote when the intake manifold gasket was put on there wasn't sealant applied to each side of the gasket around the two water passages. Look under the intake in the front and back for any drips of coolant. Make sure the nuts on the intake are tight especially the ones on the underside. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Killtodie Posted January 2, 2011 Report Share Posted January 2, 2011 Can you smell burning coolant? You're gonna get white smoke on a cold day. But yeah, Indiana has a point. Removing the intake is a PITA, some of those screws are impossible to reach, but shouldnt take more than 20 minutes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strang3majik Posted January 2, 2011 Report Share Posted January 2, 2011 or...the throttle body base gasket. Ask me how I know Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocheman1 Posted January 2, 2011 Author Report Share Posted January 2, 2011 or...the throttle body base gasket. Ask me how I know Definitely I smell burning coolant right away. The shop said that they saw coolant leaking from the "exhaust seams". I guess I'll go back to them and ask exactly what they meant by that. (manifold, flanges, etc) That statement about seeing coolant dripping from "exhaust seams" is messing with me. If it was a head gasket, or the intake manifold, or even throttle body gasket.. you'd think that any coolant would be vaporized by the time it got to the exhaust manifold. That's why I asked them if they thought it could possibly be the turbo leaking coolant into the exhaust manifold. But then they reminded me that if the turbo was leaking the coolant into the exhaust, you probably wouldn't get the white smoke immediately. That's a good point. Any thoughts? (I work 12-hr shifts on the weekends, so I won't be able to tear into it until Mon/Tues) Thanks guys! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Killtodie Posted January 3, 2011 Report Share Posted January 3, 2011 Do a compression test Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suprastar Posted January 4, 2011 Report Share Posted January 4, 2011 i have the exact same problem with my car.i replace everything including a new turbocharger and i can smell coolant burning and excessive white smoke? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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