I picked up an '89 notch that had "possibly" had some work done to the motor internally but you know how that goes. Anyways it does have a Crane cam and heads appear to be stock.
I drove the car before buying and it ran strong, didn't notice any leaks, no high temps, smoke, nothing. So a week later I go to pick it up and drive about 10 minutes down the road to fill it up for the drive home. Temp gauge got to normal level and then lowered a bit once the thermostat kicked in. Didn't notice anything weird other than a oil smell like it was on the exhaust. No biggie I thought. So I stop and fill up and notice a trail of oil behind me and look under the front and there was a puddle about the size of a CD within a minute or two of stopping. I popped the hood and it was caked all over the lower front side of the engine bay. Instead of risking an 80 mile drive I got a tow home.
Replaced the water pump, front main seal, and bought a Motorsport balancer since the stocker had started to lose the rubber piece. When I took it all apart some anti freeze got down into the oil pan, not a lot but I could see it. The oil had been drained and it looked fine before I replaced everything. After I put it all back together I removed both drain plugs from the pan for about 30 minutes to make sure I got out as much AF as possible. None came out of the rear plug but the front plug drained out a little. I filled it with oil and new AF and started it up. It ran fine, idled great, and had no leaks. After about 30-45 seconds though it started smoking pretty bad from around where the headers mate to the heads and from under the upper intake. I shut it down immediately and drained the oil. Oil from the rear plug looked fine, no water mixed in. The plug on the front though a little more water came out. I let the plugs stay out for another 30 minutes or so and filled it with fresh oil. Started it back up and it ran fine for another 30 seconds or so before smoking again. It started to stumble on the idle like it wanted to die. No weird noises from the motor though.
It smells like AF and it's white so I'm sure that's what it is. My question is does this sound like a blown head gasket or is AF getting in the motor somewhere or is it burning off what may have been left in the pan? I'm pretty sure I used the correct timing/WP gaskets. Since I have no history of the motor if it is I will just look into buying a long block.
I drove the car before buying and it ran strong, didn't notice any leaks, no high temps, smoke, nothing. So a week later I go to pick it up and drive about 10 minutes down the road to fill it up for the drive home. Temp gauge got to normal level and then lowered a bit once the thermostat kicked in. Didn't notice anything weird other than a oil smell like it was on the exhaust. No biggie I thought. So I stop and fill up and notice a trail of oil behind me and look under the front and there was a puddle about the size of a CD within a minute or two of stopping. I popped the hood and it was caked all over the lower front side of the engine bay. Instead of risking an 80 mile drive I got a tow home.
Replaced the water pump, front main seal, and bought a Motorsport balancer since the stocker had started to lose the rubber piece. When I took it all apart some anti freeze got down into the oil pan, not a lot but I could see it. The oil had been drained and it looked fine before I replaced everything. After I put it all back together I removed both drain plugs from the pan for about 30 minutes to make sure I got out as much AF as possible. None came out of the rear plug but the front plug drained out a little. I filled it with oil and new AF and started it up. It ran fine, idled great, and had no leaks. After about 30-45 seconds though it started smoking pretty bad from around where the headers mate to the heads and from under the upper intake. I shut it down immediately and drained the oil. Oil from the rear plug looked fine, no water mixed in. The plug on the front though a little more water came out. I let the plugs stay out for another 30 minutes or so and filled it with fresh oil. Started it back up and it ran fine for another 30 seconds or so before smoking again. It started to stumble on the idle like it wanted to die. No weird noises from the motor though.
It smells like AF and it's white so I'm sure that's what it is. My question is does this sound like a blown head gasket or is AF getting in the motor somewhere or is it burning off what may have been left in the pan? I'm pretty sure I used the correct timing/WP gaskets. Since I have no history of the motor if it is I will just look into buying a long block.