[agauda]

I've got bubbling coolant steaming from my carb and coolant dripping from my exhaust. It's an edelbrock 750cfm sitting on a performer RPM intake on a 350. I hope that just the intake is cracked or a gasket burned. No milky dipstick. Hard to start and it smokes like a train that's on fire (white smoke which looks alot like water vapor) Recently it overheated because of a bad water pump & inoperative dashboard indicator lights... Any suggestions before I tear it apart? (I'm a newbie to this if you haven't guessed yet!) Thanks in advance for the help guys.

 

[66rat]

Any time you see coolant running out the tail pipe, your in trouble. I wouldn't run it any longer until you find out the problem or you could hydraulic a rod if it fills up with water. Hopefully it's just a head gasket, but you could have cracked a head. At any rate you'll have to pull the heads to assess the carnage. Good luck.

 

[SSteve L]

I'll second that. Definitely don't run it anymore until the problem is found. If you did crack or warp a head, it's bad enough, don't wreck anything else.

------------------
Steve

72 Chevelle SS402/4sp

 

[agauda]

Ok... One more question. If it is the heads what is involved with replacing them? Is it just a bolt on job where I can buy some that are for my engine's displacement or do I have to get a matching crankshaft too? Are aluminum heads all what they are cracked up to be performance wise?

P.S.They were leaking oil also and were in desperate need of adjustment and repair anyways so I'm not too broken hearted

It just gives me a reason to do it now...

 

[BAD415]

Yer burning coolant. Cracked head or bad gasket for sure. The extra steam is one or more of your cylinders filling up with water as she sets. New heads are a piece of cake.

 

[Randy Mosier]

You have an infinite number of choices on heads. It's just a matter of how much you want to spend. It's time for you to locate a reliable and trustworthy automotive machine shop. Ask around, get good, word of mouth references. If this is a high mileage engine, you may want to consider a complete rebuild. If you want to tackle this project yourself, be aware that there is more to this than a simple head repair or gasket swap. Since your engine is steaming, of course the heads will have to be removed. They'll need to go to a machine shop to be reconditioned and checked for cracks. Pressure testing would be recommended here. Then you'll need to determine if there is any damage to the bottom end. If any coolant was sitting on top of the pistons, you may have bent a connecting rod while cranking the engine. A lot of things have to be looked at when you get a problem like yours. I highly recommend you get someone experienced to help you. I don't want to discourage you from tackling this yourself, but this engine will need to be looked at by some experienced eye

[This message has been edited by Randy Mosier (edited 12-14-99).]

 

[ED1966SS]

One other possibility is a cracked cylinder wall. If you poured cold coolant into it when it overheated you might have cracked a cylinder wall.

If you are not experienced with major motor repairs you might be better to take it somewhere for analysis. Or find a very knowledgeable friend to help you. As Randy Mosier stated "this engine will need to be looked at by some experienced eyes".