engine smoking after cylinder head rebuild

[Zdriver]

hey guys i got a problem with my Z i got the heads and everything put back together and it seems to run fine but after a little bit of running i noticed some white smoke coming from behind the timing covers. i put in new head gasket, manifold gaskets, and a few other gaskets including liquid gasket for some things. do you think its just the new liquid/metal gaskets and old fluids burning off the engine? its a bit of a concern and im not sure. any inputs would be great!

[SleeperPower]

Smoke from behind the backing plate? Is the smoke white or light grey? What does it smell like? Compression?

[nissanfreak12]

hey guys i got a problem with my Z i got the heads and everything put back together and it seems to run fine but after a little bit of running i noticed some white smoke coming from behind the timing covers. i put in new head gasket, manifold gaskets, and a few other gaskets including liquid gasket for some things. do you think its just the new liquid/metal gaskets and old fluids burning off the engine? its a bit of a concern and im not sure. any inputs would be great!

How long have you let it run after the everything ha been put back together? If it was only for a short timeless than a week, yes things still need to burn off. If its been a few weeks or so, you may have a leak near the bypass hoses or water pump.

[Zdriver]

the smoke is white and its not thick smoke and i honestly just got it done yesterday and its ran for no longer then 5 minutes. and it smells almost like burning rubber and or plastic or even fluid from when i spilled some on the engine from before i started the build.

[SleeperPower]

Timing belt isn't making any noise, right? If not, give it some more time but constantly check your oil and coolant.

[Zdriver]

nope timing belt sounds fine. no sqeals or anything. just weird that it would be smoking after only a minute of me starting it

[nissanfreak12]

Remember, you have grease, oil, coolant, silicone, and whatever your grimy little fingers touched all over that engine. After I got my engine back in, it smoked for a week, mainly at the exhaust/transmission. Its normal, as long as everything is running good, no leaks, and nothing is rubbing. The biggest problem is some people install the timing belt without the washer at the crank, it starts to move and then it will rub and cause all kinds of problem. But if you checked that and its not rubbing, check your acc belts, make sure they are aligned and not rubbing. if all good, just keep an eye on it. If it doesn't stop after a couple of days or at least calm way down, something is wrong.

Check the wiring to the alt, make sure its not shorted or over charging as well. Make sure the wires to the PTU are not rubbing on anything.

[Zdriver]

alright man thanks that helps me out alot! now that i know that its a common thing after a build im not as worried about it lol

[nissanfreak12]

Just keep a close eye on it, don't want all the hard work you put in the car be destroyed because of something that wasn't set right.

[Zdriver]

yeah thats for sure lol alright man thanks ill post more about it if i find something

[Zdriver]

also compression is strong after i changed the head gaskets there was oil on the plugs before i changed the gaskets now they are normal havent seen any leaks or nothing

[Jiinx]

I did that once. I rebuilt the head and plunked it down on top of the old tired bottom end.
I had the same problem... a light smoke from the exhaust, more when you stepped on it.
When I re-ringed the pistons, it went away.

[ZL8NING]

You just nuked a ghost from the past!