Is this normal?

Post by **jibroni69** » Mon Sep 22, 2003 2:35 pm

Just finished gettin the head all back together and everything wired back up, torqued the head down to specs in proper order and all. Started the car up like the book says, to warm up to normal operating temperature, before letting cool down and retorquing head a final time. Problem is when it was running, as it warmed up it started to blow white smoke, then as it warmed up more it blew more and ran poorly, now a long time ago i saw a friend replace his head gasket and i seem to remember it doing same thing. so is this normal procedure?

Post by **r34 gtr** » Mon Sep 22, 2003 2:35 pm

well, what exactly did you do when the head was off? i know if you replace the rings it blows white smoke until theyve seated, but im guessing youve just replaced the head gasket, so i dont think i can help you there. (and i know theres more work involved than removing the head to change the rings, i dont think im quite that retarded-but i could be wrong.)

-tim

Post by **jibroni69** » Mon Sep 22, 2003 2:35 pm

Ya i did a head gasket replacement, i also had the head taken into a shop to get dipped and magnafluxed as well as pressure tested and resurfaced. Right now im waiting for it too cool down so i can retorque the head.

Post by **iliketocrash** » Mon Sep 22, 2003 2:35 pm

you could always take the head back off and check to make sure everything's ok..

Post by **89240sx** » Mon Sep 22, 2003 2:35 pm

I think that is normal at first

Post by **Wreckless** » Mon Sep 22, 2003 2:35 pm

If the smoke is white and smells sweet you're dealing with a blown head gasket. Run it and see if temps rise and/or you lose coolant. If either of those happen I guarantee its a blown head gasket. What kind of head gasket are you using? If its a metal HG and you're replacing a blown stocker and only refurfaced the head you might be screwed as the surface of the block needs to be PERFECT for a metal head gasket to seal properly. If it is a blown head gasket do not try to retorque it. You'll just be delaying the inevitable. You'll have to tear it down again, get the head resurfaced, and lap your block surface to remove the imperfections on the block surface. I'm a MK3 Supra owner, I've done the head gasket thing a whole lot. lol.

Post by **chezina** » Mon Sep 22, 2003 2:35 pm

jibroni69 wrote: Started the car up like the book says, to warm up to normal operating temperature, before letting cool down and retorquing head a final time.

The CA FSM says nothing about warming the car up, it just says to loosen the headbolts (after u torqued em right) and to retorque them. nothings about a warmup in between these steps.

Post by **jibroni69** » Mon Sep 22, 2003 2:35 pm

Actually my book does say to warm the engine up to normal operating temperature and i quote

"After the engine has been run to normal operating termerature allow it to cool and then check the torque of the cylinder head bolts. Do this by unscrewing the first bolt through a quarter of a turn and then tightening it to the specified torque. Repeat the operations (one bolt at a time) in the correct sequence." Haynes. Nissan Stanza 1982 thru 1990 book. Also the book calls for the cylinder head bolts to be torqued in 3 stages. Stage 1 - 18 lb ft, Stage 2 - 37 lb ft, and Stage 3 - 55 lb ft.

Post by **NeedCAforS13** » Mon Sep 22, 2003 2:35 pm

OH! we all have ca18det's (in 240sx's) that might be why the book says different things!;) lol

try asking the same question in the stanza section of the forums...they might know more about ca20's:D

http://www.nissaninfiniticlub....id=77

Sean

Post by **rco8786** » Mon Sep 22, 2003 2:35 pm

Wreckless wrote:If the smoke is white and smells sweet you're dealing with a blown head gasket. Run it and see if temps rise and/or you lose coolant. If either of those happen I guarantee its a blown head gasket. What kind of head gasket are you using? If its a metal HG and you're replacing a blown stocker and only refurfaced the head you might be screwed as the surface of the block needs to be PERFECT for a metal head gasket to seal properly. If it is a blown head gasket do not try to retorque it. You'll just be delaying the inevitable. You'll have to tear it down again, get the head resurfaced, and lap your block surface to remove the imperfections on the block surface. I'm a MK3 Supra owner, I've done the head gasket thing a whole lot. lol.

He just replaced his head gasket...unless he bought on w/ a rip in it.

Post by **boost_boy** » Mon Sep 22, 2003 2:35 pm

Hmmm, my first question would be why did you disassemble it in the 1st place? If you just did a head job and a fresh gasket, you shouldn't be having this problem; however, re-torquing a composite gasket is only asking for trouble. The stock CA18 gaskets I've used in the past are perma-torque units and do not require you to follow the steps of the FSM. If you've already re-torqued and the thing still gives you drama, take the head back off, send it to a competent machine shop and get a Fel-Pro gasket for a CA18DE engine. Hopefully you're using new rod bolts as well, but it will definitely help to know why you tore it down in the first place.

Post by **Wreckless** » Mon Sep 22, 2003 2:35 pm

I'm not trying to refute Boost_Boy, as he sure has a grasp on the CA that I don't, but the Fel-Pro headgasket installed in a friends 7M-GTE held about as well as play-doh. It did this exactly: Fel-Pro Fun Just like what happened to JBL happened to my friend only his was bulging on 1, 2, 4, and 6 after only 450 miles of driving and no more than 7 psi of boost. His head has been machined true and ARP studs with Moly-lube were installed @75 ft-lbs, along with a goodly ammount of block deck cleanup.

Granted, the CA's Felpro might not suck complete *** like the 7M gaskets do, but I'd personally look elsewhere for a composite.

Is this normal?

Is this normal?

Re: Is this normal?

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