mosmoe (OPG)

the idle was very rough, smoke came out the tailpipes, and it died (ran for about 8 seconds). I imagine the smoke is ok as there was oil on the new head and valves that probably needs to be burnt off. But the rough idle and the engine sputtering to a stop worries me. I don't want to mess anything up after all that work.

Has anyone had any experience in this area? What are first starts normally like?

Russ Scott

the condition and gaps of the spark plugs before restarting. Low compression or a physically damaged plug will reveal "off the mark" mechanical timing. If everything is where it belongs the engine will smooth out and runs normally almost immediatly...

Also check that all of the wiring/sensors were reinstalled correctly. Did it record any codes during the brief run? They could point to a sensor problem.

mosmoe (OPG)

There are drops of coolant on all the plugs. Everything is at top dead center. Timing is perfect. But there are pools of fluid on the inner two (the down position) pistons. I put in a new head gasket, cleaned the surfaces, and torqued the bolts to the correct amount and in the right pattern. Even still, it could be the head gasket.

TTschwing

That's discouraging...

Russ Scott

this explains the way it ran

The rough running: 2 cylinders being flooded with coolant competely screws up the combustion process

the smoke: some percentage of the water from the coolant heated to the point of producing steam, which looks alot like smoke pouring out of the tail pipe(s)

agree, it could be the head gasket

or a cracked block or head can produce this same result

was machine work done on the head?

why did you rebuild it?

mosmoe (OPG)

I had crossed two lines. Everything is fine now. Well...my coolant feed line on the turbo has a slow leak so I need to replace the crush washers and tighten it up. That will probably take a good 10 hours...

But it ran! Smooth idle, no codes thrown

TTschwing

Good news!