The $60 felpro gasket set.

 

I would think they shouldn’t have let go unless you’ve got an untrue surface or a crack in a head, or perhaps if you re-used old head bolts or didn’t torque them down in sequence.

Perhaps next time try a different head gasket like Cometic if you don’t trust the felpro.

 

I trust felpro, just dont trust myself as a DIY mechanic lol

So I did a compression test today and all 6 cylinders came back as 168-171psi. I would assume thats great? All spark plugs looked pretty normal except 3 which was clean all until the top 2 threads being a dark brown. No sure why it would be like that... Probably the fact that it was barely screwed in... Yikes... So now baffled as to whats going on just going off any sign I can. Theres oil residue on the passenger side valve cover near the oil cap so maybe its leaking through that somehow causing the smoke out the passenger side of the hood? Also have noticed there is a wet spot on the motor right above the water pump and theres a wet spot right at the back of the motor... Maybe LIM on the RTV sealer parts? Probably not put on correctly? Either way Im not crazily concerned about it seen as I havent noticed any temp spikes really just very very rarely going to 210 and back down. But that compression test has me very much relieved. I dont care what it is as long as I dont need to do the head gasket. Others have said check the radiator for a crack... Havent taken the time to do that but judging from the spots on the ground at work where I park it doesnt seem to be leaking from the radiator but near the block itself.

Just gonna also add I havent seen smoke out the exhaust lately. Mustve been just cold enough to cause smoke out the exhaust... Only time ive seen anything come out of the exhaust lately is when the insides of my cat decided they didnt want to filter anymore. These backfires are awesome lol

 

Well pulled the LIM off and replaced the gasket. Didnt really notice much... Gaskets were in perfect shape, RTV was slightly uneven and noticed it wasnt ran up the gaskets, it wasnt even touching the gaskets... Not sure if that wouldve caused it but if it isnt this my next guess would maybe be waterpump? I also replaced passenger side valve cover gasket incase thats whats causing the smoke/burning smell on that specific side. Its back together now aside from the distributor not in yet so need to set it in time but wanted to wait 24 hours for the gasket set time before adding coolant or whatever... Is there a break in period for these gaskets? Unsure if theres a 500 mile period...

Besides all that crap ive ordered some chrome corner lights to match my spyder headlights and got some underglow for the 2000s look haha
Yes its ricer but I have just been bored/exhausted lately so I wanna do something silly/fun aside from work.

 

Still smoking... Maybe just leftover residue? Its leaking off the driver side mainly but also some on the passenger side. Driver and passenger have oil running down the Y pipe. While passenger side smokes from above behind the engine and from the headers. Ahhhhhh Im at the point of wanting to heat wrap everything so it doesnt smoke and just top off oil.

Besides that stuff put some underglow on since I got bored. Guess im a ricer now haha

 

Well appears the LIM replacement has fixed pretty much all my issues? I have not lost a drop of coolant nor oil since its been replaced. I thought I saw steam coming out the passenger side again but couldnt tell... Could just be the hot hood emitting... Yeah I may have just been seeing stuff cause before it was actual like white steam coming out. Anyhow... So engine wise it seems to be running great! Suspension wise I was still having issues as of a few days ago. Feels like a log truck as most would say... Well was under it the other day and noticed the sway bar is facing downwards. I cut them in half during the drop since I saw some thread on that. Well I replaced it with stock bushings and man it feels a lot tighter in general. Get up and go feels much better (Probably cuz of the weight not being sent everywhere) and I can take turns a lot tighter. Not to mention its doing much better with staying straight on the road. Next thing for sure is a universal joint for the steering shaft to eliminate some of the steering play. I ordered one off of ebay and should be here Tuesday. I dont have a ton of play but probably a good inch/inch and a half. Another thing I wanna do is get the rear back down to a 4/5.5 drop again from its current 4/3.5 drop. Only issue being I need a c notch and some drop shocks. It was hitting frame pretty hard before... Not to mention I need some shims to keep the vibrations away. Still keeping my eye out for a nice set of rims... Im quite interested in some Iroc Z replicas. Preferably like in a 17s or 18s form.

That sway bar fix has me quite happy. It rides very nice now compared to what it has been for the past few months. Just needs moar low...

 

Nice! Glad to hear about progress and elimination of issues! Lights look good too

 

Steering shaft helped quite a bit! Truck is coming together very well. Play in the steering wheel is little to none. Needs some help with the alignment though... Trying to hold off til I finish the front drop since an alignment will probably be a pretty penny with all the drop parts... Whenever I come out to the truck in the parking lot ive noticed I have some positive camber. The top of the wheel is sticking out while the lower is in a bit. Wonder if thats something I could adjust myself to save it for a few more weeks for front springs and tires to be put on... Guess we'll see...

Joined automotive college and of course everyone has nice mustangs and what not and made fun of my ****box so I wanna finish up the drop so I can get some cosmetic work done to it like the paint and wheels. Ahhhhhhh

 

You can do the camber yourself, but it will be in the ball park, and can cause worst damage to components, not worst, but quicker wear. I have not gotten extra charged for having a lift on, so I don't think you'll get an extra charge for it being lowered.

AND @&_$ those people laughing at you, they might have mustangs, but who doesn't now a days lol... I would take my blazer or sonoma over a stang any day....

not saying I wouldn't take one tho...

 

Lol

For sure! Me personally wanting a Prelude or a Civic tho... But this forum isnt about that. This truck has me sometimes wanting to swap though... Today is temp issues... Runs great besides the obvious suspension issues. Oh and also the front is like 6" off the ground from the frame now that I have 205/70/15s on now. Its pretty darn low but temps are no longer holding a solid 195. Now they jump as high as 206 in 77F weather. Agh... Need this motor to just blow up on me so I can get a Civic gas saver and use that saved gas money for a 350 swap