[SWT RYD]

The TOY has a problem. When it sits over 5 minutes and you start it up you get smoke out the tailpipes. The worst thing is the Purge Tank is really low, really LOW. Runs great, no misses at idle or cruising And no overheating. No coolant in oil. Any ideas besides Head Gasket? Just turned 35K.

 

[Bca8ball]

Some condensation is normal as the exhaust heats up but it should burn off.
Short trips (less than 20/30 minutes) could cause a little build up. Run at full operating temp for at least 30 minutes and see if the condensation dissipates.
Typically, a head gasket issue is accompanied by missing and/or over heating but the lack of these doesn't mean you are in the clear.

Test Kits are pretty cheap and not a bad thing to have around:

 

[Stlhotrod]

Is there any different smell out of the exhaust? Not sure if it is the same with the Dexcool but old style antifreeze would give off a sweet smell if it was going out the exhaust.

 

[Mike in AZ]

Fill the surge tank to the proper level. If your surge tank is completely empty, it means that you have been sucking air into the water pump inlet. If this is the case, you will probably have to patiently get the surge tank to the “full cold” level with a series of fills. That tank has two, constantly flowing, lines coming in from the top of the cylinder heads and the radiator. The line out the bottom goes straight to the water pump inlet.

Once you are satisfied that the coolant level is where it should be, you can start looking for what changes with a drive.....

Your smoke could be condensation, or it could be oil...... there is a definite difference in smell, color and persistence. Have you been consuming oil? My gut tells me it is condensation......

My two cents.....

Regards,

Mike

 

[Texasbaehr]

You should probably get a pressure check done.
Losing coolant and seeing steam from your exhaust may very well be a head gasket leak.
The old method of looking for milky oil don't work on these newer engines if there is a small leak.
The oil temp is well over the boiling point of water. Synthetic oil will hold a lot of glycol in suspension as the water boils off and is carried out through the pcv system , hence the steamy exhaust.
Don't listen to the myths about DexCool not being glycol based because it is! It's a mix of ethylene glycol, propylene glycol and proprietary inhibitors. Dexcool formula is patented by Havoline who makes it for GM.
The danger is the glycol suspended in the oil is not noticible and changes the viscosity of the oil preventing it from properly lubricating and potentially damaging bearings, cam, lifters etc.

There was a batch of Castec heads that were prone to cracking causing similar issues however they were only on the 2001-2006 GM 4.8 and 5.3 and did not carry over to the 6.0. Cracked heads are rare on the 6.0 and 6.2.
Head gasket issues usually occur on high mileage engines or engines that have overheated in the past.
Greg

 

[Auggie Doggie]

My 2 cents and we all know what that is worth. Like Mike said probably cooling system problem rather than a new problem or failure. I believe you had the system all apart recently and put new hoses and coolant etc. and it worked great before that. So I would retrace all my steps in that area tightening all clamps and filling purge tank etc. and getting air out of system before moving on to a new area or looking for a new problem. Get the coolant area eliminated before jumping on heads or another area and getting yourself confused and adding to the stress. Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[SWT RYD]

My 2 cents and we all know what that is worth. Like Mike said probably cooling system problem rather than a new problem or failure. I believe you had the system all apart recently and put new hoses and coolant etc. and it worked great before that. So I would retrace all my steps in that area tightening all clamps and filling purge tank etc. and getting air out of .system before moving on to a new area or looking for a new problem. Get the coolant area eliminated before jumping on heads or another area and getting yourself confused and adding to the stress. Good luck and keep us posted.

I agree 100% On The Purge tank but there's only two ways water or coolant steam could come out the tailpipe head gasket or cracked head. Unless I have a GM experimental engine that was to run on coolant and fuel.

 

[tennesseecozydog]

Robert, when you started the TOY up at the truck stop, it was more like steam coming out your pipes, it was not blue smoke and did not smell like oil. Also going up and down the hills yesterday it did not "belch" out any smoke.

I know this is not a pressing problem, but please get your vanity plate changed to NUM1TOY !!! You sold your NUM1TOY (Harley Trike) so the SSR is not your NUMBER2TOY ... it IS your NUM1TOY (NUMBER1TOY) !!! Again, had a great time yesterday cruisin' from Murfreesboro to Clarksville. Thank you Robert ... AND DORIS TOO !!! Bob & Jan tennesseecozydog :ssr RED turns HEADS (especially when they smoke) :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: See ya' at Todd's Complete Auto Care ... call me if you need a ride home ... then I can find out where you and Doris live, You all aren't in the SSR Witness Protection Program are Ya' :smile2: :smile2: :smile2:

 

[S2NAZ]

My 2 cents and we all know what that is worth. Like Mike said probably cooling system problem rather than a new problem or failure. I believe you had the system all apart recently and put new hoses and coolant etc. and it worked great before that. So I would retrace all my steps in that area tightening all clamps and filling purge tank etc. and getting air out of system before moving on to a new area or looking for a new problem. Get the coolant area eliminated before jumping on heads or another area and getting yourself confused and adding to the stress. Good luck and keep us posted.

I agree with Auggie here. I’m a believer in “Cause & Effect”. Check your work.

 

[Auggie Doggie]

I agree 100% On The Purge tank but there's only two ways water or coolant steam could come out the tailpipe head gasket or cracked head. Unless I have a GM experimental engine that was to run on coolant and fuel.

In the old days if you had one of those problems with heads you would get coolant in the oil and you could tell or you would get air bubbles or oil in the coolant and you could see that or you would get coolant coming out of tail pipe and it would run like crap and your coolant level would keep going down.. Keep lookin and keep us posted.

 

[SWT RYD]

Robert, when you started the TOY up at the truck stop, it was more like steam coming out your pipes, it was not blue smoke and did not smell like oil. Also going up and down the hills yesterday it did not "belch" out any smoke.

I know this is not a pressing problem, but please get your vanity plate changed to NUM1TOY !!! You sold your NUM1TOY (Harley Trike) so the SSR is not your NUMBER2TOY ... it IS your NUM1TOY (NUMBER1TOY) !!! Again, had a great time yesterday cruisin' from Murfreesboro to Clarksville. Thank you Robert ... AND DORIS TOO !!! Bob & Jan tennesseecozydog

RED turns HEADS (especially when they smoke) /forum/images/SSRFanatic_2016/smilies/tango_face_smile_big.png /forum/images/SSRFanatic_2016/smilies/tango_face_smile_big.png /forum/images/SSRFanatic_2016/smilies/tango_face_smile_big.png See ya' at Todd's Complete Auto Care ... call me if you need a ride home ... then I can find out where you and Doris live, You all aren't in the SSR Witness Protection Program are Ya' /forum/images/SSRFanatic_2016/smilies/tango_face_smile.png /forum/images/SSRFanatic_2016/smilies/tango_face_smile.png /forum/images/SSRFanatic_2016/smilies/tango_face_smile.png

I am changing the plate to, 2MCHFN (2 much fun). But right now this isn't Fun. Yeah it only smokes once you shut it down and let it sit for a while it's not smoke I think it's steam. That's what it smelled like last night when I got home thanks Bob

 

[tennesseecozydog]

I am changing the plate to, 2MCHFN (2 much fun). But right now this isn't Fun. Yeah it only smokes once you shut it down and let it sit for a while it's not smoke I think it's steam. That's what it smelled like last night when I got home thanks Bob

Hey Robert since you're allowed 7 characters, why not 2MCHFUN or 2MUCHFN (but not when you might be having Head Gasket problems) 'member back in the day when somebody would always write on the wall, in the Men's room, next the condom machine "Head Gaskets for Hot Rods" ??? Please, Ladies forgive me ... the devil made me put that on the web site.

 

[GGJOSSR]

consider the intake gasket as the problem. see link below:
http://www.ssrfanatic.com/forum/f5/intake-manifold-gasket-157442/

 

[tennesseecozydog]

"Hold up on that car work Gentlemen" (Sheriff Buford T. Justice - Smokey and the Bandit) SWT RYD and the TOY is headed to Todd's Complete Auto Care Wednesday afternoon, so be calm everybody, we should have a diagnosis Thursday afternoon or sometime Friday.

Got mine scheduled to get the ABS light and Emergency Brake light off also. Go daddy has an oil leak from his Rear Main Seal and some other thing that needs fixed, so we're gonna keep ole Todd busy for a few days. :smile2; tennesseecozydog :ssr

 

[Texasbaehr]

consider the intake gasket as the problem. see link below:
http://www.ssrfanatic.com/forum/f5/intake-manifold-gasket-157442/

There are no water passages between the Intake and Heads.

 

[Dragon2U]

Seems like an early sign of a head issue, might be as simple as a gasket, but that smoke is way too much to be considered normal IMHO. I am used to seeing a much lighter vapor smoke when caused by condensation. There might be seeping into a cylinder when it is cold but seals when it warms up. Borrowing a pressure tester from Autozone or Advance should tell you in a few seconds if there is a leak somewhere in the system.

Good luck!