Chugging and puffing white smoke while cleaning out cooling system...

[Figit090]

I flushed my cooling system with Prestone stuff that is supposed to clean all the deposits and such from the system and i was in the middle of doing so last night when my dad told me to come in, so the stuff was in my system overnight...it worried me but he said not to worry if there wasnt a warning on the bottle.

SOO this morning i put in a new thermostat and topped it off, and i went for a quick run up the street at a low speed and when i got back my car started chugging, i heard a thumping noise, and noticed my exaust was spewing white smoke. I got out and it sounded like the chugging idle of a V8 and sounded like shiz.

Well my only notion is that it could be a BHG and it's burning the chemical in one or more cylinders. I did NOT notice any problems with normal coolant in the system, except for a bit of whitish smoke on cold days when it hasnt warmed up and thats what cars do... The only way i can see this happening is I had a BHG all along and it is reacting different to the chemical, or that chemical dissolved whatever may have plugged the BHG before, and now it's wide open because i used cleaner.

I'm wondering if anyone has had this problem of if there is any other possible way for it to do this... it smelled almost like something burning...

Thanks for reading and i know i've asked a lot lately but right now i'm fearing the worst :(

-Andrew:3d_frown: :cry: :cry: :nono:

[mazzer]

blown head isnt the end of the world. i dont know what " the worst " is to you but relax. its just a car . it can be fixed cheap if you know your way around engines. time+gasket kit and about $120 for the machine shop .. look at it this way. at least youre not rebuilding the bottom end

[IJ.]

BHG

Don't keep running/driving it as you'll end up contaminating the Oil and while you may have a mild rod knock now if you do you'll have a HUGE one in a week or so!

[johnathan1]

Damn, I'm sorry dude...but if you're gonna own a Supra, you must pay homage to the BHG Gods ;)... Think of it as the car testing your worthiness. At least you have Supramania!! Think of how much more difficult it would be w/out it!

[Figit090]

yes, thanks guys...so do you agree with my diagnosis and/or why its doing this?

If so then i have to see what to do next. my system is full of that cleaner and i'm worried that it might hurt something if i leave it too long. I'm just trying to figure out steps to take next....

Its parked in the middle of my garage so for one thing i have to move it... i'll probably start it up and move it really quick.

[Figit090]

ok well I checked the oil cap and there was white stuff on the oil, kind of like shaving cream or a milkshake, not a ton but a little blob on top of the oil. I also removed the metal tube that has 3 tips, two going into either valve cover that come together and run into the throttle body which is directly above the #3 cylinder....

what is that pipe? I ask because it appears to be filled with this dirty-white substance.... lubrication?? I can't find it in the online TSRM.

[lagged]

PCV. getting the milkshake (water+oil emulsion) under the oil fill cap and clogging your PCV lines is almost a sure sign of a BHG. whenever i look at another supra either for a friend or otherwise, i will look under that oil cap before i even take it for a test drive. :)

on a side note, (yet still related) i sometimes wake up in the middle of the night after having a nightmare about over heating, and what not, when i wake up i can hear a rodknock in my ears, i will run out to my car and look under the cap for that dreaded ejaculate-like cream of death.

[johnathan1]

haha, i thought i was the only one who had those dreams!! lol...I'm not joking, I really do have them, on the last one, I was driving my Supra, started to hear a loud clunking (rodknock), them the temp guage, started going up and down wildly, and that's all i remember, maybe I should get help...lol

[supramacist]

No John you don't need help. You need a Nissan bro. Yep......, ya shoulda bought the z. But seriously folks. I said f uck it and went and bought one. It came stock with the PRE-blown hg. That way I already new. I have hellish horrormares when I sleep of the hell that is my Supra. It sounds like figit did the same thing. But as previously posted........, It's not the end of the world kiddo. It's a right of passage that you would have had to of dealt with sooner or later. Isn't it funny how all of this shit just knows when the most inoportune time to strike really is. I know i'm not alone here........, can I get an AMEN.

[Figit090]

AMEN! i'm so glad she blew now instead of on the highway somewhere or on my way to school. It just sucks, partially because that cooling system flush has to be what caused it and also i wont be driving for a few weeks until she's back up again.

BUT i was contimplating taking off the valve covers anyhow to re-torque and now i can get it machined and clean the whole engine while i'm at it, and finish making my car look new... I can't wait. I guess it's time to start getting ready for the rebuild...

[johnathan1]

wait a minute, I have a couple questions:

1) Re-Torque what?
2) Get what machined?

[Figit090]

---------EDITED since first post...i typed stuff funny...------------

wait a minute, I have a couple questions:

1) Re-Torque what?
2) Get what machined?

sorry...

1- the head bolts (which is now totally redundant, see below)
2- The head (heh...keep readin...you know what's coming.)

After putting that crap through my engine it revealed a head gasket leak that appears to be pretty bad... BUT!! i haven't gotten to the red part of the temp gauge because the hole in the gasket must have been plugged, or that cleaner stuff ate the gasket...either way, it wasnt this bad before the cleaner. Sadly, i discovered the 6th cylinder plug is nice and shiny and I have a BHG.

When i got the car i feared for it, and it was a jerky ride every once and a while, and with a loose plug and a slowly failing gasket, now i know why. I pretty much knew it when i came up with this smoking problem, but I was in denial. I've goined the BHG club everybody, and I just paid my dues. :biglaugh:

[johnathan1]

I've Joined the BHG club everybody, and I just paid my dues. :biglaugh:

haha, not quite...It's official once it's all back together and running! ;)

[Figit090]

hah... will do!

[supramacist]

it sounds to me like someone had some block seal in there and your cleaner cleaned it allllllllllllright. That stuff would have caused that sealant the dissolve no matter how long it had been in there. just to give you an idea, mt aunt had a van and the block cracked! she used block sealer and drove it for another year before doing anything about it. when and if you use that worthless shit, you can only run water for coolant because antifreeze will eat it out as well.

[Figit090]

well i had antifreeze in it so i hope i dont have a cracked block. If i do I'm either gettinga new engine or a car :( but that's worse case must-happen scenario.

Is anything in my engine at risk of rusting right now??? I'm going to start dissasembly tonight or tomorrow, but a friend mentioned rust and then eventual "pitting" of the cylinder walls, which i can totally see happening. But i sprayed wd-40 into the sparkplug holes earlier and when i used a long q-tip to feel inside for water or oil i found nothing except a bit of oil that dripped in when the plugs came out...

[supramacist]

Not unless you have anitfreeze in your oil. If you get the metal coated with antifreeze the oil will not stick to it. I would think rust is the least of your or my worries.

[Bishop92t]

BHG or anything that allows the exhaust gases to interact with antifreeze will turn the antifreeze into an acidic mixture. This is what causes the pitting. Switching to pure water can help if your climate allows for it.

[Figit090]

well thankfully when i finally said this has to be a BHG it was because of that cleaner stuff, and hopefully i dont have any coolant in the wrong places. I flushed the system completely as could to get the old coolant out and was running water with the cleaner, so hopefully its ok, and never burnt too much coolant before. I noticed some excessive moisture on startup but itbeen cold here and our other cars do it so i figured that wasnt it...also my car seemed to be running decent...

Thanks everybody! i'm going to begin the tear-down w/in the nextfew days.

[supramacist]

The one thing that comes to mind is how well these cars hide there weakness. Like you'd never know it by driving it but..... .

[Figit090]

what all are they known to hide aside from rod knock, BHG, and leaky hatch and tail light seals? I'm doing detailing on it and engine work so i might as well find out about other quirks.

my dad says that i might consider getting a valve job while i'm getting the head machined.... is that a good idea? i dont have any idea how much it will cost...

[supramacist]

JESUS......., I didn't sell you my car did I????? seriously, sounds like you found them. The rods that hold the hood up, ya, mine........, don't.

[Figit090]

JESUS......., I didn't sell you my car did I????? seriously, sounds like you found them. The rods that hold the hood up, ya, mine........, don't.

oh...those.... mine do half the time. when i was taking my avitar pics my hood shut itself 3 times :biglaugh:

it depends on the atmosphere around them or they just have little brains that decide when is the most unexpected time to drop the hood....usually when i'm pouring some fluid in... then i grab the wooden stick i keep in my car to hold it up realising i should have just done that in the first place, and wipe the fluids off my engine bay.

the rear struts are loosing it too... they stay up but only without the slide-out protector thingy which i cant put in until i seal my leaks and fix my interior.

some idiot did i piss-poor job putting my car back together after the repaint.... i can see grey paint and black overspray under the hatch and in the back by the lights that is normally covered by trim, and some pieces (including my left front fender) were installed slightly wrong, and not everything fits right...bugs the hell outta me.

[johnathan1]

after a while with the Supra, you learn not to sweat the little things anymore ;)

[Figit090]

yeah.. well as long as the problems i came up with are the the main ones...it doesnt really seem like supra's are that picky... people say they are money hogs but as long as I machine the head it won't blow again since i'll give it the correct head torque... and aside from other age-related problems like steering pumps or alternators dying i dont see what everybody keeps talking about.

Plus there is a ton of engine bay to work with so at least it's not a cramped mess and i can do the work myself.

[johnathan1]

...i dont see what everybody keeps talking about.


That's because you have an NA. ;)

Figit: How did you get your fogs to look so clear?

[Figit090]

hehhe.... they came that way. i was wondering why everybody says that they turn yellow... i'll go look and see if they are aftermarket...i doubt it though.

[Figit090]

They are toyota made parts, and the chrome trim is a bit rusty in some little spots that are hard to see so i think they're stockers....

mwaaaahaaaahaaaa.....

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g252/rcfreak090/MYSU018.jpg

seriously though...i dont know. what are your fogs made of? they aren't plastic are they? or did toyota just kinda give you ones with a yellow tint...