curses. oil in my radiator.

so I gambled and lost- new cyl head etc but didn't have block machined and used an mls gasket. Fired it up (finally) this morning -much smoke, & I do mean a LOT of smoke. Sounded-ok. There was something I didn't like the sound of but unable to either identify the sound or put my finger on why, exactly, I didn't like it. Books recommend letting car run 20 minutes then shut down check for leaks etc. I killed it at about 10- just a feeling. Which, added to the fact that the temp gauge never moved, the upper radiator hose was plenty warm enough but the thermostat never opened, bothered me enough to against 'the book''s instructions.
Went to A-Z, bought new thermo (ouch!) Came home to drain some water and-ugh. I'm so -angry? no, devastated? no, broke? Tired? Ready to open the gas tank and toss in a lit fuse then dance like a fool around the fire? okay, all the above, and then some.
Damnit.
damnit
damnit
damnit
So. The primary reason I didn't have the block decked was that I had no means of getting it to the shop. That is still the casse, even more so, actually. And I'm broke. Tapped. Going to work tomorrow (for a pittance, but better than nothing) and got some stuff I'm going to try to sell. I can come up with the money for another head gasket (I understand they're quite a bit more forgiving of imperfections -?) but that's about it till I can 'go back to work'..
so some questions -as to how to proceed from here, product recommendations, tips, constructive criticisms (though chances are I've already told myself ad nauseum how I've screwed up). Taking the block to a shop for machining is not an option right now. Even if I could get it there I couldn't pay for it- after the truck is reliably back on the road for a time I can work in my chosen trade and make some real money.....but the truck is essential, "can't get there from here."
Do I : drain the soup out of the cooling system and chemically flush it ( I have some Prestone stuff on the shelf, already paid for). Should I run a compression test? It HAD compression, shot oil all over the place yesterday....and I did not let it run very long. I've not been in this position before so hoping for a little push in the right direction.....
Am shopping for a composite gasket- does anyone have any thoughts on brands or experience using products by different manufacturers?
Is it mandatory to replace the manifold gaskets? I know it's theoretically possible to leave them connected but that's just not feasible here. And I know I should replace the headbolts, especially w/ their being TTY... and...and....
Incidentally, some cautious impulse caused me to delay adding antifeeze til I was sure it (the truck) would be roadworthy. That's good, right? It had only distilled water in cooling system (now it has liver-colored lava lamp lookalike).

Sorry for the looong post- is anyone still with me?

 

Sorry for your luck man. Hope it all works out for you.

 

What makes you think the head gasket is bad? Just because there is oil in the radiator doesn't necessarily meant that. It could have gotten in the cooling jacket while the head was being removed. I would drain the system again and refill. See what it looks like. You wont hurt anything doing this unless the coolant gets into a cylinder. It won't compress!
Just drain and don't "flush". See what happens

 

Do you have water in your motor oil?? or just oil in the water?

You can get a machinist straight edge also: https://www.mscdirect.com/browse/tn...M1uLWyCC42bmZbqxSUB-baJPBPz3JAZRoCQxQQAvD_BwE

It will let you get very close to perfect measurements on the block surface to check any warpage. Get new headbolts or ARP studs. The studs are not TTY so they're forgiving in lieu of more headwork

Make sure your coolant temp wires are all hooked up and connected, and let it run with the cap off until you start to see steam coming from the radiator. Cap on, then let run 20 minutes. It will take a long time to warm up when not under any load. Give it time but also be aware of very bad noises.

Where did you get this new head? Once its warm, you'll want to check valve lash too

 

No body gets the block decked, that leads to problems with pistons coming up too far. The heads are what warps and you got a new one.

And it was checked.....right?

I use glass to find warpness.

 

well hello all and thanks for the quick and comprehensive replies. I'll try to answer in order....Thanks for the good thoughts Jay. It happens, you know? I do get a pretty fair share of good luck......can't complain too much.
@toyrunner: are you serious about the water possibly getting in the cooling jackets when the head was removed? and I (um) just ass-u-med re: bad hg. There seems a _lot_ of oil in my radiator. There does not appear to be water in my oil. ....you do have an excellent point about trying again ....really, at this point I don't have much to lose.
thanks for the link MrCrowntown. I'd love to use ARP studs- I just can't afford them. Got the head out of LA-"Machine Shop Pros" . I learned, after I'd pre-paid and was waiting for the overdue head to arrive, that this place actually has a horrible reputation, yelp, the Better Business Bureau, etc. For both screwing people over and for providing shoddy, defective junk product. So my head went directly to a trusted machine shop, Parrish Automotive (where I should have purchased it to start with!) here in Sacramento to be vetted. It passed muster....
Re: coolant temp sensors etc: I have grave doubts about several of the pigtails on the engine wiring harness. None appear to have wires actually broken but some have cracked insulation .....probably why the temp gauge never moved. That truck has never taken long to warm up- gauge usually starts to move w/in 3 minutes.
guys, I started this reply some three hours ago-




edit:
whoops-

didn't realize how poor the quality of those photos was. hopefully they'll give you the idea.......
oh yes did I
mention that the oil looks good?

 

ARE YOU SURE....the headgasket wasn't upside down?

I've done it (twice in a row at that) and so has many others.

 

I usually check for warpage before milling anything and only mil to within spec of what the FSM states.

 

The block is iron and usually doesn't warp. It can corrode and have an uneven spot if it was run for a long time with a leaking head gasket.

Not to question your ability, but it's possible you didn't clean the block surface well enough. If it had a tiny spot of old gasket on it then the head won't lay flat and seal properly. This is where a machinist straight edge helps.

Or if there was a piece of debris on the bottom of the head when you installed it. Check the bottom surface right before you lay it down on the block.

And did you follow the head bolt tightening procedure correctly, clean all the holes and threads, lightly lubricate threads and washers with oil and torque correctly?

You will get some oil in the coolant passages when you remove the head, so it's possible the oil you see is from that.

 

Good to know the head was gone through. You still need to check valve lash after the engine is warm though!

As far as the ARP studs being expensive, imagine ruining another cylinder head and having to buy a new one. That cost will offset any benefit of not getting new head fasteners now. Just food for thought

It takes much longer than 3 minutes to warm up the car while idling in park. 3minutes is about how long it takes when you start driving, but I digress..

Flush out your cooling system. Pull all coolant plugs and thoroughly rinse out all the coolant passages. Use something like barkeepers friend to get rid of gunk in the system. To me, it sounds like you may have had some oil get into the cooling system when you changed the head. Its rather common when doing the head. As long as your oil is not showing signs of water introduction, you can proceed with the coolant tests after you clean the cooling system out.

The process is a stressful one, but if you stick to the order of operations in the process, and stay aware of new awful sounds, you are doing it like it would be done in a shop!

Luckily, even though the temp gauge may or may not be working, the cooling system will still regulate itself. If it begins to overheat, you will see the radiator begin to purge steam into the coolant reservoir and then you can shut the truck down immediately.

 

Did you torque the bolts in the correct order and to the correct torque? Get a dial torque wrench (Autozone loans them out) and set it to the correct torque and go through the head bolts a few times.
Also, is there a chance that it's transmission fluid instead of oil? If your truck is an automatic it could have a leaky transmission cooler.

 

is it oil? or that copper leak seal stuff? Just asking...usually oil looks a different color...from what Ive seen.

 

once again, thanks to all who read and/or responded. Your help and experience are invaluable and very much appreciated. Both to myself and to all who come seeking answers to similar problems later on down the road.

@cruxofthebisquit: looking back I cannot say definitively that I can swear to its being right-side-up. I had to call in outside help for that part of the process -I only have 1 1/2 operational hands and couldn't manipulate both setting the head down on the block and feeding the timing chain through. Your question is all too valid....this is one of those times I wish I'd allowed my typical ocd tendencies free rein. Is there any way I would be able to see evidence of incorrect orientation without removing the head? I'm all 'ears' or, in this case, eyes......

@tony2018: I checked it with a Starrett straightedge- but note that it was not sold as a machinists straightedge.

@DrZ: questioning my ability is perfectly legitimate- you don't know me nor have any way of judging my capability. (thanks for being so diplomatic, that never hurts!) That block was spotless- matter of fact it was far far cleaner than I expected it to be when I took the head off. -There wasn't any actual gasket material on it, only accumulated rusty dirty buildup. Just grunge. When done cleaning it I went over every centimeter w/fingertips, then aimed a strong directional light across it at an angle at night with my face up close to it (in order to silhouette any imperfections- done right , problems stand out clearly). Final step pre-installation was wiping both surfaces down w/99% rubbing alcohol. Head made no contact with any other surface or substance from then until being set down on block. Yes, of those steps I am absolutely confident. Re: head bolt holes and threads/lubrication and tightening sequence and torque: yup, confident all those steps flawlessly completed. W/ a quality torque wrench (Craftsman dial -type). On that subject, two caveats: one: the torque wrench hadn't been calibrated in several years so I cross-checked it with another torque wrench (cheaper but far newer). two: I don't have a torque angle meter so I used paint procedure.

@MrCrowntown: damn, you had to go and point that out, didn't you....? (j/k!) Thank you, you are too right! Thank you for the more objective perspective And do you mean the (often mis-called) " freeze plugs"? I bought a new set of those in copper, installed three, left incomplete because the ones I removed were in excellent condition, which surprised me in light of how poorly maintained the cooling system was when I bought the truck: no coolant, just rusty sludge that clogged the radiator to the point of overheating the first time I drove it out of town. Radiator and most cooling hoses replaced at that time along with a manual scrub -and -flush with assorted long brushes as far as I could manipulate them in every accessible orifice of the engine. So I still have most of the set (minus the three I replaced)- and one I destroyed that fought me to a draw both coming out and going in.

@twblanset: please see my response to DrZ above. AND yes my truck is an automatic. Never thought about that possibility. Do you know of any way I could troubleshoot this possibility for confirmation or removing it from the 'possible cause' list? Thank you.

@wilcam47: ok, you got me- what "copper leak stuff"? Sorry for the poor quality of the photo, I will take another (better!) one and post it.

 

ps @ DrZ thank you for directing me to the link with your photos etc re: the water bypass hoses.

 

Glad to help and glad you found the thread I referenced. I don't always have time to search and dig up previous threads.

It sounds like you've been very meticulous with everything. Good luck figuring this out.

 

Rusty sludge? brah...

 

Wow I was supposed to do all that stuff when reinstalling heads? I took my engine out and worked on it buuuuut i didn’t clean the threads of the mating surface all that well lol anyway I’m gonna have to agree with the trans cooler scenario, if there’s no water in your oil then it should be good, no leaks at the head.

But the temp situation I think is weird. Did it not go up at all in those 10 minutes or did it just take too long to start moving? Maybe you just knicked the temp sender unit or it’s not making good contact? When I did the first startup mine did smoke up for at least 15 min soooo there’s that but idk man, sorry for this bad situation :/

 

nope, the gauge never budged-haven't gotten around to checking that particular issue out yet However I did pull the thermostat. Dropped it in a pot of boiling water- and it never moved. Unfortunately the replacement I purchased at AutoZone turns out to be the wrong one- aargh! (hate going there anymore but it's w/in walking distance.....) I should know better by now! Yet another delay.
Doesn't it take a while for water to work its way into the oil? Many years ago, the first time I blew a head gasket- on my Pontiac 400 big block GTO- seemed like it took quite a while for water to show up in the oil (in the form of the 'chocolate milkshake'- looking emulsion so justly infamous). Then again, that situation just barely compares to this one so I'm probably trying to compare apples to pineapples.

 

Damn. Well from your posts it sounds like you are more compitant than me and if I could do this gasket job without any leaks with a $60 every gasket kit from eBay I think you should be fine. That oil has to be coming from somewhere else.

And damn that autozone!!!! I used to be an oreilys guy because it was close buuuut now I shop at advanced auto but NEVER autozone. Let us know how it goes fam

 

I meant the block drain, sorry for not being concise! You can certainly replace the casting plugs. They're cheap enough