New Engine Blowing TONS of smoke

Hi, I'd like to run this by you guys to see what you think.

1993 5.0 EFI - Trick Flow manifold, Cast Iron Dart heads, 10.5 TRW forged pistons. Total Seal piston rings, B303 cam. (Cams to small.... I know that now!)

Fired her up yesterday and started blowing tons of smoke! But it ran really well. Engine Vacuum 18 inches and steady as a rock. The smoke was so bad the neighbors came over to see if I'd burnt my garage down! Let the engine run for about 15 minutes. Still smoked. Removed PVC hose, still smoked. Remove spark plugs and everyone of them is wet and shows oil. Removed top of Trick flow manifold - dry. Remove lower manifold - it APPEARS that the intake manifold gasket DID sealed. Gaskets dry. Each intake port was wet, the entire port - top to bottom.

I had torqued the manifold bolts to around 15 pounds. When I pulled the top end down it seemed they were NOT tight enough. I used those soft metal bolts that came with the dress up kit. When I put the gaskets on - I used very little sealer around the ports. Didn't want the sealer to get into the ports.

So here is what I think and would like your opinions, the intake manifold gaskets were leaking. I should have used more sealers and grade A steel bolts and torqued to a higher amount.

Am I reading this right? Or can you guys think of another reason for the SUPER heavy smoking. When I say super heavy smoking - could NOT see into the garage when revd to around 3000 rpm! - Even if I forgot to put the oil rings on the pistons I could not believe it would have smoked this much.

Thanks for your help!

Mark

I'd use Mr. Gasket Ultra Seals and secure the back of the gasket to the heads with Permatex Aircraft Sealer. No RTV around the ports - that lets the gasket squirm. For my intakes I go to the good hardware store and get stainless bolts and washers.
[addsig]

Rings installed wrong or valve stem / seal would be my first guess if the intake gaskets where sealing. or could it be sucking tranny fluid from bad vacuum modulator? White smoke? you didn't mention what type od trans it had.
[addsig]

Thanks, it has a 5 speed trans.

Follow the intake port to where the "WET" begins! I would almost second a Vacuum diaphragm going to the tranny (see it on chebby's all the time) BUT, you have a '93 ?Musstang? apparently, and many of them have standard trannies....
Follow backwards from the intake port with a flashlight and see where it's entering the manifold.

As a side note.... You could have grade 8 US bolts, or Grade 12 metric bolts or Standard grade of anything, from stainless steel to brass holding your intake on your car...
The 15 to 21 ft lbs of torque applied will be the same with any bolt over 1/4" in thread size....

FE
[addsig]

Also.... Ensure that you EGR/PCV valve is working properly, if it's not, the engine could be pushing splashed oil up into the intake manifold and sucking it back into the combustion chambers.

FE
[addsig]

Wild thought: can you get to the local auto parts store for some UV tracer dye?

You can add it to the engine oil and let it run, then use a black light flashlight to see where the oil is entering the plenum.

My preference would be to yank the manifold, clean it in solvent, get the ports as clean as you can, put it back together then run it. Give it a minute or two, pull it apart and you should have a good idea where it's coming from.

Even a small mis-alignment in a gasket can cause the leak; a friend of mine spent a summer spinning plugs out of a BB Mustang only to realize that there was enough of a mismatch between the MR intake and CJ/LR ports to suck enough oil in to hammer #7 and #8 closed in 15 minutes.

Is it possible the PCV is bad or inverted? Any strange-o blind bolt holes that have oil on one side and vacuum on the other (GM LS2's have this under the rocker stand bolts on the CNC heads)

18" of manifold vacuum would suck the chrome off a trailer hitch, so any leak will pour it into the system

Rings installed wrong.

Was this the first time the engine was started after the build?

That's an important question...
[addsig]

second ring (oil scraper) intalled upside down = oil pump. I hope i'm wrong.

Check intake valve seals too. Look at plugs and see if they are all oil fouled or just some or one plug is fouled...will help to isolate the problem.

_________________
Tracy Blackford: Corona, Ca
'65 FB Mustang 331, 282S cam, ported 351W heads. T5z, 3.50 9" posi.
346 RWHP@6400 on a warm spring day (335 RWHP SAE corr.)


<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: blkfrd on 4/21/06 6:50am ]</font>