Engine, Intake, Exhaust Modifications to your Normally Aspirated Hyundai engine. Cold Air Intakes, Spark Plugs/wires, Cat back Exhaust...etc.

Head Gasket Woes?

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Old 06-01-2008, 08:20 PM
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Hey guys. Been working a bit more on the tib, and started her up only to find white smoke pouring out of the exhaust. I searched and found several differing opinionsin different threads on whether white meant oil burning, excess fuel burning, or coolant. Which is it?

I just put in a 190lph fuel pump, so I'm wondering if this may be the problem somehow. Other than that, the only other culprit that I know it might be is the head gasket is finally going bad, what with the recent turbo addition, or maybe the valve seals. Does anyone know of any way to diagnose the gasket without tearing apart the entire head of the engine?

I honestly can't afford to have a shop replace the gasket for me, and for some reason, the timing belt (which needs to be removed to get to the gasket) has always been the one thing that I don't want to mess with on our cars.
Oh and to my knowledge, the compressor seals on the turbo are all good, so I doubt it's that.

Thanks guys fing02.gif

EDIT: I've found white means coolant, which was what I was worried about. Can this be a result of something as simple as overfilling the radiator? Lol i wish it were something that simple, but I seriously doubt it.
Old 06-01-2008, 08:37 PM
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Smell the exhaust. If it's coolant it smells sweet. Oil burns blue. Excess fuel burns grey.

You've pretty much got to have a bad head, bad cylinder wall, bad head gasket, or bad throttle body to get water in there.

You can check the TB easily. Look for water in the intake manifold.

It's 95% going to be the head gasket. The head gasket is the weakest point.
Old 06-01-2008, 08:40 PM
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Thanks DTN. That's what i was worried about. Ha ever tried any of that magical head gasket repair in a bottle that you can find at Autozone and the like? laugh.gif
Old 06-01-2008, 08:50 PM
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It works but is a very very temporary fix. Especially with turbo.
Old 06-01-2008, 08:51 PM
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^^^Yeah I was just kidding really. I owe it to the car to just get my crap together and do it. Thanks for the input guys.
Old 06-01-2008, 08:53 PM
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Yeah, it's a temporary fix and it will clog your coolant system. I wouldn't do it.

Another thing, bad head gasket will usually have smoke and bubbles in the coolant tank while running.
Old 06-02-2008, 06:35 PM
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Oddly enough, in most cases a bad head gasket makes the coolant smell like old bananas. laugh.gif You should do either a compression test, or pressurize your cooling system to verify the problem.

Did you tune the engine after installing the 190lph fuel pump? Sometimes it's hard to tell a difference between gray and white smoke.

Timing belts aren't that much of a daunting task. Just follow the instructions on how to set it up, rotate the engine 2x, and double check your work. Read the signature fing02.gif




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