GeminiFire

hey so you guys may or may not have been following my threads recently, but i have this 22r i just threw in cuz the slightly built 22r i just replaced my 20r with blew up on me due to overheating(anyone know why my temp gauge wont work after the rebuild? i bought a new sending unit so thats not the issue, and it worked great before the swap now nothing!!)

anyway i just bought this 22r motor off craigslist and although it runs great, it smokes when you get on it hard, and after a few days of driving, it consistantly stops idling, and blows white smoke out the top of the valve cover(today there was oil everywhere actually). ive adjust valves to spec, .008 and .012, ive timed it to 8 degrees, and ive checked to see if the water jacket in the waterpump is still ok because there is a tiny bit of white residue after i run it under the oil cap, and the water in the radiator seems really REALLY oily. any ideas? dare i say another head gasket? let me know what you guys think thanks!

simonwiley

A head gasket is possible. The water is getting in there somewhere. I own a tool that you put over the radiator cap and run the engine. It used a blue fluid to detect exhaust in your radiator. If exhaust gasses are present, the fluid turns yellow. Its saved me a lot of time and labor diagnosing head gasket issues. I think you can order it from your local parts store, but I bought mine through Snap-On. I'm curious to how long the engine sat and under what storage conditions. Do you think the water got in there prior to your ownership? Also, check to make sure your PCV valve is not stopped up and causing the block to pressurize. When you take the valve cover off, there are a bunch of bolts under the cover attaching a strip of metal. If its carboned up, it won't allow the gasses to escape through the PCV Valve.