I just put in a new 22re long block in my pickup after cooking my previous motor with 250k miles.

I've got 2 issues on startup.

1. low idle. Even with the idle screw adjusted, it wont idle higher than about 500rpm. I'm not too worried about this one, I think I can figure it out

2. Steam from exhaust. Sounds bad right? but there is no water in the oil, no steam in the engine bay, it drives nice, and it happens up at operating temperature.
A misplaced hose perhaps?

any help is appreciated!

 

Steam from exhaust is normal during break in.
Grease from your hands and all kinds of junk probably got on the head and exhaust manifold.
I wouldnt worry about it unless it doesnt stop within a day or so.

 

x2 mine did it for about 2 hrs and talk about a heart stopper but it has been fine ever since

 

Good to hear. This was my 1st long block swap so I'm a little paranoid.

I went out and tested it again and it didn't steam even a little bit, which is nice because the first drive was like I had a James bond smokescreen.

Now for the idle.

 

psh, mine was shooting WATER out of the exhaust with I fired up my freshly rebuilt 22re... but then I remember I had the exhaust open and I was pressure washing the engine bay and some of the underside, so I guess I shot a bunch in there, lol


the idle though, double check all your vacuum lines; an air leak can also cause a low idle

 

Also remember that one of the bi-products of combustion is... drumroll please... H2O.

Low idle could be a ton of different things... First I'd try a can of carb cleaner and spray it all around the intake, throttle body, hoses, etc. You'll see the idle change if there's an intake leak...

Keep it simple. Start with the basics.

 

If your headgasket goes out, it can spray a lot of coolant into the exhaust. When you rebuild the engine, its pretty tough to clean it out. Just running the engine will clean it out.