Bad day

[Tim440RT]

I go home from school, got in my car, and went to the gas station about a mile away. Get there, no problem, coming back home, I started seeing smoke, and the car was getting extremely hot, oil pressure started getting really low, got home, there was oil all over the engine. The valley pan seal was blown all around. Now I'm stuck, I don't know how much action she'll see any time soon. Anybody got any Ideas of what it could be. I don't have the money for a rebuild yet, I wanted to wait for the winter. Kind of a depressing day, especially after putting 30 bux of gas in

[Burpin Chunks]

take the gas out in about 2 weeks and sell it for 3 bucks a gallon.... by then it will be a bargin

[360 'CUDA]

Could be major

dropped valve or blown headgasket/ crack

sounds like cylinder pressure is getting in there from
somewhere

[KellysCuda]

would just a pluged pvc on the valve cover do it?

[Chryco Psycho]

Really need more info , what were you doing , pushing it or just cruising , any noise?

[Tim440RT]

just cruising, there was some smoke comin out the back too, usually isnt

[lemonboy69]

What color was the smoke?? White, blue, black?? If it was white... sounds to me like a blown head gasket... getting coolant into the combustion chamber...

LB

[Tim440RT]

It looked light, couldve been white, coudve been grey, MY coolant level is down a bit so that may be my problem, that would also get pressure into the oil system, right?

[lemonboy69]

With the head gasket leaking... oil is also capable of leaking into your coolant... if that's the case, that would explain the loss of oil pressure you had... were there any unusual noises?? Pinging, ticking, etc...

LB

[4Cruizn]

Certainly doesn't sound good.    

[Tim440RT]

Im gunna change the head gaskets...what kind of sealer would you recomend on a fel-pro gasket, also, what kind of sealer on the valley pan. Should I get new head bolts too?...thanks for all your help

[Grancoupe]

do some testing before you pull the motor down. Get some compression test results from each cylinder. Pull all the plugs out first and make sure the battery is on a charger when you crank the engine over for each test. If any of the cylinders are more than 80% out of the average from the rest, than you have a cylinder to focus on. Could be a cracked piston or cylinder compression ring. In any case you dont want to pull the engine apart to find that the head gaskets are good and you then either have to put the motor back toghether to diagnose the prob or you have to continue pulling the motor apart. Good Luck

[74chall]

Start with the little stuff first. You said the valley pan was leaking( im guessing Big block).  If the valley pan was leaking and you lost a lot of oil, your oil pressure could have went down from the lack of oil. It's rare the valley pan would just start leaking /pouring oil out without a slow leak first.  Check the oil and see if it looks milky. If so i would suspect a head gasket blew or the cylinder head cracked. When changing head gaskets , there is no need for new bolts and no need for sealant. Just make sure you have the gaskets on the correct way, not upside down and the correct thickness . Toqure the bolts down in the propper pattern ,I usually increase the foot pounds 3 times, the 3rd time is the final torque. Then recheck the torque after you drive it. A compression test would be next if the oil isn't milky. You should be around 160-180 psi.  Hopefully it is'nt any hard parts that are bad. good luck and let us know how it goes
Nick