mrod

This is my first post so bear with me. I am having issues with my 87 GT. I put pulleys on as my first upgrade and the trouble started before I could do anything else. Driving at about 70 mph. The engine began to smoke, then just shut off. I changed the VC gaskets and the engine doesn't smoke but I now have a small amount of white smoke from the exhaust and it's running a hot (230). At least that's what the stock gauge tells me. Would it have shut down on me because it was to hot? You think I'll get lucky and not have to replace the heads or head gaskets? Did anybody put pulley's on and run into anything similar?

uedlose

sounds like you need to get the cooling system pressure tested to see if you got a bad head gasket.YES the motor could shut off due to getting to hot lets hope that is not what happend.

Dbeck002

dont drive that car if the temp gets that high. you can risk damaging the engine. check to see if your water pump is working properly and flush out the radiator. check your thermostat by opening the thermostate housing and seeing if the thermo is not glued shut. there has to be a reason the engine is overheating. thats a big problem.

vfast

put the old pulleys back on and see....the underdrive pulleys could have exposed a problem that has been there......flush the rad put in a 180 stat..make sure the water pump is flowing

mrod

Thanks guys. Do you think that the smoke coming from the exhaust has to be a cracked head gasket? Can cracked head gasket cause overheating? Or is the overheating caused by something else and then cracked the head gaskets? Or do you think the smoking and overheating are two separate issues?[:@] I think this car has been sitting in my garage more than I have been driving it.

angcobra

The smoking and the overheating are most likely related. If you have blown head gasket or cracked head, it will run hot and anitfreeze into the cylinder makes white smoke.

mrod

There is not much smoke and my coolant level doesn't drop at all. Would a cracked head gasket leak so little that I wouldn't see a drop in level?

91hatchgt

Possibly because just a little water in the cylinder will make it smoke, it doesn't take much.

mrod

Do you think a rebuild with a new water pump would be the way to go? I mean if it's going to run $700 to pay someone (not wanting to do it myself) to do the gaskets then they crack again in 3 months. The rebuild will be $2100, it almost seems better to buy a new engine or rebuild then just the head gaskets. Any thoughts anybody?

anglia_stang

if you're gonna rebuild the motor might as well get a stroker rebuild, $1,399 from Brother Performance for the 331 kit. If I was your, I'd put a new water pump, 180 degree thermostat and get a new radiator. It's always best to replace the cheapest parts first and if that don't work then you might want to think about replacing the head gaskets.