fearing the worst and hoping for the best.

[Steinerj56]

Need some help, kinda of a long story.

I rebuilt engine this winter. Lower end done and assembled by a good machine shop.
Purchased a chevy performance vortec head kit from jegs.com. came with heads, jegs aluminum intake, gaskets and misc parts.
All installed and drove for 300 miles no problems other then timing was only set by ear.
Decided to set properly with timing light. Got it set right. Test drove it 10 miles tops. ran good until I got home. backing into driveway found the truck running rough, white smoke everywhere.

Found the temp gauge at 3/4 instead of 1/2 like normal. The radiator was releasing coolant and I did not have a hose hooked up to the over flow/purge. coolant all over the passenger side exhaust. shut it down once I saw the gauge rising. checked again in 10 minutes and it was already below half way. sounded like fluid boiling though on the drivers side of engine.
Next day went out to it and battery was dead. Got battery replaced cause it was old. started and ran rough. found the distributor hold down had loosened up and the timing was way off. was going to reset but had white smoke from the driver side exhaust.
SHUT it down right away, like 10 seconds of run time. Decided to just double check I bought the right exhaust header gaskets at the collectors. Found fluid dripping from the left side exhaust only.
Pulled valve cover and found no signs of creamy oil, looked clean.
Assuming I need to pull intake, check/replace gaskets. Then probably pull head too. I don't see any fluid/wetness in the drivers side header though either.
Could it be just condensation?
Pretty sure I will pull it anyways and replace gaskets to be safe and inspect.

[Steeveedee]

If the distributor was that loose, I'm surprised that the engine isn't seized due to lack of oiling. Loose distributor caused retarded timing, causing the overheating. You're lucky the crank ain't wiped...and worse.

[72 K20]

The distributor would have to pop up out of the intake before you would lose oil pressure and if that was the case the distributor would stop turning and the engine would die. The engine was still running but running rough,,, the timing retarded from the loose hold down will run rough.

It sounds like you blew the left head gasket since that's where you found the wet header. It happens,,,, replace the head gasket or gaskets and run it.

[HSRACER]

Pull the left side plugs and see which one is discolored. You definately blew a head gasket. Good thing you caught it early. Good luck.

[Rufton]

I would torque head bolts to spec before pulling head to see if some bolts turn. Maybe that will help find/eliminate suspects.

[Steeveedee]

Originally Posted by 72 K20

The distributor would have to pop up out of the intake before you would lose oil pressure and if that was the case the distributor would stop turning and the engine would die. The engine was still running but running rough,,, the timing retarded from the loose hold down will run rough.

It sounds like you blew the left head gasket since that's where you found the wet header. It happens,,,, replace the head gasket or gaskets and run it.

Not necessarily. I've seen this very thing happen. Kid where I worked as a mechanic seized his engine that way. There is more gear height than the depth of the oil pump drive blade.

[19673ontree]

from the info you gave ,,,, WHITE SMOKE ,,,,, ANTIFREEZE IN EHAUST ,,,RUNNING ROUGH ,,,,
OK
mostly two ways this could happen
#1 blown headgasket
#2 cracked head or block

[19673ontree]

if the oil pump drive shaft pulled out and you lost oil pressure you would have bottom end trouble due to lack of oil that's not what is described he has antifreeze in the exhaust ,,,,

[Hawghauler]

You're going to have to pull the intake first, check the gaskets for leaks or damage, and make sure all the holes are open in the gasket. If you see a mark where holes in the block and head are but it doesn't have one in the gasket, that is probably your problem. If all is well there, pull the head on that side. I have found people putting the head gasket on backwards, and I've found that sometimes the head gasket doesn't have all the holes needed for coolant flow. check the gasket, you should see any damage or leaks printed on the gasket.
Then you'll want to compare holes in the gasket to see if they match the head and block. Sometimes the heads or block may have blockage from lack of proper cleaning before rebuild, check this also. Hopefully it's the intake gasket and you're back on the road.
Good luck.

[Tinkermc]

A lot of work what ever you find.