White smoke after new head gasket

Is it normal to get white smoke after replacing the head gasket, i've only had the car running on idle just ticking over until the temperature gauge reaches middle, i get white smoke on start up and when i rev it.

I haven't driven it on a test drive as i've put the old cam belt back on until i get the new one i've ordered so don't want to chance the old one breaking while driving, but i wanted to see if the engine would fire up and it did ok but i get white smoke is this normal after fitting a new head gasket.

White smoke with a blueish tinge can mean it's burning oil. Was it smoking prior to the new HG?
If it's burning oil it could be either worn rings or more likely worn valve guide seals.
Did you check the condition of the bores before fitting the HG & head?
Was any head work done? A skim to ensure it's 'true'.

It wasn't smoking white prior to removing the head, it was using oil though, theres white smoke to start then when it gets warm it lessens and looks like steam with drops of water.

I replaced the valve guide seals with new ones, cleaned and lapped the stem valves, the head was skimmed, when the head was off i inspected the bores and they looked ok no gouges or scratches they were nice and smooth.

I've had the car running for 30 minutes on idle then i put my hand and a sheet of kitchen roll in front of the exhaust and i get spits of what looked to be clear water in the smoke.

Is tit smoke or steam? You may have a lot of water int he exhaust from having a blown hg previously.

You need to be sure of what you are dealing with cause one is bad the other is no issue!

I've taken some photos of the white smoke at 3000rpm, is this white smoke or steam, how can you tell the difference.

Does it sell like burnt oil or does it smell like steam ?

It doesn't smell of burnt oil, it doesn't smell of anything really, i'm now thinking the victor reinz head gasket hasn't sealed properly and i'm getting coolant in or as posted above maybe coolant left in the exhaust.

I can't do anything until Saturday as it's too dark when i get home during the week, i will sniff test it and if it fails i'll get the head off again, if hg is ok i'll fit the new cam belt and take it for a test drive to see if i can burn the coolant off in the exhaust.

I'm just kicking my heals waiting for the weekend.

The inlet manifold gasket can let water into the cylinders

digi said:

It doesn't smell of burnt oil, it doesn't smell of anything really, i'm now thinking the victor reinz head gasket hasn't sealed properly and i'm getting coolant in or as posted above maybe coolant left in the exhaust.

I can't do anything until Saturday as it's too dark when i get home during the week, i will sniff test it and if it fails i'll get the head off again, if hg is ok i'll fit the new cam belt and take it for a test drive to see if i can burn the coolant off in the exhaust.

I'm just kicking my heals waiting for the weekend.

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It's not uncommon for the K Series to steam all through the winter. My V6 steamed almost constantly in town. It only stopped once the exhaust system was very hot. My 8 mile commute wasn't enough to stop it steaming. The 1.8 will be no different. Don't forget that you could well have water in the silencers too. This will need to boil out as steam. Keep an eye on the fluids before taking further action.

My 1.8 does a good kettle impression most of the time!

Mine doesn't! Not that I'm bragging again

I got home while it was still light today so i did the sniff test with the block tester and the test liquid stayed blue so the new head gasket as done its job.

I put my hand in the white smoke and it was dripping in water when i removed it, the bumper above the tail pipe outlet was wet through as well.

If the inlet maniflold gasket was leaking water into the engine would the level on the expansion bottle go down, the cars been sat for a few days and the coolant level in the expansion bottle as remained quite constant it may have gone down 3 or 4mm since i last run the engine.

I'll replace the cam belt and tensioner on Saturday weather permitting and take it for a good run.

I got chance to do the belt today so went for a drive back and forth to the next village after 20 miles the white smoke disappeared, i thought i'd cracked it.

Got back home it then started over heating so will start a new thread, it's now over heating.