So I just got my head rebuilt on my 75 pickup. Installed head with a stone head gasket. Put a Weber carb on. Installed Egr block plate and Egr cooler block plate on the back of the head. I drove for about 60 miles today and my coolant reservoir went from max to a couple inches above min. I’m getting white smoke from the exhaust until I drive for a minute or two and then it completely stops. I noticed some leaking from Egr block plate the other day. But I used permatex to seal it and can’t get it off now with the engine assembled. I also saw a slight leak by the carb adapter plate bolt (not sure what that could be). I'm very discouraged after all the work I’ve done and I don’t know what could be causing the white smoke and loss of coolant. There’s no coolant in the oil or oil in the coolant. Does anyone have any idea on what could be going on or what I should do next?

 

White smoke means coolant is getting into the combustion chamber. If I had to guess I’d say the problem is with the head gasket. Do you see coolant dripping out of the exhaust pipe during startup? You could see white smoke on startup due to condensation in the exhaust. Especially if you’re in a cold climate. That wouldn’t account for the major drop in the overflow bottle though.

Did you thoroughly clean out the head bolt holes on the block? The block surface itself has to be spotless. It only takes a little grease to mess up a new gasket. Did you apply high temp silicone to the transition area in front as per FSM? Also it’s important the you use the correct size tap (mine is M12x1.25) and retap all the threaded holes. Crap can build up on the bottom most threads giving a false torque reading when tightening the head bolts. Don’t use a thread chaser. If you can find a factory gasket that’s the way to go.
On the positive side the leak is probably small. I think when the aluminum head expands from engine heat it seals off the leak.

Do a compression test before anything else. That will at least tell you what area to look at.

 

Yes I’m seeing some dripping out of the exhaust on startup. I am in Oregon and it’s currently around 35-40 degrees outside. I tried my best to clean the bolt holes. I used compressed air first and blew them out and then I cut a groove in the old head bolt and passed it through all of the threads. No I didn’t use sealant on the front of the block unfortunately I didn’t see that spec until after I bolted it back on. As for the block I used brake clean and wiped also used a razor very carefully and took my time on it. Last night I re torqued the bolts and they definitely needed it. In hopes that that can fix my issue. This is my first time doing a head gasket although I do all the work on my cars so I have a bit of experience working on cars. The best head gasket I could get was this stone head gasket made in Japan I got it from an import store the head rebuilders suggested this brand. I will do a compression test later. Do I do a coolant pressure test or cylinder compression test?

 

You need to use a tap. Bottoming tap if you can find one. The lower threads of the bolt holes can become clogged over time. Take a thin screwdriver and insert it into the bolt holes until it bottoms out. Using a felt tip marker or piece of tape mark the screwdriver where it meets the flat surface of the block. Now, gently tighten a head bolt into the same hole and mark where it meets the block surface. The two should be equal (or very close). If the screwdriver is longer, you need to retap the hole(s).

Factory head bolts are important. Many aftermarket bolts don’t have the strength to torque correctly. Also, Toyota had different length head bolts for early engines.