I bet the ecu is re adapting to the current state of the motor. I know in other cars i've had that if i did any major work to, i'd have to reset the ecu - usually by doing a capacitive discharge - to make sure all the old adaptations the ECU had learned to run with things in the previous "bad" state get cleared out and the ECU starts with base settings and re-learns from there.

 

After rebuild you will have high oil consumption [so check daily when driving] (and smoke to go with it) until things are all seated. More noticed when rings are done, but still happens on other major work as well. If smoke is black/gray, rather than blue (oil), ECU is re-learning things and adjusting mixture. Be sure two wire coolant temp sensor is connected. Don't know if you have cleaned MAF with MAF cleaner, cleaned bore of throttle body, cleaned linkage of throttle body, IACV may need cleaning as well.

Now you get to start on the rest of the problems with this rolling tea kettle !

 

I've cleaned everything except the MAF, but it's definitely on the list. Smoke is purely white and lots of it. Goes away after about 5 minutes of being revved.

Is there anything else that could cause pure white smoke? People have been saying CATs? Or maybe it really is burning coolant, but then why would it go away after a while?

Is it possible to reset the ECU on these, or even a good idea?

 

Coolant makes white smoke. Coolant leak could be getting into cylinder after engine turned off and building up. Seems like that would make initial running rough until it burns off. CATs operate at very high temp, water turns to steam when passing them if not already. I would leave ECU alone if no codes or CEL.

Would a cylinder compression or leak down test help decide if it is still the HG? Or still the valley pan gasket? How does temp do while uderway, do you have a scanner or must you depend on gauge?

 

Going to do compression and code testing tonight and I'll post the results.

Just took it out at lunch for a break-in trial on I5. Only drove about 12 miles but that's the farthest so far. Smoked a lot at first of course, but was clear as could be by the time I got back. Very smooth too. Which gets me thinking...

Maybe it's a different kind of smoke entirely. I should probably take it to my machinist since he'll be much more familiar with the sights and smells of various smokes.

 

Also, it's quite a different experience actually driving this thing compared to my our RAV4. The steering wheel seems to give more feedback from the road. Undulating road surfaces cause more wheel wobble. The drivetrain is also more audible with a consistent low whine.

And as for the struggling at idle, stopped, in gear, maybe the throttle cable has changed in reassembly?

 

im wondering if the headgasket(s) arent seated and after its warmed up and everything expands it stops leaking into the cylinders. would be interesting to double check the head stud torque with the motor cold.

you could try pressurizing each cylinder (leak down test style so have each cylinder at TDC) when the motor is cold and popping the cap on the coolant res and watching for bubbles...

thick white smoke is almost always coolant. speaking of which, have you popped the plugs to see what they look like? just run it for a minute or two and shut the truck down while its still smoking heavy and you should have a pretty good idea of which cylinder is causing the smoke. then you could go back and pressure test that one.

 

Wheel Wobble can be worn suspension bushings. See threads regarding "Death Wobble"

Low whine in drivetrain is usually diffs and or T/C. Have you replaced the flujids in those yet? Use the 75W140 and they will quiet down considerably. Mine did. Just getting clean fluid in will help. My diffs are still running 75w90/ But I put the 75W140 in the T/C as it had started getting noisy. Ensure you can loosen the fill plugs before you drain them.

 

I thought about the dreaded DW but it wasn't too severe and came and went and seemed to have nothing to do with speed. Going to be servicing the suspension and steering when this is done.

Good point about the oils. I've only got around to changing the transmission oil so far, but the rest is on the list. Even have the oil waiting at home. Transmission took a whole 8 quarts! Probably because I let it drain for a few days.

Buzz, Temp stays around 8:00. Don't have scanner, yet. Getting Ultra Gauge

 

Death Wobble is a thrilling event, certainly when sharply braking for hair pin expressway exit - be cautious until resolved.