Ok.. Last night we swapped out the 1/8 belly plate for a 1/4" aluminum belly plate purchased off ebay (54.00). First timer, all went great, quality machined belly plate as well,,,,we were down and back up in 4+hrs. The factory 1/8 plate was leaking by cylinder 6-8. We used fel-pro gaskets as suggested, carefully prep'n all surfaces for the gaskets. We set everything back in, hooked all back up...NOTE, the lower radiator hose is a bear!! Fired er up and after a few all sounded really good, no dead miss anymore, no randon mis-fire codes,,,,Problem is! it's blowing steam out the exhaust, and the upper radiator hose will not harden up. Driving, it runs very smooth. No milky oil either!!! Any thoughts!!! Could it be possible a gasket slid on us? FYI: I'm no mechanic by any means, more of a goffer type in and around the garage to those who actually do know there stuff!! lol

 

If there's steam out of the exhaust, sounds like the intake gasket didn't seal good up front somewhere.

 

before you rip it apart again what does the exhaust steam smell like if it has a sweet smell yes your burning coolant don't forget water vapour is a by product of any combustion. so be sure first

 

Sorry about getting back late.... We really dont smell much of anything, but it really puts out a cloud. Runs much better with the new plate though! What about Bars leak sealant? Thanks!

 

Don't use BARS! Fix the problem, whatever it may be.

Stop leak can clog your heater core and is at best a temporary fix - if it works in the first place.

Pull the plate and check the gaskets are in place. It's the only real fix.

 

Yeah, Im taking it to a shop Monday,,,,, I'm done trying to figure it out myself...not the best mech when it goes beyond a certain point...I have a used stock intake thats checked for cracks and trueness ready to go if need be, pretty sure the other was/is cracked. The BARS stopped the smoking, but I agree it needs corrected not bandaged up. Not totally sure if I'll keep it once it returns from the shop and all is good!!!! Cool looking truck, gets a lot of compliments out.