Hey guys, I am new to the game with Camaros and had a question. I went yesterday to look at a convertible 89. It was idling rough but said it just needed to warm up. not to worried off that but what got my attention was that, after the car had been running for about a half hour to an hour, the seller shut off the car and showed me the car. When he left I was following him and a cloud of white smoke came out of the exhaust as he pulled away. Is this a serious problem? He said he just gotten a full tune up. Any help?

 

bad valve seals.i assume all chevys over 120000 miles do that.mine does.not way expensive to fix.ask this under 'general engine'forum.

 

Nothing to do with the tune up. You are burning oil and it is likely the valve seals or piston rings. If it was just a puff as you said, it likely the valve seals. If it was continuous, I would do a compression test to see how well the rings are holding up.

 

Do you thing it could be the headers?

 

Bluish smoke would indicate burning oil, but white smoke could be a coolant leak. Check the coolant levels. It could be a blown head gasket. Valve stem seals are a fairly common problem, but in my experience when they start to harden up you get some smoke at start-up that clears up quickly.

 

My vert has been doing that for almost 20 years. If it's been sitting for more than an hour I get a puff of whitish smoke, never had any leaks or issues with the car whatsoever. Definitely not coolant. I spoke with my mechanic and he said it was something he was use to seeing with cars like mine. I wasn't sure if he meant make or model or age, didn't bother to ask.

 

also it should not idle noticeably rough when cold, just idle high. something is up with that too.

question is, do you want a car to tinker with?

you could have fun fixing these problems

use these issues to get it for a good price