Oh cooling gurus. please impart unto me peace of mind. I ran my 305 a little hot a couple of times, and i always have a slight tickling fear at the back of my head about my head gaskets. There's no coolant in the oil, no oil in the coolant, but when the system starts to warm up i get a little pressure in the upper radiator hose, no false boiling, no torrential billowing of coolant out of the radiator. its like 15* right now, so that probably explaines the exhaust smoke, it doesnt smell like coolant, but when its warming up if i run it it 2000 RPMs my hand will get pretty wet behind the exhaust, but it does not smell or taste like coolant, just water. when the car reaches temperature my hand will stay dry, but stil kinda smokey, it's more smoke than my cadillac puts out, but then again I have no cat, and I have headers and a new 3 inch system on the car. so what do you guys think? am I just over cautious and paranoid? or is there reason for worry? (the car does NOT over heat now that the fans are operating properly)

 

sounds pretty normal to me-that ticking could be a worn
cam,rocker arm,etc.The smoke might be bad valve stem
seals.

 

its white, but smells like exhaust, not of coolant, car does not burn oil, also no ticking at all.. dont know where u got that from >.> new valve stem seals, as well as springs, and cam

 

what?

anyway, if there is nothing in your oil or radiator (intermixing of the 2) then you should be fine. All cars release condensation when its cold outside....

 

my hand WILL get wet (@ 2000 RPMS when the car is cold, it stops as it gets hotter), and yes i know what coolant tastes like, and what it shoots onto my hand tastes like clean(ish) water.

yes, i am stupid for tasting it, so lets not let the criticism go any farther than that

 

Car's normal. More smoke than caddy is likely just the difference in exhaust between the two. Camaro is just retaining more moisture in exhaust hence, more smoke. You already eliminated all the primary symptoms of a problem so you are good. In regards to valves, smoke from valves is usually just when starting an already warm engine. Warm oil is thinner and leaks past valves easier. Once it burns off the smoke goes away. Only in extreme cases does it smoke all the time if it is from valves. Also, the ticking noise mentioned above i think was just confused with your remark, "tickling in the back of my head", no worries there either.

 

oddly enough i had the same question, mine smokes when its cold too and my hands get wet when i hold them behind the pipes, it just smells like fuel though never tasted it myself though lol

 

Coolant tastes sweet...just to let you know...dont ask how I know.
Not a thirdgen but my deloreans been doing this too and it didnt
before the winter started so it seems likely that its just condensation.

 

Come on guys. H20 is a product of combustion (along with all of those other C-chemicals). Your engine is always producing water in the exhaust. You just don't feel it when it's hotter because it's not condensing. This is why a newly started car may drip water out of the muffler (and most mufflers will have a drain hole).

The Cad may not have produced as much water (burned less fuel) or the exhaust system heated up quicker (more likely if it was a newer car).

Also why it's not always a good idea to run a low t-stat. Exhaust blow-by gets into the crankcase (why we have PCV right?) and if the water cannot boil out it will stay in the oil and create acids and sludge. That's why your oil NEEDS to get above water's boiling point.

 

Good to know. Thanks. Even though I wouldn't have been concerned, I like knowing the details.

 

ok, minds a little bit more settled now, like I said, just a fear