It does this when it starts,it does not smoke when it is warmed up or on the highway,only on start-up.Should I be worried???What does it mean,my uncle told me the valve guides drips oil in the combustion chambers and the more it sits the more it will smoke on start up.

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86 iroc,canary yellow,fully loaded

 

mine does it a little too, especially after sitting in the driveway for a day or 2. its probable that the valve seals have rotted away and the guides might be a little worn. its more of an inconvenience than anything else.

 

It just means that the valve seals are worn out and need to be replaced, so the engine is burning some oil. I don't know of any Camaros that don't do it. Its nothing to worry about, if you ever do pull your valve covers off and your springs, you might as well replace the seals, they are like $15 for a set of 16.

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1987 Chevy Camaro IROC-Z
L98 TPI 350 (5.7L)
TH 700R-4 Transmission with 2.77:1 Rear End

Current Mods: Edelbrock TES 1 5/8" Headers, Hooker 3" Aerochamber Cat-Back System, Performance Resource Chip with 160* Thermostat, Accel Ignition Coil, Cap, Rotor, 8.8mm Wires, K&N Filters, JET TPI Air Foil, All Free Mods, Falken ZIEX Z-Rated Tires.

Best ET : 14.32 @ 97.7mph
(corrected for elevation)

Next on the list: LT4 HOT Cam

 

Welcome to the world of owning a small block V8!!

 

SBC anyhow



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60 Ranchero - Project ( Money Hole )
85 Sport Coupe LG4 - Daily Driver

Livin' the Stereotype

 

I should probably knock on wood after this, but w/ 103K miles on my 88, it still doesn't puff smoke at startup, NOW that I said that ... it'll leak now ...

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The Camaro Shrine
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'88 Camaro IROC-Z 350 TPI
'98 Grand Prix GTP 3.8L SC

"Yea, though I walk through the valley of rice,
I shall fear no Turbo; for Torque art with me."
- Cullan Hooley

[This message has been edited by Allan (edited December 29, 2000).]

 

If it's not a bad smoke start you might just try switching to a thicker oil, or if you're running synthetic go to normal oil.

When I switched from normal oil to synthetic minor holes or cracks in the valve seals became apparent because I started to get a little smoke on start up. I'm not sure if I'm going to switch back unless it gets really bad because of the advantages of synthetic, though. Or I could just buy a spring compressor and change the damn seals

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1982 Camaro Z28

trying to make it worthwhile for the spring....

Check the website for progress http://members.fbody.com/Pro82Z/

 

Is it possible to change the seals w/o removing the heads? What keeps the engine from swallowing the valved when you compress the springs?


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91 Formula 305 TPI Stock
88 Formula 350 TPI Stock

 

It happens on V6s too!

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1992 Camaro RS 3.1L
T5 Manual 5 speed
Cold/RAM air intake
Z-28 Exhaust
8.5mm MSD Ignition wires
TB Coolant bypass

Soon to be a 3.8L turbo RS

AIM screen name - Stopsign696

Kills:

95 (****) Probe GT
94 Mustang GT
91 CRX (dont ask me why he raced me)
2nd Gen Z28 (350) haha to you V8 guys!
1992 RS 305 TBI (good race)
First Gen Integra
More to come

 

As said above, welcome to the world of small block Chevy's

If you can survive the embarrassment from the Ford guys, don't worry about it.

 

My 84 has done it for 100,000 miles. You can live with it or fix it. No adverse effects on engine from experience of 220,000 miles and it gets ran hard when I get around to driving it.

You can change springs w/o removing the heads by using an adaptor to plug into the spark plug hole and using an air compressor. You just have to make sure you have the crank/cam positioned so the valve is closed when you pressure up so it doesn't flow right by the valve.
Craig

84 Z28 305HO, 5spd, 220,000 miles, Edelbrock intake, Hedman headers, low restriction exh(w/cat), K&N air filter. Best 1/4 so far 14.649 @ 94.77mph

 

Oh, forgot to mention, if you decide that you can't live with it, Chevy High Performance (the magazine) had an article last month (or maybe the month before) with a step-by-step instruction on changing the valve seals. It was a good article and included pictures...

 

Yes the can all be changed without pulling the heads.

There are basically two methods to prevent the valve(s) from dropping.

One is to remove the spark plugs and stuff a length of nylon rope in the spark plug hole(s). Be sure to leave some hanging out so you can remove the rope when you're done. The ropes acts to prevent the valve from dropping down too far. Of course, you need to have the piston at top dead center for this to work.

The second way is with an air compressior and a fitting that screws into the spark plug hole. The compressed air applies pressure to the valve head and keeps it seated while you compress the spring.

Once you begin compressing the spring, you may need to tap the retainer with a mallet to break the seal of the locks.

Once you've re-installed the spring/retainer and locks, give the retainer a good whack with your mallet - or a piece of 2x4 struck with a hammer - to make sure the locks are seated.

Be sure not to let any of the locks drop into the engine!

Oil the seals before you install them to reduce the friction as they're being installed over the valve stem. Don't press the new seals on too far or you'll distort them and destroy their sealing ability.

Depending on clearance problems, a lever type spring compressor may not clear some obstacles to let you get to all the valves. You may need the screw type spring compressor.

Hope this helps.

Jake



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1986 Corvette Coupe, 415 CID, Edelbrock 6073s, ZZ9

 

Mike,

If it's any consolation, my '86 TA started doing this at about 16,000 miles (for the original owner down the block). I now have 45,000 on it, and it still does it. I use hardly any oil (synthetic) between changes, and I don't foul plugs nor the oxygen sensor, so I'm not too concerned. Neither of the LT1s do this, but they both have Teflon seals.

It'll probably do this forever, since the extra upper cylinder lube at start-up is somewhat beneficial, and I haven't found a problem with it yet.

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Later,
Vader
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"No matter how hard you try you can't stop us now"
Adobe Acrobat Reader 4.0

 

Hey Vader, where do you get those teflon seals? I've looked everywhere...

 

OK. Who wants a possible quick fix to this problem that costs about $4 and takes less than 30 seconds?

Go to your autoparts store.
Buy a can of Bardahl 2. It's a tin can.
Add this oil additive to your vehicle.

Boom. Done.
Worked for me.

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West Coast Performance
1989 Formula 305 TBI

 

You don't have to use rope or the air compressor. pair of valves, bump that cylinder until a kleenex comes bursting out of the plug hole (of course you have to stuff it in beforehand) and you'll be at tdc for that cylinder. then the cylinder itself will stop the valve from falling in.

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89 Iroc-Z LB9 305 TPI auto 2.73 posi:
3" Dynomax "cat" back,K&N filters, TB bypass, 3" pipe in place of cat, cleaned and flow-matched injectors, 180' thermo, mild ignition mods, synthetic oil, kicker sound system, soon to attempt engine swap...