Hi all,

Im new here but have used the site for many of my recent repairs including heater core replacement, window motor replacement and a slew of other fixes that I couldn't have done with out the vast wealth of knowledge contained here..so here is my issue..my 91 rs 305 tbi has been off the road for approx 8 years..i just moved back to texas and got her on the road...the car had a full tank of gas sitting it it the whole time it was off the road..I know i shoulda drained it but i didnt have any way to do so..so i drove it for a while and burned out most of the old gas..I then bought some gum-out to clean everything up and refilled the tank...drove till had 1/4 tank left and then put another 10 gallons in..almost immediately my car began to smoke..a whitish gray smoke..after the car has warmed up..it is not constant but generally when i stop at a light and start moving again i get a pretyy good cloud...I have checked my oil and see no bubbles and it is clean..also cooloant is nice and green..could it possibly be the gum-out I used causing my smoke (fingers crossed)..im just hoping its not a head gasket or head issue. any input is greatly appreciated!

 

really, noone has any idea?

 

I suppose it could be. What comes to mind is valve seals.

Is the smoke kinda bluish is color like burnt oil? Usually happens on first startup and when you take off from the redlight? If so, sounds like valve seals. They wear over time, and allow oil to leak down into the cylinders and burn. And if your car sat for 8 years without running at all, they are bound to have dried out.

It's not an imperative job - all it means is that your leaking a tad of oil that is getting burnt - doesn't really hurt anything. You can drive it for years with no issues.

It's quite possible to replace them without removing the heads. You have to use an air compressor to hold the valves up with air pressure through the spark plug holes so they don't fall all the way down into the cylinder while changing the seals. I've also read where folks used a very long length of nylon rope - they remove the plug, put the rope in the hole and feed it in until it filles the cylinder, that way the valve can't fall. You'll need a spring removal tool as well. The seals themselves are cheap, you want new teflon umbrella seals - these will not wear like the OEM factory seals (better technology since then).

And welcome to TGO!

 

Next time you get a chance and its doing this, go around and stick your hand in front of the exhaust pipe and hold it there a bit. If your hand gets wet and it looks and feels like water hopefully it's a head gasket and not a cracked head. If it's not water,great!

 

If indeed it's whitish gray smoke it would indicate a rich condition. I would test the coolant temp sensor. It's located on the front of the intake manifold just above the water pump.