So back in November i got my engine rebuilt by a local shop, it was during the cold season here in houston so i thought the engine was just smoking because of the weather.

but now things are getting warmer here and ive noticed that on start up my engine throws out white smoke, and sometimes it will also do it at idle if i run the car hard.

Its not EXtremely bad..but it is to the point where if i look out my driverside window i can see white smoke coming from the back of my car. (sometimes not always)

Ive been checking my oil and havent noticed a drop in oil level or anything.

My complete setup is, Vortec 355, holley 4160 carb, hooker 2460 shorties, 2500 stall, and the following comp cam http://www.summitracing.com/parts/CCA-08-450-8/


My main concern is that the cam lift might be too high for my vortec heads.

When i got the engine rebuilt i purchased new lifters, springs, heads got machined etc.. but they were not reworked specifically for my cam.

Now i know that vortec heads wont flow past .500 lift, my main question is what problems would i run into running the extra lift? Could it be the cause of my smoking? I really doubt its the piston rings or anything like that, i went with speed pro forged pistons



I also think i might have a carb leak, not sure if that would cause me any smoking, but when i shut my car off it stumbles trying to stay on for a few extra seconds.

Ive been having a lot of minor issues, that i have to work on.. funny thing is i thought that once i had the engine rebuilt i would be out of problems but even today i still cant get things to work 100% right, any thoughts/opinions on what the smoking could be and on how i should go about the whole situation are much appreciated.

Thanks for reading guys.

 

The running after turning key off - is timing - you have a timing issue and need to adjust timing. It's called 'deiseling'. What is your timing set at now? Should be at least 10* BTDC.

Is the smoke white, or blu-ish? Bluish smoke is oil burning, usually because of bad valve stem seals - the oil leaks down from the lifters/rockers area past the valve stem seals and into the chamber where it gets burned. Did you have new valve stem seals installed?

 

Yeah i tried setting my timing, but unfortunately the geniuses that put together my car didnt put in the timing tab when they reassembled the engine. So my car now has nothing to go by when it comes to timing.

its set so that it doesnt ping while cruising or when i floor it but the other day i decided to floor it for a longer time and i heard what sounded like pinging but only after i reached well over 100mph.

Ive looked up timing tabs before so i can get one to put on my car but some are labeled at 7' and 8' and i wasnt sure what to go by.

As far as the smoke goes it looks like white smoke to me but im not 100% sure on that. All seals were new when the engine was re assembled.

What could i do to remedy the dieseling?
do you think the smoke could have something to do with the lift?

 

you need to measure the diameter of your balancer then get the according timing tab.

 

Watch your coolant levels and oil levels closely. If those are both stable and look the right color then it's a fuel/spark issue. If it was fuel it'd be darker smoke and it would have a strong gas smell... Im not sure I buy that it's fuel. Could be the rings not sealing, but that doesnt explain why it's so bad at idle.

 

Dieseling can be caused by the throttle plate hanging open too far. What is your idle speed? Does it diesel all the time, or just when you shut it off when the choke/fast idle is still on?