macmatt

Hey Everyone. Can't remember if I posted this before but here it goes. My car has a bad smoking problem. It's not just at start up but all the time now, and it doesn't matter if the engine is hot or cold. If I hit the gas I get a cloud like you wouldn't believe. Other than this the engine runs very smoothly and sounds great. I suspect that it might be the valve seals so I pulled all the spark plugs to check for oil and there wan't a whole heck of a lot on the plugs. Some didn't have any at all. Plus while I had the plugs out I decided to check the compression on the engine. Here are the readings from each cylinder:
Cyl 1 - 114 psi
Cyl 2 - 139 psi
Cyl 3 - 125 psi
Cyl 4 - 120 psi
Cyl 5 - 145 psi
Cyl 6 - 130 psi
Cyl 7 - 139 psi
Cyl 8 - 148 psi

As far as I can tell from these readings my engine, at least the bottom end, is in good shape.
Here is a link to what the plugs looked like when I pulled them:
http://gallery.me.com/mgoodwin6/101018

In addition when I was doing this I had the car up on ramps. It was up on them for about 5 hours or so because I had to keep stopping. Anyway when I started the engine to bring it back down the rockers made quite a noticeable tapping noise. Something it hasn't done before. When I backed it off the ramps the noise quieted down and within about 5 mins it went away. Which makes me think the oil pump may be starting to go.

My question is this...Should I replace the valve seals, get the heads redone, replace the heads or just look at another engine? Given the possibility that the heads need to come off and the engine needs to be pulled for the oil pump I'm not sure I want to sink any more money into this engine. Let me know what you guys think. Thanks!

camarosrock1989

iTrader: (1)

bump, hope you get some answers. What color is the smoke? Plugs need changed forsure, you might as well change wires also. I would clean the injector first. but it takes a little while after doing it for the smoke to clear. If the car runs good, it doesn't sound serious. I had some of these issues and changed my plugs, wires, cleaned injectors and the smoking stopped.

TTOP350

iTrader: (8)

check the oil level and make sure it has 5qts.
pull the valve covers off and check the rear most oil drain holes in the heads 4 blockage. I have fixed several smoking motor probs by cleaning the head drains.
your comprsion test isnt very even across the board buuut if it runs smooth..

macmatt

It is a light blue smoke. I'll try cleaning out the drain holes in the heads. That's simple enough. I don't mind spending time on it if it will help. I get people telling to just put a 350 in it and to be honest I'm tempted to.

Oh and the plugs were changed in April and the wires,cap,rotor, distributor were replaced at the beginning of June

macmatt

I wonder if a bad EGR can also be part of the problem. I keep getting an engine code for EGR. Plus the smell of the smoke tells me it may be running a bit rich. I was told overly advanced timing could do that but I have it set at 6deg per the specs in the Chilton guide. Is that right?

Stevolwevol

iTrader: (1)

How do you clear these holes? I've never done it, but I'm interested in trying it.

macmatt

You can clear the holes by taking off the valve covers (PITA on the Pass side BTW) and taking a small screwdriver and digging out all the gunk that has built up in them over time that doesn't allow the oil to return to the lifter valley. The drain holes are located on both ends of each head just above one of the head bolts and right next to the springs.

Speaking of which I tried that and while it did help I still have a smoking problem. One thing I noticed was that my DS valve cover was leaking and the exhaust manifold bolts on that side were not tight so I fixed that.

I also remembered that I put marvel mystery oil in the engine a while back so I'm wondering if I change the oil and put lucas in it if it will help. Anyone have any ideas on this?

Stevolwevol

iTrader: (1)

It may be the answer to my valve seal smoking in my 86. It seems to smoke a little more after it's warm, and shut off for a while. When cold maybe it eventually drains. It always quits smoking after the engine runs a bit. I tried Marvels in the oil, but I didn't get any results. I use Marvels in the gas at every fill up.

macmatt

It could be. I too had no results with Marvel, but the guys at work swear by 2 products for engine maintenance...Lucas and Sea Foam.

macmatt

Well I have some news on my little problem. As someone who has been in the auto parts industry for many years now I will say that I have never believed there is any "miracle in a bottle". At best the engine and fuel treatments that most places sell are, at best, band-aids that really don't do much if anything. But since I get a good discount at my current employer I decided to try something new. I have so far done everything I know to do and all indications were that I should look into a new engine. Even though mine was running perfectly smooth it was smoking. Well yesterday I did what said I was going to do. I changed my oil and put in Lucas oil stabilizer with Valvoline max life oil as well as Lucas fuel injector cleaner(upper cylinder lube). I left my house and the car was smoking like normal by the time I had gotten to the highway(5 mins away) it was smoking significantly less. By the time I got to work the smoking had stopped completely. When I left 8 hours later still no smoke. I was surprised. While I still think an engine rebuild is inevitable at least now I have some time to prepare and address some of the cars other issues. Just thought I would share my results. I am in no way saying this will work for everyone in every case but it is worth a try and costs very little(about 40 bucks at regular prices). Have a great day all.

Chadmon

I'm actually in the process of doing the oil treatment with the lucas and the marvel mystery oil. i filled up the gas tank today with 93octane and added 4ounces of marvel. Had the jiffy lube down the street get my oil for tommorrow and i plan on using the lucas then.I've been living with this problem since feburary 2011 and actually have had the intake manifold off to replace the gaskets and for 145,000 mile car it looked pretty darn good. Im going to try the oil drain holes as well and will post results this coming weekend. thanks!

macmatt

Yeah that Lucas stuff worked great. I now only get the occaisional puff of smoke at startup. It's only a tiny bit and it's not every time. I would be very careful with Jiffy Lube though. Unless you know the guys doing the work pretty well I would recommend watching them like a hawk while they change your oil. The one's around here are known for forgetting drain plugs, oil filters on too loose or double gasketed, Or pouring the oil in before the drain plug is in. Cheers

Chadmon

Ha i hear ya, luckily i went to automotive technology wth one of the guys that works at jiffy lube. Hell the only reason i get them to do it is because im too lazy to get the car in the air. But anyways the oil treatment helped and the 93 octane and mystery oil has improved mileage and throttle response. But i believe theres still some dry rot in those valve seals or at least wear. I'm going to run it till i get this 4 bolt main 350 built and just keep the 305 for my jeep cj7. But yeah i'd recommend it as a great band-aid for high mileage vehicles.