I have a 1984 305 HO L69 Camaro and I'm working on trying to get it to pass smog in California.

I took a carburetor off another car, rebuilt it, and put in on the Camaro. It was the exact same carb, an E4ME Quadrajet.

Now smoke is coming out of the exhaust and I'm not sure what its from. Is the engine burning oil? Did I do something wrong with the carburetor?

Any info would help, thanks.

 

What color is the smoke? Bluish white smoke is oil smoke. Black smoke is fuel. Does it smoke when it's warm or just while it's warming up? If it's fuel, you either need to look at the choke setting or think about pulling the carb top and checking the float, needle and seat.

 

The smoke is a white color and it smokes all the time. So it sounds like oil.

Is this something that would prevent me from passing smog?

I checked the pressure of each cylinder and they are fine, so I'm guessing its something with the valve seals or guides.

 

Sniff the smoke. Does it smell like burning oil? Or maybe sweet like coolant? If it's oil, check the PCV valve for sticking. Pull the PCV valve and look at the amount of gases coming from the valve cover. It should be very light at idle. If it seems excessive, you may want to try an oil change in case your oil is fuel contaminated. If the smoke is coolant steam, you may have bigger issues.

 

The PCV valve is new and working. I pulled it out and it was smoking very light at idle.

I don't think its coolant steam. I'm going to try replacing the valve stem seals and see if that helps the problem.

Thanks.

 

Valve stem seals will cause smoke at start up. Smoke from a warm engine is generally from rings. You might try a compression restore product like Rislone. I've had reasonable success with it. I use the original blue rislone, added at an oil change. Run it for an oil change or two and generally you'll see improvement within a few weeks. If all else fails, Lucas Oil Stabilizer will buy you some time before an overhaul.

 

Today I went to a shop to replace my catalytic converter. When the old cat came off it was completely empty (drilled straight through ) and I was unaware it was like this. With the new cat on it barely smokes, if at all.

I appreciate all your help, thanks again.