Sometime this winter my 86 camaro Z28 (305 V8, carbureted, 5-speed manual) started to develop some engine smoke. Since it was winter I just let it sit until it was warm enough to work on.
Doing some testing today, after a very brief drive around the block, maybe 5 minutes of the engine being on and 2 minutes of actual driving, I saw a bit of smoke coming from under the hood.

I parked, popped the hood, and some thin, gray/white smoke was coming from the passenger side of the engine, right around the dipstick or so. The temperature gauge is busted, but I can't imagine the engine was warmed up much at all, so I doubt it has anything to do with cooling.

I did just change the oil and gave it a bit more than was needed, but since the smoke started before this, I know I'm not just burning excess oil off.

How screwed am I?

 

look for leaks in the area, it sounds like some random little thing that started leaking on a 29 year old car. could be a leaking coolant hose dripping on the exhaust manifolds or a leaking valve cover gasket.

I'd also get that temp gauge fixed as soon as possible. a $20 temp sending unit and 10 minutes of work fixed mine

 

I sort of suspected that when I saw the amount of hoses in the area, but I figured it was probably something more severe since I'm not the luckiest.

I'm not sure where to begin with the gauge, its stuck at the absolute bottom of the gauge which I thought was a sign of inadequate grounding, but its firmly in place and I'm not seeing any obvious areas of damaged insulation. Would a poor sending unit still be at fault here?

 

If I remember correctly, it's a grounding issue when the gauge is pegged to the max, not as yours is. I can't remember the troubleshooting for it but I'd bet that it's the sending unit, it's screwed into driver side head around the first cylinder, there should be one green wire going to it

 

Okay, I think that's what I was messing around with, since there's only one green wire in that area. I unplugged it and checked it out and it seemed like it had a pretty solid connection, so I think you're right on it being grounded.
Do I need anything fancy to swap the sending unit, or do I just need to find a way to unscrew the part that the wire was plugged into?

 

I had the same problem with smoke under the hood. My 86 IROC was sitting for 12 plus years in garage and I started it during the summer once in a while. The cork valve cover gaskets dried out and leaked oil on exhaust manifolds causing white smoke. Burnt oil smells different than anti-freeze. Cheek the heater core lines by the fire wall. I changed out the gaskets (pain in A) and eliminated the problem.
Good luck with the fix.

 

This sounds like it could be what I'm going through too. Its leaking smoke from a general area around the 8th and 6th cylinders, but not in any one area, so I figure its more likely to be a gasket than an individual component. It also definitely does not smell like coolant, and the smoke is not blue or black, so I figure you're spot on here.

Think these are good to go? http://www.rickscamaros.com/camaro-v...FYomhgodO0UD-w

I might just replace the valve covers completely while I'm at it, do I need to drain the oil before I get to work or is the effort just in getting the things off the block?

 

You don't need any fancy tools, just a deep wall socket, an extension or two and a ratchet. Once it's out of the head coolant will start pouring out so have a catch can underneath and have the new temp switch ready to be quickly put in.

For the valve cover gaskets it is a big pain for tpi cars on the passenger side head but on a carbed car it shouldn't be that hard at all. You don't need to drain the oil you just have to take off the valve cover, make sure you got off all of the old gasket from the mating surfaces and HAND TIGHTEN the valve cover back on with the new gasket. If you over tighten you can warp the valve covers causing a leak. Some high temp permatex gasket sealer will help as well.

 

Ok so my 86 IROC was sitting all winter and when I finally started her up today had the EXACT same issue. Shined a light and indeed the rear of the passenger valve gasket was a little wet, and the smoke smelt like burning oil.

Ok, so yes the gaskets need changing. Other than the smell, is the oil cooking off dangerous, as in will it get hot enough to cause a fire? Once the car cools, I'll wipe off the little oil there is.