Lately, just about every time I cut the engine and get out of my car and look back I notice smoke coming out of the engine bay from around the passengers side edge of the hood. It's been doing it enough to discolor the red paint to a blackish color in that area. I popped the hood, but by the time I get my hood to release right the smoke is gone. I don't know what is causing it so I'm asking yall. I wish I could get to it to see exactly where it is coming from. The car will roll over to 169k miles tommorow so from the looks of it I might be driving on borrow time since it seems my idle gets rougher and rougher ever day among some other things. I might look into maybe taking over payments on the 97 Malibu that my uncle got for my cousin that she refused to pay for. I don't know what I'll do.

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Red 1986 SC, 2.8L, rebuilt 700R4, 3.42, t-tops, 168K miles and counting, K&N air filters w/ removed air baffles, hopefully more to come!
RIP #3

 

Umm... does it heat up? Like really HEAT up. My car will steam, and there turns out to be a pin hole in the rad. Under normal driving I would get steam rolling out, and by the time you get under the hood it is gone.

The pin-hole is in the front right side of the rad on my car, its hard to see, but I let my car Sit and IDLE, and after it heated up, there was steam rolling out. And sure enough it goes down on anti-freeze. Not much though, just enought to notice.

 

Might also be an oil leak. I have a leak on the passenger side (head/valve cover gasket area), and after driving, or even while driving on a hot day, I get smoke for the oil dripping on the exhaust when I am stopped. Some people have even been nice enough to point this out and tell me my car is on fire.

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1989 Firebird 2.8L MPFI
K&N cone filter
Flowmaster series 80 w/ custom 2.5in Cat-back
Accel Cap, rotor, coil, 8mm wires, Rapidfires
Energy Suspension bushings
Edlebrock springs
Bilstien Shocks & Struts
Shift Kit
245/45-16 Goodyear GSC's on polished stock rims
Lots of TLC

 

the first time my tranny went i had that problem it was straming outta the passanger side of the hood. My friend was all your cars onfire i thoght he was jokeing get out smoke commin from the hood but it was just the tranny too bad it didnt catch fire uggg.

 

Maybe you have a leaking exhaust manifold? If you have an auto trans, maybe the dipstick isn't seated all the way into the tube, and you're getting trans fluid somehow splashing out?

If the engine's dirty, clean it down with some engine cleaner (don't get it on the paint!!!!). Maybe that'll help track a leak.


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-Tom P (Hot rodded 1986 Firebird 2.8l)

 

I can't rember if the the '86 had the Evap can on the pass or driver side. If it is on the pass. side check the can and the purge valve. If the purge valve is bad it heat up and smoke... A lot of smoke.

 

I think its more from an oil leak than anything. I know it is smoke not steam and I don't have a cooling problem so that isn't it. The evap can, if it's what I'm thinking of is on the drivers side I think. I might be thinking about something else. I do need to put some engine degreaser so to it. Parts are a little dirty so maybe I can find ALL of my many leaks that way. Thanks.

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Red 1986 SC, 2.8L, rebuilt 700R4, 3.42, t-tops, 168K miles and counting, K&N air filters w/ removed air baffles, hopefully more to come!
RIP #3

 

Well the smoke thing I had that problem too. start up the car, and look at the front crank pulley, the seal in behind it went on mine and it would leak oil out.

The smoke was caused when the oil would splatter back on the exhaust or the hot hoses going to the radiator. When I would shut the car off it would have smoke rolling out from under the hood.

To fix it costed $12 (canadian) I installed it myself of course, and took a total of an hour Not to mention it cured the oil lose I would see, at the end the seal was completely gone, and a 30km drive blew out 2 litres of oil, ouch... by the way if this is the problem, it wouln't hurt to install a new PCV valve...