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White smoke

1K views 7 replies 7 participants last post by  Jake_Dragon 
#1 ·
I've got white smoke while idling or driving, makes me think head gaskets blown. Dipstick shows clean oil , no milky look, no increase in fluid level. Water in radiator looks clean. Oil filler cap has grayish color gunk on bottom.
Any other possibilities but gasket or cracked head?
What tests will narrow it down, and any easy fix? Thanks
 
#4 ·
Doc here, :pimp:

If possible (Carbbed) look into the manifold, Is it reddish in color? If so you have a modulator gone south..Does the smoke smell sickly sweet?

Pull the line from the Carb going down to the Transmission, and plug the carb side..Run the car about a half an hour (in the driveway) Does the smoke dissipate? If so replace the modulator.

Also, If not that, Does the Radiator require constant topping off? Run hot or misfire at any Engine RPM? If so this would indicate a head gasket/Cracked Head/block or bad intake manifold gaskets. Blowing as much smoke as you say, It should be constantly low..and run bad.

Pull the plugs, are any Wet, with water? Crank it while watching the plug holes, do any spray water?

Do a pressure test on the radiator, does it hold pressure..

Try those and let us know

Doc :pimp:
 
#6 ·
I car does a little of this, and like yours the oil and coolant are fine. I wasn't able to diagnose the problem in time for winter, but I believe my problem is gas. Either from the cam overlap, clean heads, or junk additives, there is no mistaking that it smells like gas. I still have to retorque my new heads, so maybe there is some cylinder leakage, but I've heard the Fel-Pro blue gaskets are supposed to be okay without one. Maybe it's the crap AC Delco plugs I run, or a bad coil? Can't say for sure, but I can say when I took my phenolic spacer off the driving smoke decreased, probably due to better atomization in the Vic Jr.

And for the people who say white smoke is not gas, run a carb with no primary jets and tell me what color the smoke is...
 
#8 ·
Hows your car doing? I killed the motor in my car 2 days ago. We had some real cold weather and I think my thermostat stuck shut. The motor overheated while I was cleaning the ice off my window.
All the water from my motor is in the oil :(

Anyway I have another car almost ready to drive so its not too bad.
 
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