White Smoke
 

My truck has a 350 but occasionally smokes a puff of white smoke. the smoke is not constant. does the carb need to be rebuilt/tuned. i check the oil and coolant and they are not mixed at all. Any thing will help thanks

Re: White Smoke
 

If the white smoke has a blueish tint to it then your burning oil. Usually a sign of bad piston rings or valve seals..

Sometimes though it's just steam/condensation blowing out of the pipes, but that is a solid white steam.

Re: White Smoke
 

white smoke is usually steam. it could be coolant, but if it's not consistant then it might just be condensation in your exhaust from the cooling cycle

Re: White Smoke
 

i was thinking about changing the head gaskets just for the sake of it. not sure if that with fix it.

Re: White Smoke
 

I watched the exhaust at its smoking from the driver side pipe

Re: White Smoke
 

I don't know about you, but I'd have to see a lot more of it on a consistent basis before I pulled the heads and changed the head gaskets for the heck of it. That's a lot of work and just one of many ways to waste money if there is no justification for the job. There are ways to check for head gasket issues that will point to a blown head gasket, if that is the problem. Compression tests are another tool. But, to arbitrarily pull the heads to replace the gaskets? Not saying it is foolish, but......I'd have to have some strong incentive to want to do that for a puff of white smoke on occasions.

Smoking from an engine can be diagnosed by the old school methods. Blue smoke is oil-related. Black smoke is fuel-related. White smoke is water-related. As stated in a prior post, condensation is suspected. As dry as your air is in AZ, and from what I recall when I was stationed at D-M, condensation isn't going to be around very long. If you aren't driving your vehicle for at least 10-15 miles, it isn't warming up properly and condensation is going to exist in your exhaust system until the parts have warmed up enough to cause it to evaporate.

I think you are making something out of nothing....but, it's your truck.

Re: White Smoke
 

What sort of smoke is it? Pure white, or white with a blueish tint?

Re: White Smoke
 

your probably right chevloray, im going to far with out checking the basics. the smoke is white but not that thick its not blueish just kind of foggy white and it happens when at idle every now and then when i gas it at higher speeds

Re: White Smoke
 

condensation fuel additives 40year old engines add up to some smoke//get used to it

Re: White Smoke
 

Do a compression check first as someone mentioned, then take it to a reliable repair shop that has the coolant analyzers. They will check for exhaust components in the coolant that can be another good indication that you may have a head gasket going. They (not a car dealership) will usually do the coolant check for free.