white smoke .....appeared today - The 1947 - Present Chevrolet & GMC Truck Message Board Network

Cliff · 09-28-2004, 07:02 PM

Hey guys and gals. I was driving my 72 chev today with a 350/700r4 and i suddenly noticed a enormous amt of white smoke behind me. I have nothing irregular on my dipstick and my coolant level looks to be ok as well. I have true dual exhaust all the way back and the smoke is only comming out of the drivers exhaust. I'm sure it's not gonna be good news, but lets hear it fellas ? head gasket ? piston ring ? I dunno where to begin or if there are any little tests i can do to pinpoint this problem. Thanks everyone, you'll all are great. Cliff

cableguy0 · 09-28-2004, 07:03 PM

white smoke generally is coolant so i would do a compression test to check and see if theres a cracked head or bad head gasket. once you find which cylinder it is pull that head off and do a good visual then send the head out to be pressure tested and install with a new gasket

RON WOODGEARD · 09-28-2004, 07:22 PM

CABLEGUY, is right on... It's water somewhere, getting into the combustion chamber..

olblue60@aol.com · 09-28-2004, 07:45 PM

It could be just as simple as just the head gasket too. It happened to me a few years back

Longhorn Man · 09-28-2004, 08:10 PM

Or a messed up block, like mine is.

Did you happen to run it hot today, or rev the crap out of it?

mr402 · 09-29-2004, 10:28 PM

One more thing to check. If your running the red antifreeze (dexron) and have left in in there a while it turns acidic. It will eat right through older intake gaskets.

curbyk · 09-30-2004, 06:45 AM

You can usually tell which cylinder it is by removing the plugs, unless they are fairly new the coolant will steam clean them or they will have coolant on them.

**kwmech** · 09-30-2004, 10:21 AM

Could also be just an intake gasket sucking the water into the intake port. Check the end cylinders first.

Cliff · 09-30-2004, 07:15 PM

Hey everyone, sorry I haven't responded.. I'm at school and very busy and now the truck is smoking badly still lol. I pulled the plugs today and on the drivers side of the engine, the plug closest to the firewall was covered badly in oil. Infact oil poured out of this cylinder when i took the plug out I believe. I have a puddle under it now. I had a very hard time starting the truck today, it turned forever then finally popped and started before i ran the battery dead. None of the plugs were "steam cleaned" so I wanted to see where to go next with the oil covered plug. Will I find more clues if I pull the valve cover off ?

Thanks everyone.... Cliff

cableguy0 · 09-30-2004, 07:26 PM

wow that sounds like its burning oil are you sure the smoke isnt blue. sounds to me like either the rings are totally fu@!ed on that cylinder or you blew the headgasket and there is and oil passage there

Cliff · 09-30-2004, 07:50 PM

the smoke looks entirely more white than blue, but that plug was for sure soaked in oil ARGH.....

grayw0lf · 09-30-2004, 08:34 PM

If it were me, I'd hope for a bad head gasket.

Cliff · 09-30-2004, 08:52 PM

would the bad head gasket cause oil leakage ? I'm hoping it's that as well.

68C15 · 10-01-2004, 07:35 AM

do your self a favor & pull both heads for a valve job. that way you will have new gaskets, valve seals & good valve-seat sealing.
Todd

Stryker67 · 10-01-2004, 02:17 PM

Hey all, I had a similar incident after rebuilding my engine and tranny in one of my '72's. I had white smike pouring out the passenger exhaust. It wasn't immediate at start-up, just after it ran a little while. After pulling the head on the passneger side TWICE, and finding absolutely NOTHING wrong, I was really getting upset. I called an old Chevy builder I know, and told him what was going on. He asked if the modulator on the tranny was replaced. I checked, and it wasn't. As it turns out, tranny fluid was being sucked up the line and into the intake vacumm port behind the carb. While I was happy to fix it for $5, I wasn't happy that I had missed the problem. Might not hurt to check that before tearing into the engine.

Mixup · 10-01-2004, 04:04 PM

He said he has a 700R4 and they don't have a modulator.

Stryker67 · 10-02-2004, 09:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mixup

He said he has a 700R4 and they don't have a modulator.

Oops.... missed that. Maybe this will help somebody else

ksamps01 · 10-02-2004, 11:30 AM

I had a similar problem when I got my truck but I also had smoke coming out of the valve cover through the breather. I ran a compression test and had zero on #5 Cylinder. The rings and ring grooves were busted up.

Only option I had financially was to replace that piston. I would have prefered to do a full rebuild with machine work but, it has been running strong for almost a year. Maybe I just got lucky.(There's a first time for everything)

RON WOODGEARD · 10-02-2004, 06:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stryker67

Oops.... missed that. Maybe this will help somebody else

Stryker, That was a GREAT point though,, I forgot all about that one... Good catch !!!!

09-28-2004, 07:02 PM	#1
Cliff Registered User Join Date: Dec 1999 Location: Pittsburgh PA Posts: 291	white smoke .....appeared today Hey guys and gals. I was driving my 72 chev today with a 350/700r4 and i suddenly noticed a enormous amt of white smoke behind me. I have nothing irregular on my dipstick and my coolant level looks to be ok as well. I have true dual exhaust all the way back and the smoke is only comming out of the drivers exhaust. I'm sure it's not gonna be good news, but lets hear it fellas ? head gasket ? piston ring ? I dunno where to begin or if there are any little tests i can do to pinpoint this problem. Thanks everyone, you'll all are great. Cliff __________________ 1972 Custom deluxe 305/350 C/10 8-foot bed with 1/4 inch diamond plate steel bed floor.

09-28-2004, 07:03 PM	#2
cableguy0 Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2000 Location: Delta,Pa Posts: 14,948	white smoke generally is coolant so i would do a compression test to check and see if theres a cracked head or bad head gasket. once you find which cylinder it is pull that head off and do a good visual then send the head out to be pressure tested and install with a new gasket __________________ Owner of North Point Car Care in Dundalk Md. We specialize in custom exhaust on both modern and classic vehicles. We are a full service auto shop from classics to modern vehicles. Feel free to contact me with questions. I will give a 10% discount to any board member.

09-28-2004, 07:45 PM	#4
olblue60@aol.com member Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Silver Spring Md.20901 Posts: 2,031	It could be just as simple as just the head gasket too. It happened to me a few years back __________________ 1967 C/K10 Chevy Panel 1968 C/K20 Chevy Pickup 1968 C/K10 Chevy Suburban 1941 Chevy Sedan Delivery 1960 Chevy Sedan Delivery 1972 Camaro SS 396 #s matching 1971 Harley FX Superglide

09-30-2004, 06:45 AM	#7
curbyk 69 C-10 project Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Eastern, NC Posts: 184	You can usually tell which cylinder it is by removing the plugs, unless they are fairly new the coolant will steam clean them or they will have coolant on them. __________________ 69 C-10 Work is complete

09-30-2004, 07:15 PM	#9
Cliff Registered User Join Date: Dec 1999 Location: Pittsburgh PA Posts: 291	I pulled the plugs ! Hey everyone, sorry I haven't responded.. I'm at school and very busy and now the truck is smoking badly still lol. I pulled the plugs today and on the drivers side of the engine, the plug closest to the firewall was covered badly in oil. Infact oil poured out of this cylinder when i took the plug out I believe. I have a puddle under it now. I had a very hard time starting the truck today, it turned forever then finally popped and started before i ran the battery dead. None of the plugs were "steam cleaned" so I wanted to see where to go next with the oil covered plug. Will I find more clues if I pull the valve cover off ? Thanks everyone.... Cliff __________________ 1972 Custom deluxe 305/350 C/10 8-foot bed with 1/4 inch diamond plate steel bed floor.

09-28-2004, 07:22 PM	#3
RON WOODGEARD Resident Young Old Dude ! Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Nevada Posts: 1,948	CABLEGUY, is right on... It's water somewhere, getting into the combustion chamber..

09-28-2004, 08:10 PM	#5
Longhorn Man its all about the +6 inches Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Hilliard Ohio Posts: 2,690	Or a messed up block, like mine is. Did you happen to run it hot today, or rev the crap out of it?

09-29-2004, 10:28 PM	#6
mr402 Registered User Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Elmira, Oregon Posts: 449	One more thing to check. If your running the red antifreeze (dexron) and have left in in there a while it turns acidic. It will eat right through older intake gaskets.

09-30-2004, 10:21 AM	#8
kwmech Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Colfax-California Posts: 8,650	Could also be just an intake gasket sucking the water into the intake port. Check the end cylinders first.

09-30-2004, 07:26 PM	#10
cableguy0 Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2000 Location: Delta,Pa Posts: 14,948	wow that sounds like its burning oil are you sure the smoke isnt blue. sounds to me like either the rings are totally fu@!ed on that cylinder or you blew the headgasket and there is and oil passage there __________________ Owner of North Point Car Care in Dundalk Md. We specialize in custom exhaust on both modern and classic vehicles. We are a full service auto shop from classics to modern vehicles. Feel free to contact me with questions. I will give a 10% discount to any board member.

09-30-2004, 07:50 PM	#11
Cliff Registered User Join Date: Dec 1999 Location: Pittsburgh PA Posts: 291	re the smoke looks entirely more white than blue, but that plug was for sure soaked in oil ARGH..... __________________ 1972 Custom deluxe 305/350 C/10 8-foot bed with 1/4 inch diamond plate steel bed floor.

09-30-2004, 08:34 PM	#12
grayw0lf Registered User Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Clanton, AL Posts: 1,253	If it were me, I'd hope for a bad head gasket. __________________ 85' CUCV M1009!!! The newest addition! 6.2diesel, Th400, NP208, & only 36k miles! 70' C-10 LWB Fleetside - Looking good these days! 05' Dodge Neon 88' Winner Escape Sport 1750 - 4.3v6 94' Seadoo SP 84' Honda TRX200, bare nekkid. Just a frame & tires. Always looking for another project or any good deal!

09-30-2004, 08:52 PM	#13
Cliff Registered User Join Date: Dec 1999 Location: Pittsburgh PA Posts: 291	re would the bad head gasket cause oil leakage ? I'm hoping it's that as well. __________________ 1972 Custom deluxe 305/350 C/10 8-foot bed with 1/4 inch diamond plate steel bed floor.

10-01-2004, 07:35 AM	#14
68C15 blood type; Retumbo Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: next to my reloading bench Posts: 10,269	do your self a favor & pull both heads for a valve job. that way you will have new gaskets, valve seals & good valve-seat sealing. Todd __________________ Man rule #77...if you own a 67 stepside with a caddy 472 you will never be in danger of loosing you man card

10-01-2004, 02:17 PM	#15
Stryker67 Registered User Join Date: May 2004 Location: Fayetteville, Ga. Posts: 150	Hey all, I had a similar incident after rebuilding my engine and tranny in one of my '72's. I had white smike pouring out the passenger exhaust. It wasn't immediate at start-up, just after it ran a little while. After pulling the head on the passneger side TWICE, and finding absolutely NOTHING wrong, I was really getting upset. I called an old Chevy builder I know, and told him what was going on. He asked if the modulator on the tranny was replaced. I checked, and it wasn't. As it turns out, tranny fluid was being sucked up the line and into the intake vacumm port behind the carb. While I was happy to fix it for $5, I wasn't happy that I had missed the problem. Might not hurt to check that before tearing into the engine. __________________ [FONT=Georgia] If nothing else, we can all serve as a bad example. We don't know what we don't know. The world needs ditch-diggers too.



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10-01-2004, 04:04 PM	#16
Mixup Registered User Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Henderson, NV Posts: 358	White smoke He said he has a 700R4 and they don't have a modulator. __________________ 1980 Chevy Shortbed Pickup 1969 Z28 engine Turbo 350

10-02-2004, 11:30 AM	#18
ksamps01 Registered User Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Farmersville, TX - Northeast of Dallas Posts: 56	I had a similar problem when I got my truck but I also had smoke coming out of the valve cover through the breather. I ran a compression test and had zero on #5 Cylinder. The rings and ring grooves were busted up. Only option I had financially was to replace that piston. I would have prefered to do a full rebuild with machine work but, it has been running strong for almost a year. Maybe I just got lucky.(There's a first time for everything) __________________ 1967 Chevy LWB Fleetside 350/400 (Worn Smooth Out) Resto in progress It may be ugly but at least it's slow!!

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