White Exhaust Smoke on my 292

[thefatguy]

This one is making me slightly nuts, so I thought I'd check with the experts. I've got a 292 that sat a real long time before I started fiddling with it. I've now got it running, and not terribly bad, either, except for the extremely large volume of white smoke from the exhaust at all temperatures. It's practically a weather system of it's own, and I'm really getting worried about angering the neighbors, none of whom are Jr Gearheads like me.

I know that's usually indicative of a blown head gasket or cracked head, but I've done the following shade-tree checks:

1) The oil in the pan and on the filler cap is not "like a chocolate milk-shake." It's regular black oil, with no sign of water. My next plan is to drain it completely and see if it shows up in a larger sample.

2) I've let it idle up to a decent temperature, about 140-150. The smoke dies down somewhat, but if I mash it, here comes the white cloud. It is persistent, not really steam.

3) It is very sweet-smelling, almost gags me.

4) There are no bubbles in the radiator during idle -- a buddy said I would see a lot of bubbles, consistently, if I had a bad head or gasket. I'm not even leaking any water, even a little bit, anywhere.

5) The PO had it put up for almost a year, and I'm 99% sure he had it full of Sta-Bil. The fuel in the filter is dark pink, almost red, not clear like my 1978. Can Sta-Bil in enormous quantities cause this? If so, is there anyway to reduce it down to a more livable level or even neutralize it? I can go get another 5-gallon can of gas to try to dilute it, or dump in some Anti-Sta-Bil.

The bad news is I can't get this out on the road to try to do a more comprehensive test or burn up this freaking Karo syrup in the tank, as it's untitled and uninsured. That should be handled in about a month, but until then, I'd like to get this engine whipped into driving shape, if possible, in the carport.

Any ideas?

[68gmsee]

In most cases, white smoke denotes moisture. Some say that hydraulic fluid may burn whitish also. If he used a lot of additives it's possible that can cause it.

To eliminate the possibility of fuel contamination try this. (It's what I've done in the past).

Remove the rubber hose from the inlet side of the fuel pump and install a 4 foot piece of hose. With fresh gas from a 1 gallon contianer let it run at idle for about 5 minutes to burn any residual gas from the lines. Then check your exhaust.

If it still does it, it's possible it's head gasket. If you have an automtic it may be sucking in fluid from the modulator.

edit: I placed the container under the truck in front side with the hose in it...

[67ChevyRedneck]

Drop or pull the tank (in cab or underbed?) drain it, refill it, restart truck.

You don't want crappy old gas running through your carb.

Also, when I drive my 67 in the winter, and it's cold as crap, it puts out one hell of a white cloud with it's dual exhaust until it gets up to operating temp (180 degrees.) How cold was it down there in Texas when you fired it up? When it's about 45-50 degrees out or warmer, it doesn't "make a cloud."

[piecesparts]

A good radiator shop can test for carbon monoxide in your radiator. It is possible to get water into the cylinders, without getting bubbles in the radiator, but it is in unique situations. Anti-freeze is sticky sweet smelling, so that could be your problem, but so could other things added to your fuel. I agree on running the fuel pump to another source and see if the white smoke goes away.

[cdowns]

1140-150 isnt up to temp put cardboard in front of radiator and get it up to proper temp of 180minimum let it run a good long time to allow all moisture in the exhaust and crankcase to burn off//the really best indicator is a road trip// i'd dump 5gallons of hightest with a can or two of drygas added and keep an eye on the oil and the coolant// my gut feeling is theres nothing wrong and no real need to b pulling tanks or rebuilding carbs at this point

[thefatguy]

I'm gonna give that fuel-line test a try and see what happens. I really strongly suspect it's the Sta-Bil since the exhaust smells exactly like my gas tank. Pretty grossly sweet. I'll grab some drygas, too.

I'll also see about getting it up to 180 without getting it on the road to try to burn it all off.

I'm also begging my carb guy to come by and check the Holley, but nothing I've tweaked on fuel-air has made any noticeable difference in smoke volume, and man, it's a lot of smoke for unburned fuel, to me. I'll see if I can get a picture.

[thefatguy]

Hmph...no amount of idling will get me over 140, even with cardboard.

However, the fuel-line-alternative-source cleared up a few things. It still smoked very heavily.

So I started playing with the manual choke. With it all the way open, smoke disappears at idle, and re-appears as I ramp up the throttle, but vastly reduced.

I really think I'm running way, way, way too rich. Time to bribe the carb guy to come over and set this thing right. I'm only making guesses based on the Holley instruction sheet, and I'm sure I'm getting stuff wrong.

But I feel a little better than I did an hour ago. There's hope yet!

[Mister laugh]

Originally Posted by thefatguy

Hmph...no amount of idling will get me over 140, even with cardboard.

However, the fuel-line-alternative-source cleared up a few things. It still smoked very heavily.

So I started playing with the manual choke. With it all the way open, smoke disappears at idle, and re-appears as I ramp up the throttle, but vastly reduced.

I really think I'm running way, way, way too rich. Time to bribe the carb guy to come over and set this thing right. I'm only making guesses based on the Holley instruction sheet, and I'm sure I'm getting stuff wrong.

But I feel a little better than I did an hour ago. There's hope yet!

Post up a picture of that carb, if its a one barrel holley and its the same one i had it's not even worth messing with you will NEVER get it right it is a POS. Just go to your handy dandy parts store and buy a reman monojet for about $150, if its a holley 1 barrel.

[68gmsee]

Originally Posted by thefatguy

.............I really think I'm running way, way, way too rich. Time to bribe the carb guy to come over and set this thing right. I'm only making guesses based on the Holley instruction sheet, and I'm sure I'm getting stuff wrong.

But I feel a little better than I did an hour ago. There's hope yet!

Take a good look at the smoke. Gas is usually a light grayish to dark gray color maybe even black depending on how rich it is. It certainly shouldn't smell like you desicribed unless you went back to the gas tank gas.

Oil smoke has a bluish tint to it if seen with the light hitting it just right otherwise it may look gray also.

But water will almost always look white unless mixed with oil or gas.

[thefatguy]

if its a one barrel holley

It's not -- it's a 390 4bbl reman, on a Clifford intake.

Take a good look at the smoke.

Now that might be one of the problems -- my eyes aint what they once was. To me, it looks real white. But the smoke appeared whether I was pulling from the tank or the gas can. Messing with the choke is what made the difference in smoke volume. Specifically, all the way open -- the butterfly valve on the air horn is open all the way -- no or little smoke. I can make the RPMs go up and down by opening or closing that. But I'm a carb moron, so I'm trying to make sense of this Holley manual. Hell, I'm an engine moron, so I'm really just guessing here. Kinda fun, but frustrating. And the neighbors are giving me dirty looks, too, heh heh.

[Camper Power]

you said your gas is reddish, it could be old farm gas, i drained some out of a 71 and it came out reddish in color, plus it smelled pretty bad, didnt smell like regular gas (which smells good) but dont remember if it was sweet. i dont really like the smell of antifreeze either so it might have smelt sweet. but i never saw that truck run so i couldnt tell you about the exhaust color. i know when its cold out my truck leaves a smoke screen behind it, even when it has warmed up, and im talking plooms of smoke. if i were u i would check your coolant level, run the engine a while, then check your level after it has cooled down.