Pass side exhaust smoking
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 373
Likes: 1
From: Bayonne NJ
Pass side exhaust smoking
I just rebuilt the engine on my 79 vette. After the car heats up it begins to smoke a little bit.. While cruising at a steady speed for a while the temp climbs from about 200 to about 230.. When the engine is running this hot the car smokes much more.. From the way it sounds is that i might need new valve stem seals.. I bought a set of seals and umbrella's.. Do you think that this would most likely be the remedy for this problem.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jul 1999
Posts: 9,206
Likes: 17
From: Sewell NJ
The easy way to find out if its the valve seals is to take the car where there is a long decline like after you crest a long hill or the downhill of a bridge. Take your foot off the gas and let the car go for a little on its own. This creates a high vacuum situation which will draw oil past bad seals. After you coast for a little give the car some gas and look out the back window. If you see a big puff of smoke its usually a sign that valve seals are leaking. If you are getting smoke all the time its possible that your rings have not seated. This could be due to not having enough cross hatch pattern when honing the cylinders or having too much clearance between the pistons and walls. Another cause could be the use of synthetic oil during the break in period. Synthetic will not allow the rings to seal properly. Hope some of this helps you find your problem.
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 373
Likes: 1
From: Bayonne NJ
The smoke that i get is for the most part sparatic.. Its not constantly smoking, but when i do down shift and let the car coast i do get much more smoke when i get on the gas pedal again. I broke the engine in for initial start up with non-detergent oil, which i heard was the best for seating the rings.. Should i run synthetic after 500 miles? Is this just a matter of opinion?
