I just got back from driving my 78 from Boise to LA non-stop (18 hours) and something wierd happened as I was pulling off the freeway.

I had to stop at a stop sign, but just as I came to a stop, a small (basketball sized) cloud of somthing (smoke? dust?) came out of the left side of my hood. It smelled terrible, but it was not a scent I recognized. It was like burning latex, only it had a sweet tinge to it. When the cloud came out, my oil pressure dropped to 10 PSI for about .5 seconds.

When it happened, the engine was only about 190 degrees, the oil pressure was about 40 psi, and I was getting 13 volts.

I looked under the hood in the daylight and could not see anything that looked out of place or broken. Anyone have any ideas?

 

head gasket?

that sounds like burning coolant

or a rat melted to the header

 

Sounds like antifreeze/coolant to me. :seeya

 

It is not as sweet as anti-freeze usually is. I know what that smells like.

On the idea of the head gasket...

In the five years+ that I have owned it, it has never backfired on me, but since this happened, it has backfired about 4 times. Could that be indicative of a head gasket? Or some other problem?

I have never run it in this kind of heat before, so do I need to make some changes in how it is set up? I switched to 10-30 oil, for the higher temp, but do I need anything else? Change my coolant mix?

I plan to change my oil again today or tomorrow, so I can check for anti-freeze in it. If I do find antifreeze in the oil, how big of a task is changing the head gasket? I have never done that before.



[Modified by Berserker78, 10:46 AM 7/21/2003]

 

TTT

 

Were you running the A/C? I've seen some cars build too much pressure for some reason and vent some refrigerent. Those weren't Vettes though.

 

I don't have A/C

 

:lolg: :lolg: I think it was the Buritos you had for lunch :lolg: :lolg:
(Seriously, I hope it is nothing major I just couldn't resist)

 

Changing the head gasket is not a problem much at all It's more a matter of derermining WHY it happened that can be the pain the the butt. Go ahead and check the oil, let us know what you find out. I am sure either I or some real expert will be more than happy to walk you through step by step the process it takes some care in making sure things like pushrods all go in the same place.

heck here.
1: Disconnect battery. 2: drain radiator 3: disconnect upper radiator hose. 4:Remove spark plug cables and distributor hold down tab. Mark where cylinder one is on the distributor in relation to the base and manifold. Pull distributor.5: have a small tapered cork in your hand, Remove fuel hose from carb and plug end with cork or anything else to keep fuel from pumpig out. 6: undo throttle cable and trans kick down cable if you have one 7: undo Vacume lines from back of intake. 8: Remove alternator and brackets. 9: remove exhaust "if headers thre is no need to completly remove from the car, just enough so that you can lift the head off without it getting in the way. Just make sure you don't stress the metal or have the primaries pinching against anything that will dent it. 10: Remove intake manifold bolts. "I think there is about 12 of them. 11: Remove valve covers 12: remove 1 rocker, Pull push rod and make sure you mark it so you know exaclty where it goes. Place rocker back on stud and lightly thread in place. Repeat for remainder of cylinders. 13: Grab a beer and reflect on your progress. 14: Remove head bolts, I cannot explain the pattern to follow while removing it, generally you start from the center and work in a cris cross pattern outward. same applies to the intake manifold. remove that pesky little Temp sensor if it's on the head in question. Lift head out of car Gently not stressing your self or the car for that matter.

Did I forget anything?

 

Ah, I have to be quicker next time. I hope you get the problem fixed.

 

Check your alernator belt isnt rubbing on the underside of your radiator hose.

Also might be an alternator bearing on the way out. (heating up the housing) ??... wild guess

:cool: :cool: :cool:

 

Check your alternator belt isnt rubbing on the underside of your radiator hose.

Also might be an alternator bearing on the way out. (heating up the housing) ??... wild guess

:cool: :cool: :cool:

 

I feel really stupid....


The wierd smell was the smell of burning synthetic oil. One of my valve cover bolts had worked a bit loose and I just happened to build up enough pressure to squirt some out and have it come out.

Soooo, now I just have to put on a new valve cover gasket. Much nicer than a head gasket.

Thank you all for the help!!!

:seeya

 

glad to hear there was nothing major.