350 SBC Engine question
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 1,051
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From: Inside every color vette there is a blue one trying to come out!
350 SBC Engine question
I receintly have replaced my engine with a rebuit one. it is still within the 1st 3000 miles. I had noticed from the very beginning that when I 1st start it up I would get a small puff of white smoke out of both pipes, but after that, while it was running, no smoke. When I was replacing the exhaust manifolds for headers, I noticed that I have slight oil leakage from the sparkplugs. 2 days ago, I noticed that my oil pressure was down to almost zero. I checked the oil and there was none on the dipstick. I immediately went to the store and got 5 new quarts of oil & filter...while I was there I got replacemet plugs and a new air filter. After doing the oil, sparkplug and air filter change, I am noticing that I am getting white smoke coming out of the pipes even at idle and when I start off from a stop light. The smoke is not heavy but enough to notice. What is it that could not be right with my engine?
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 1,051
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From: Inside every color vette there is a blue one trying to come out!
Re: 350 SBC Engine question (stingraymax)
As a matter of fact, before I took off on a trip across town, I checked the water level and it was down, I replenished it with straight water, no time to mix additional antifreeze at that time. That was when I began to notice more smoke than I had normally seen.
Racer
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 460
Likes: 15
From: Belgium /
Re: 350 SBC Engine question (Skruball73)
Check again if the water droped again you have blown a gasket (probably the one between the block and the heads)
thats where water from your cooling is getting in the engine.
thats where water from your cooling is getting in the engine.
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Team Owner
Joined: Mar 2002
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From: Huntsville AL
Re: 350 SBC Engine question (Skruball73)
I would be more concerned about the loss of oil. In order for your oil pressure to drop to almost zero (assuming all bearings are good) you would have of burned / lost something like 3-4 Qts from the standard 5 qt top off. With only 3000 miles that seems pretty excessive to me. I would monitor the oil level very closely to determined where it going. ie: leaking external, leaking into the radaitor, or burning through the exhaust.
Safety Car
Joined: Aug 2001
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From: Waterford Mi
Re: 350 SBC Engine question (Robert N)
OIl on the plugs is most likly from valve seals. It is not uncommon for engine reblilders to replace valve seals even though the valve guides are worn. If thats the case, changing the valve seals again won't help for long (thats why I have new heads). White smoke is coolant and could be from head gaskets or a cracked head. What year are the heads? Late model heads were made thin and prone to cracking.
Le Mans Master
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 5,642
Likes: 1
Re: 350 SBC Engine question (redwingvette)
my 99 lightning would blue a giant cloud of blue smoke when i started it if i left it for more than 5 hours sitting. It was the valves.
my 79 vette would blow a big white cloud at startup and eventually during idle. It was the right head gasket. :banghead:
my 79 vette would blow a big white cloud at startup and eventually during idle. It was the right head gasket. :banghead:
Instructor
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 224
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From: Austin TX
Re: 350 SBC Engine question (Skruball73)
I had the same problem. Though I rebuilt my engine and bought a used Performer intake on ebay. Turns out it was warped and leaking into the intake runners. This caused a puff at first then turned to a constant smoke. Check your compression in each cyl. and try testing the vacume with a guage.
If the vacume guage isnt consistant (fluttery) then the valves or the leaky intake could the the culprit. If the compression test doesnt test out then you will get either a low compression across the side of the head in each cyl or just one. If the leak down is leaking into the coolant you can test with a coolant pressure tester.
There are so many ways to test all these and you just have to take each one one step at a time.
If you have any more ?s just let me know.
Good Luck and keep waving!! :flag
If the vacume guage isnt consistant (fluttery) then the valves or the leaky intake could the the culprit. If the compression test doesnt test out then you will get either a low compression across the side of the head in each cyl or just one. If the leak down is leaking into the coolant you can test with a coolant pressure tester.
There are so many ways to test all these and you just have to take each one one step at a time.
If you have any more ?s just let me know.
Good Luck and keep waving!! :flag
Race Director
Joined: Apr 2000
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From: Who says "Nothing is impossible" ? I've been doing nothing for years.
Re: 350 SBC Engine question (jaggeedfire)
Sounds like a blown head gasket,can you take it back to where you got the motor from ?
