I need help here
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Joined: Mar 2009
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From: Knoxville TN
I need help here
So my 90 vette is acting up on me. Recently it started smoking out the exhaust and I mean SMOKING BAD. Its like I have thick white clouds coming out the exhaust. 
I got under the car and looked at it and about halfway back under the car it seems to be coming from the exhaust. So now I think on top of the smoking I have a leak in the exhaust.
I was told the smoking could be bc of a head gasket??? anyone got any information on what this sounds like and how to fix it (and how much $ to do so)?
I got under the car and looked at it and about halfway back under the car it seems to be coming from the exhaust. So now I think on top of the smoking I have a leak in the exhaust.
I was told the smoking could be bc of a head gasket??? anyone got any information on what this sounds like and how to fix it (and how much $ to do so)?
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From: Knoxville TN
Pro
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From: PA
Pull the engine dip stick out and see what's on it. If it looks like coffee with cream in it, that's bad. That's water/antifreeze in your oil. If this is the case then it could be a number of things that's causing the antifreeze getting into the oil. Water could be leaking under the intake manifold gaskets and drawn into the cylinders causing the white smoke. Could be a head gasket doing the same thing as mention above.
Team Owner
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From: Somewhere in Mo
St. Jude Donor '09-'10, '14
Is there some sort of Transmission valve or something of the like. I am really reaching here but I had a Chevelle once that, out of nowhere, it smoking a thick white cloud of smoke and was a transmission valve/plug of some sort.
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From: altered state
St. Jude Donor '05
Good chance the head gaskets are gone, L98s are notorious for this.
Are they originals?
If youre losing coolant out the exhuast dont drive it, youll fry the bearings on the motor.
Are they originals?
If youre losing coolant out the exhuast dont drive it, youll fry the bearings on the motor.
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From: Somewhere in Mo
St. Jude Donor '09-'10, '14
So my 90 vette is acting up on me. Recently it started smoking out the exhaust and I mean SMOKING BAD. Its like I have thick white clouds coming out the exhaust.
I got under the car and looked at it and about halfway back under the car it seems to be coming from the exhaust. So now I think on top of the smoking I have a leak in the exhaust.
I was told the smoking could be bc of a head gasket??? anyone got any information on what this sounds like and how to fix it (and how much $ to do so)?
I got under the car and looked at it and about halfway back under the car it seems to be coming from the exhaust. So now I think on top of the smoking I have a leak in the exhaust.
I was told the smoking could be bc of a head gasket??? anyone got any information on what this sounds like and how to fix it (and how much $ to do so)?
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Joined: Mar 2009
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From: Knoxville TN
Ok, well I am towing it to where I can work on it after work today (i live in an apt and kinda hard to work there). Hadn't heard bout the transmission thing, Ill check into that. I'm gonna be looking at the headgaskets first. Hypothetically speaking thats what it is, how much $$$ and trouble am I looking at to fix it myself?
Got a guy comin to look at it this weekend, so I gotta get it fixed ASAP
Got a guy comin to look at it this weekend, so I gotta get it fixed ASAP
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Joined: Jan 2009
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From: Somewhere in Mo
St. Jude Donor '09-'10, '14
Ok, well I am towing it to where I can work on it after work today (i live in an apt and kinda hard to work there). Hadn't heard bout the transmission thing, Ill check into that. I'm gonna be looking at the headgaskets first. Hypothetically speaking thats what it is, how much $$$ and trouble am I looking at to fix it myself?
Got a guy comin to look at it this weekend, so I gotta get it fixed ASAP
Got a guy comin to look at it this weekend, so I gotta get it fixed ASAP
Hopefully someone with more experience will come in. It probably is the head gasket as others have stated. Have you had a chance to check for water on your dipstick?
Last edited by RetiredSFC 97; Apr 23, 2009 at 01:46 PM.
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From: Knoxville TN
I have never had to repair one so I'm not sure of the expense. If you do it yourself it would just be the cost of a gasket set. As far as trouble? I am not a mechanic so it would be a pain for me to tackle it. As an example though my mech told me to repair my water pump leak (which is very small) it would be in the neighborhood of $600.00 and about the same to fix my intake oil leak (which again is very minimal as of now, and he said he wouldn;t repair that until it got worse).
Hopefully someone with more experience will come in. It probably is the head gasket as others have stated. Have you had a chance to check for water on your dipstick?
Hopefully someone with more experience will come in. It probably is the head gasket as others have stated. Have you had a chance to check for water on your dipstick?
Last edited by sayers316; Apr 23, 2009 at 02:05 PM.
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From: Somewhere in Mo
St. Jude Donor '09-'10, '14
I checked it two days ago when I parked it and it seemed normal, didnt seem milky or anything like that either, but I may just not have noticed it..ok so its pretty much narrowed down that its about a 95% chance its the head gasket, so what should I do about the leak in the exhaust, ive never even noticed it there until it started smoking, chances are its been there, just wasn't noticable since it didnt smoke
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From: Knoxville TN
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From: Somewhere in Mo
St. Jude Donor '09-'10, '14
if you are going to sell it, I would just deduct the exhaust from the price of the car. Or if you have it priced low already I would tell them that is considering the exhaust, and go from there.
The head gasket is your first problem though, obviously. Good luck with it and I wish you the best. Maybe someone is telling you not to sell it. Here is a link to where I bought my catback
http://www.corvettecentralexhaust.com/
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http://members.***.net/effergyvette/#86_Vette_Projects:
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From: Vero Beach Florida
To replace a set of head gaskets your looking at under $300.00 in parts, gaskets sets, new coolant, oli & fiter, of coarse this is less any head work that might need to be done. How many miles on motor?? The labor time is around 12 hours or so, maybe a little longer if you have never done them before. To have a shop do it around $1200.00 or so depending on where you live. I wouldn't worry about exhaust till you get the heads done that leak might not be visible once the water is taken care of. Good Luck
Last edited by floridamale; Apr 23, 2009 at 04:48 PM.
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From: Somewhere in Mo
St. Jude Donor '09-'10, '14
To replace a set of head gaskets your looking at under $300.00 in parts, gaskets sets, new coolant, oli & fiter, of coarse this is less any head work that might need to be done. How many miles on motor?? The labor time is around 12 hours or so, maybe a little longer if you have never done them before. To have a shop do it around $1200.00 or so depending on where you live. I wouldn't worry about exhaust till you get the heads done that leak might not be visible once the water is taken care of. Good Luck
Heel & Toe
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From: Grass Valley CA
If you want to double check, I think most radiator shops have a gadget that tests whether they're seeing exhaust gas in the coolant - depending on where the leakage is usually you'll get some (i.e. sucks in coolant though the leak on intake stroke, pushes out exhaust on power stroke. Chevy 235 in 6's used to be bad for that, although mostly they would crack the head rather than having a gasket leak...
If there was any significant leakage I'd think you'd see a temp rise as well...
Tom
If there was any significant leakage I'd think you'd see a temp rise as well...
Tom
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From: Knoxville TN
temp did rise a little bit, with that said.
Got home, checked it out, no water in the oil on the dipstick or anything but when I took the cap off where you put the oil in, it WAS milky. Came to the conclusion its a headgasket, picked up the parts for it (only cost me $82) Should be fixed this weekend!!!
Thanks for the help from everyone
Got home, checked it out, no water in the oil on the dipstick or anything but when I took the cap off where you put the oil in, it WAS milky. Came to the conclusion its a headgasket, picked up the parts for it (only cost me $82) Should be fixed this weekend!!!
Thanks for the help from everyone
Melting Slicks
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From: Puyallup Washington
Check the head
If you find a blown headgasket, that may just be a symptom, not the real problem. The real problem could be a warped head. You will need to check the head when it is off to see if it is flat. If not, it will need to go to a machine shop to be trued up.
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From: Vero Beach Florida
temp did rise a little bit, with that said.
Got home, checked it out, no water in the oil on the dipstick or anything but when I took the cap off where you put the oil in, it WAS milky. Came to the conclusion its a headgasket, picked up the parts for it (only cost me $82) Should be fixed this weekend!!!
Thanks for the help from everyone
Got home, checked it out, no water in the oil on the dipstick or anything but when I took the cap off where you put the oil in, it WAS milky. Came to the conclusion its a headgasket, picked up the parts for it (only cost me $82) Should be fixed this weekend!!!
Thanks for the help from everyone