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Smoke upon starting

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Old Jun 26, 2018 | 08:45 AM
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Default Smoke upon starting

I don't know if i am posting this to the correct area or not, any help would be apprecited.

I purchased a 1985 corvette for my son, his first car. Test drove car, did not smoke upon starting. Decided to purchase car yesterday. Car was low on fuel so filled it up after purchase. I did not ask the man I purchased it from which octane he was running in it, however had some family members tell me to use high octane, as it would be better for the car. Well, long story short after I filled it up with 93 octane I noticed it blows a puff of smoke upon starting of car. It doesn't smoke when driving, just when starting. My question is, is this due to running a higher octane that has been in it previously or something else? Just strange the I didn't see it during test drive or when I started it the day of purchase. Any knowledge of this would be greatly appreciated!!
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Old Jun 26, 2018 | 08:59 AM
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Originally Posted by Okiestrong
I don't know if i am posting this to the correct area or not, any help would be apprecited.

I purchased a 1985 corvette for my son, his first car. Test drove car, did not smoke upon starting. Decided to purchase car yesterday. Car was low on fuel so filled it up after purchase. I did not ask the man I purchased it from which octane he was running in it, however had some family members tell me to use high octane, as it would be better for the car. Well, long story short after I filled it up with 93 octane I noticed it blows a puff of smoke upon starting of car. It doesn't smoke when driving, just when starting. My question is, is this due to running a higher octane that has been in it previously or something else? Just strange the I didn't see it during test drive or when I started it the day of purchase. Any knowledge of this would be greatly appreciated!!
Doubt it has anything to do with your choice of fuel. Puff of smoke on startup is most commonly associated with failing valve stem seals. A bit of oil seeps into combustion chamber(s) when car sits. Often this only happens first startup of the day. It had probably been run before your test drive.
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Old Jun 26, 2018 | 10:10 AM
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Thank u for the response. Went out and started this morning, no smoke but smells like it's running rich. I am far from a car guru, so think I will let my mechanic look into it. Thanks again.
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Old Jun 26, 2018 | 10:27 AM
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Originally Posted by Okiestrong
Thank u for the response. Went out and started this morning, no smoke but smells like it's running rich. I am far from a car guru, so think I will let my mechanic look into it. Thanks again.
No smoke and smelling fuel-ish. Maybe not what I said. Good luck with it.
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Old Jun 26, 2018 | 12:00 PM
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Mine smokes a bit on start up. Valse seals are in need of replacement .smokes for 2 seconds then gone. That is this weekend's job haha.
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Old Jun 26, 2018 | 07:02 PM
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White smoke or black?

My 87 has a puff a white smoke at startup.
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Old Jun 26, 2018 | 07:22 PM
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I don't think it has anything to do with octane. Maybe it has a gasket leaking coolant into the chambers or oil leaking through the valve stem seals. Without pressure testing, hard to say. As to running rich, I'd change the O2 sensor since it probably was never changed and scan what the ECM sees to figure out if it is really rich or imagination rich.
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Old Jun 27, 2018 | 01:45 PM
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a puff of blue smoke when starting , then nothing, is usually a sigh of valve seals being worn. Its starts when the car sits for a time. when it gets worse, it will do it every time when starting. parts are cheap if you do it yourself, There are only three kinds of color from a car. blue is oil, black is fuel and white is coolent. best of luck and if it isnt bad, I would let it worry me for a while
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