Easy question fellas. My 51' Chevy is my current weekend cruiser. I use it on Saturday nights and Sunday afternoons. The paint, body, and interior are in great shape and I am very proud of my car when I pull into the local cruise night. That being said, the 60k mile 283 had been mostly sitting for the last fifteen years and smokes a little running down the road. It doesn't smoke enough to bother most, but it is noticeable when idling through the parking lot. It doesn't smoke when first started so I am not planning on changing the valve guide seats, unless ya'll disagree. The smoke is coming from only one of the two exhaust pipes and like I said it aint horrible, just enough to piss me off. The motor is out of a 60' model Impala and runs great it's just the smoke that bothers me. I understand that these are symptoms of a cylinder or two needing rings and a rebuild is warranted. However, with a complete T-Roadster build going, home renovations, and another baby on the way I am looking to put this one on the back burner and just use the vehicle for relaxation purposes. So, you guys got any good Band Aid, Jerry Rig, or temporary fixes in mind that won't do more bad than good. I'm all ears. Thanks in advance...
pull your valve cover on the side it is smoking on and examine your rocker arms and pushrods to see if they are seated.
valve seals, would be first as it is the easiest, and i would use the o-ring and the umbrella both, can you tell which cylinder? if that doesnt work then time to pull the head.
If it has sat a lot over the years do an oil change and add 1 quart of Marvel Mystery Oil in place of one quart of oil and take it out for a good long drive 200 miles plus,you may have rings sticking and that should free it up.
pull the valve cover on the smoking side and make sure the oil drain back holes are not clogged it might be a as simple as a coathanger to clean out the holes if not i would look at doing valve guide seals these can be done without pulling the head by making an adapter to put compressed air in the cyl to hold the valves in place i have also done the same by putting nice soft rope in the cyl and running it back up to tdc to hold the valves closed. its usually valve seals before rings that cause smoking unless you have a broken oil control ring good luck Paul
A basic compression test will let you know if the rings are bad. If they test OK, all of the above methods are proper fixes. If the rings are bad, use STP. BTW, that Marvel Mystery Oil makes your exhaust smell really good.
Yes this worked for me. This one smoked pretty good when it came back from a long hibernation. It took a couple of trips for the rings to free up with the Marvel Mystery Oil but there is no sign of smoke now. It's not instantaneous. It will take some heat and cool cycles for it to work. It won't fix worn or broken parts but it's worth a try especially if it's been hibernating for a long time.
I'm with Jeff. I'd do an oil change including a quart of Marvel Mystery Oil and see what happens. I use a pint of Marvel Mystery Oil with every oil change in healthy motors as well. Helps keep them clean as well as well lubricated. I'd guess that Marvel Mystery Oil also helps swell seals to prevent leaks. Mostly, however, I'd try and put more miles on your car. They just don't like sitting unused for long periods of time. My Buick had the same problem as your Chevy, though not as bad, and it cleared up nicely with the Marvel Mystery Oil treatment...and regular use. Good luck!
Head gasket.. intake gasket.. valve cover gaskets.. carb base gaskets.. pull the top off.. clean it all .. put new gaskets in.. torque it down to spec.. wait.. what color is the smoke? is it white.. or blueish tint?
Years ago I had a repair shop and a customer had a Chevelle that had been in a garage for 10 years. We towed it to the shop, got it started and it smoked up a storm. We dropped the oil and used 3 qts of oil and 2 ATF. In about 500 miles the smoke was practically non existent.
I had this same problem with the flathead in my Packard after it sat for about 15 years. I just added a quart of Hyper-Lube Smoke Fix to my last oil change and its starting to clear up little by little every day.
pull the spark plugs out of the side that smokes and see which plugs shows signs of oil contamination. thats your cylinder, take it from there.
Marvel Mystery Oil is that good. Don't forget the fuel. Marvel in the fuel at fill-up. 4 ounces for every 10 gallons of fuel. If it doesn't work, something is broken. Vintageride
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