273 Smoking When Cold....???

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SD65WAGON

SD65WAGON

Justin
Joined
Sep 25, 2008
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Location
Colorado Springs, Colorado
:munky2: I usually let the wagon warm up for a bit before I put my foot in it a bit, but this morning I had to get in and go.......and what do I see? White/blue smoke out the rear view mirror when I give her some gas off a stop light. After I get stuck in traffic at the metering light for 7 or 8 more minutes trying to get on the highway I notice that it has stopped smoking when I get on it.
I was wondering what the diagnosis might be.......MY uneducated guess is rings that seal up after the engine heats up???????
Whats the fix for the problem and anybody know a GOOD engine shop here in San Diego area ????? Thanks for the help.
The engine runs pretty good, smooth idle I put a new 2 barrel on it when I bought it 4 months ago......tuned up single point distributor .17 gap new platinum plugs .35 Gap and set timing @ 10 degreees before TDC at 800-1000 RPM I'm guessing because of no tach..............but she still only gets around 11 MPG.
 
How many miles are on the motor? What oil weight is used? IS there any coolant in the oil? Just trying to get a bit more info before making a guess. I would probably say that the motor is a tad worn and the rings arent sealing like they once did. This will allow it to smoke a bit when cold, depending on severity.

Your milage could also be an effect of the worn motor, but dual exhaust and a electric ignition conversion kit will help out quite a bit. A tad more intial timing wouldnt hurt either. Make sure your carb is set up right. If you are mixed driving (hwy and city), average milage combined will still only be around 13-15 max, with 9-12 in the city and maybe 14-18 if all hwy. It all depends on the tune and condition of the motor.
 
I did not notice any coolant in the oil when I changed it with penzoil 10w-40
odometer states 86k I assume its 186K. The car is an automatic with Dual exhaust on her already. Carb is adjusted pretty well just off lean drop test what should the timing be adjusted to?
Never done a ring job so whats entailed or what else should be done at the same time? What would help perfomance also ? Thanks....I know its alot of questions.
 
my 65 does just that, but i dont care cause i'll be doing a full rebuild in a few months. i believe my umbrella seals are all dead. once it warms up the 40+ year old rubber starts sealing again. Its a low millage engine, but its also old. maybe you got the same thing..?
 
Hell Im not sure, thats why I am asking? It runs okay........just not as good as I want it to. Plus I want to make it quit smoking, or at least find out why? And what the hell are umbrella seals? Thats how little I know about this problem?
 
Valve stem oil seals may be the problem. Clogged oil returns in the heads will cause start up smoke. Condensation in the exhaust system will too.
Keep in mind that 273 wasn't built for unleaded fuel. A rebuild can cure that.
 
could be the valve guide seals. ( maybe thats what he means by umbrella)they get hard and let oil past the valves and into the cylinder. mine used to give a big puff of smoke on cold start-up, and then smoke slightly while running. then whenever i would sit at a stop light 4 a minute it would let out a big puff of smoke on take-off. this is because the seals around the valve stem would leak slightly and oil would puddle on the back of the valve until i hit the gas and let a big rush of air sweep by and pull the oil in to get burned in the cylinder. i changed out the valve guide seals and it made a huge difference. cant say it will definitely work 4 u, but its cheaper and easier than a rebuild if thats what u are going for.
 
Could be all of the above. But do yourself a favor and change brands of oil.
I have seen too many engines totally sluged up inside because of Pennzoil.
I won't even use it in my lawn mower.
Before becoming a tool man 20 years ago I was the shop foreman at a GM
dealer for 13 years. We had lots of oil consumption problems when we
had Pennzoil. We switched to Northland (a local oil company that supplies
to John Deere Tractor Works). Our oil consumption problems dissappeared within a couple months. I have used Valvoline for years with great results.
I won't use Pennzoil, Quaker State, or Castroil. Changing brands of oil probably won't cure your problem but it could prevent problems down the road. Just my observations. Good luck. I'd look at the valve seals first.
toolmanmike
 
crashcaptn said:
my 65 does just that, but i dont care cause i'll be doing a full rebuild in a few months. i believe my umbrella seals are all dead. once it warms up the 40+ year old rubber starts sealing again. Its a low millage engine, but its also old. maybe you got the same thing..?
Click to expand...

Say huh, I've never seen a full rebuild, mind having me as a spectator? lol I think your done with your body work right? I could sure use some good helpful live tips don't wanna ruin this old lady on my first try! CHEERS! :cheers:
 
Do you have a screw in compression gauge? Might want to break that out to see if the rings are sealing. If you squirt oil in and the reading gets better, you'll need rings.

If you have shop air and a leak-down tester, you might be able to pinpoint your problem more effectively. This may not help to find worn valve guides exactly, but at least will let you know if the rings are OK and any number of things besides the rings such as a head gasket, leaky valves, etc.

See this link here for an explanation of leak-down testing.
 
GermzD74 said:
Say huh, I've never seen a full rebuild, mind having me as a spectator? lol I think your done with your body work right? I could sure use some good helpful live tips don't wanna ruin this old lady on my first try! CHEERS! :cheers:
Click to expand...

haha no problem! I'm a picture *****, so i'll be posting a billion. And yeah, my body work should be done this week in fact. i'll be updating my long (boring) thread here in a bit with a few pictures soon enough. I'll add on to that soon once I pull the engine. that wont be till January/February.

(don't mean to hijack, apologies!)
 
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