The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop smokey 235!

Hey Gang! Need some help. Finally got my car all put back together after 6+ months of some upgrades. I put fenton headers with the stock intake and a dual exhaust. I also upgraded the carb from a 1b to 2b from tom landon. I'm getting smoke from one side of the exhaust and it's spitting out black sut. It also sounds louder on the side that's smoking. When I took it on the highway it smokes when I accelerate on the gas and the smoke goes on and off but steady. Where do I start and what could this be?

Some more info would be helpful. Color of smoke....any blue or just black (Carbon)? Imagine it's from the back cylinders? Did you add both pipes/mufflers new or use the original pipe/muffler and add a new pipe to the front header? How much did you drive it.....get it up to normal operating temperature?

I've used the Holley/Weber...out of the box it was great....wouldn't think it would be a problem if the car idled correctly. My old Rochester had run so rich for so long that I had accumulated significant carbon buildup visible in the exhaust ports. It took awhile for it to clean up......you can do some decarbonizing but don't want to get into that at this stage.

You might pull the plugs and compare the color of the electrodes....they really shouldn't be too black unless the float was stuck on the new carb and then you should be getting black smoke out of both pipes. I have a lotta faith in the H/W, especially if it's good at idle.

Give us a little more info and I'm sure some of the other guys will jump in with some fresh ideas. Hope this helps.

Dave

The smoke was gray/white. It's the back cylinders. The entire exhaust is brand new. I drove it for about 80 miles. Temp was about 185 degrees and the oil pressure was at 30 pounds. It ran like a top but it would smoke.

Didn't ask if it smoked at all before you did your upgrades! Assumed it didn't?

Gray/white is more indicative of moisture in the combustion chamber.....which would break up any and all accumulated carbon in the combustion chamber and blow it out the exhaust. I've dribbled water from a coke bottle into the carb with an engine revved up a bit.....will shot carbon 20 feet out the pipe as the water hits the carbon, is absorbed, turns to steam,expands and breaks the carbon loose. It can be dangerous if too big a piece breaks free and fouls a valve.

But where's the moisture coming from? If you had a head gasket leak you would have blown water past the pressure cap and the car would have run hot. Easiest way to eliminate a head gasket problem is to run a pressure check on your cooling system....most mech shops have a little pump-up kit that you use to pressurize the system......run the engine, watch for pressure buildup. With the engine off....if the pressure falls off you've got a physical leak.
You can also fill the rad all the way to the top, pinch off the overflow hose....fill it ALL the way up.....with the engine running watch the opening for large bubbles that smell of fuel. This will eliminate or confirm a head gasket problem. Running 185 for 80 miles really shouldn't be a head gasket but the gray/white smoke isn't normally fuel or oil. Head gasket failure is usually a result of head warpage from overheating? But your car runs 185....with no water loss! Humm...

When you crank it up in the morning does it fire up smooth or does it run rough for 30 seconds and then smooth out?

On your stock intake...did you by chance plumb in water heat or did you use exhaust heat from the fentons? There's gotta be some way that moisture is getting into the combustion chamber!!! Let me know!

Dave

You could have a vacuum leak on the front cylinders and the carb is set too rich. It may be a good idea to go back to the 1bbl carb and see if it still runs ok. I always hate changing more than one thing at a time because if you have a problem its easier to troubleshoot if you only have one place to look.

The car wasn't smoking before she was taken apart, but I was getting a popping noise coming from the carb on accelartion. It turned out that a rod came off the valve seat. I pulled the rod off and made sure it was straight before installation. As far as heat for the fenton headers, I'm not suppling them with any heat from water/exhaust.

No carb heat...well, that eliminates the potential for a water heat leak into a cracked intake manifold. A tiny leak wouldn't drain your radiator or cause enough pressure to blow water out of the radiator.

You might try 4onthefloors suggestion about sticking back on your 1bbl....you'll have to swap the mounting studs as the originals were too long for the adaptor. However, I've used 3 of Tom's carbs and they were near perfect right out of the box. I presume you used the alignment rings on the intake so you wouldn't have an intake leak? He's 100% right about limiting your addition of stuff....sure makes it easier to eliminate problems. The rod you mentioned...a push rod...exhaust or intake valve? Hydraulic lifters or solids?

You didn't mention whether or not it idled smooth after cranking up....it didn't smoke until you accelerated...under a load or just idling? Please go back through and make sure you have answered the questions! Long distance diagnosis on a weird problem like this is tough. The more info you can supply will help out a bunch!!! I still think the gray/white smoke is moisture related.

Dave

I like 4onthefloor's idea.The front cylinders are running lean.With the motor idling pour a small amount of water into the intake ports,if there is a leak,the water should get sucked in

changed the carb and she still smokes under load. However, while I was going over the exhaust bolt I discovered a good amount of oil on the glass pack and exhaust pipe that's blowing smoke! The glass pack was pushed too far into the pipe and it seeps into the pipe? What do you think? Am I reaching?