Ok, my 85 GSL has started smoking REALLY bad on start-up (mainly cold, sometimes hot), as you may know if you read my other post. Im thinking oil, as its a bluish colored smoke, and it seems to be going through oil "quickly". So my question is, besides the stock injection system, how can oil get into the combustion chamber? What seals could go bad that would let the car still run "perfectly" at 750 RPM idle and still pull strong? Another thing I noticed, is today I had the car running at an idle in the driveway with no smoke and I was fiddling around with something...Anyway, the car sat at an idle for like 5 minutes and I was randomly revving the engine here and there for no real reason with no smoke AT ALL. Then, what do you know...The SECOND I drop it in reverse to back it out, it comes clouding out INSTANTLY. And were not talking small puffs, were talking "who put the smoke bomb under my car"...Its to the point I cant even see out the back, its just solid smoke...Im sure this engine is toast, it has 208K miles on it, but I was hoping that it would bw something that I could "easily fix". Any help would be great. Thanks guys...

~T.J.

 

You may have a problem with flooding or excessive leaking in the carb. I have had to replace 2 carbs so far that have had this problem. They leak too much fuel into the engine, overheat my exhaust and blow smoke out the back. It's not likely in your case though because of the excessive amount. You may have a leaking side seal which keeps the oil out of the rotor. If this is true you'll be getting some blow by out of you crank case probably. Someone else may be able to tell you how to check for it.

Check your plugs for fouling and build up. That'll give you an indication of oil in the rotor.

Also, (people may yell at me) you may be able to isolate the rotor by disconnecting the coil wire to the rotor and see if the smoke goes away.

Doyou have an automatic? If you do, you may be sucking ATF into your engine. I had a 81 glc do this and it was so thick I made spy hunter look like pathetic.

 

I have a 79 with 50k miles on it and when ever i rev it past 6700 rpm it smokes and the power is gone. i have been told the oil seals are gone to **** and i need a rebuild. so i doubt it is an easy fix. i have also been told to try ATF or MMO so i guess thats always worth a try. and it sounds to me like it would only make your car smoke a little more than normal.

 

Oil seals going byebye... MMO/ATF won't do any measurable good, it's just plain worn out.

 

Yeah its a LWI problem
LWi=live with it or rebuild it

 

I actually thought about this...It only does it when the car seems "flooded". Some mornings I can come out, pull the choke hit the key and she fires right up, no smoke. Others, I come out, pull the choke hit the key, and it just cranks, and then when it finally does start, it smokes. When it smokes when its hot, its only after the car not staring on the first try. Like I come out from running into 7-11 or something, hit the key and she doesnt start. Hit it again, same thing. Hit it once more, this time holding it...5-10 seconds later, it might start...Then when it doesn, on comes the smoke...

~T.J.

 

Then it doesn't sound like a leaky oil seal. You either have a timing/ignition problem or your hot start assist isn't working right. Or perhaps your getting flooding from one of your float bowls.

My latest carb does this exact thing. In the morning she starts up perfect, with a little puff (all mine have done that). If I drive and let her sit until totally cool, she starts ok.

If it's hot and I let it sit for between 20 minutes and 3 hours, she won't start easily. Takes like 4 or 10 seconds of cranking to start and I get a huge plume of smoke (gasoline in the exhaust).

I found out the other day that my leading ignitor wasn't working and my timing was screwed up. Since I fixed it, I haven't seen the problem. I can't say for sure if that was it since I didn't have the problem until I replaced the carb and my timing/ignitor has always been jacked.

You might try just swapping distributers since it's a 5 minute thing. Make sure you note the position of the rotor. If in doubt, before you put the distributer in, pull the engine over until the leading mark is lined with the needle on the block. The leading mark is the right mark if you are looking at the front of the enigne. The left mark is your trailing. When the distributer goes in, the arrow on the rotor should be pointing at where the 1st rotor leading plug wire is. Set the distributer in the center of the adjuster cam and that should be about right.

You could also have a bad coil, you might try swapping to check.

If you get a mirror and clean the back float boal you can check for flooding. Make sure that both float levels stay centered and that they don't rise while the cars sitting do to a bad seat.

 

Do one thing, take the car for a spin with someone driving behind you. Rev it up quickly to over 5k rpm a few times. If the guy sees a puff of smoke each time your oil control o-rings are bad.

 

Mine only smokes on upshifts or when the engine is breaking...say high rpm in 2nd and I let off of the throttle. It usually goes away after I drive it a while. I pre-mix btw because the oil is not coming out of the little plastic tubes in the Nikki.

 

It works better if you run it close to redline, let off (in gear), and get back on it. Watch for a big cloud of smoke.

 

well, you mentioned oil consumption before. try measuring how many miles you go before you need to add a quart.

my first thought when from reading your original post was that the o-rings (around the rotors) are gone, but i guess it might be worth checking the carbie, if for nothing else, but just to rule it out.

 

What should I check on the carb? I wan thinking float levels, but Im not sure how to...I know what and where they are, but how do I check them?

~T.J.

 

The float sight glasses have a notch in the frame. The fuel level should be in that notch. Above the notch is rich, below is lean. They can be up to a mm above or below and be in spec.

Back to my previous post. I came out to my car and I still got a puff of smoke when she spun for about 3 secs before starting. It only happens with semi warm engine above 90 degrees outside and started with my last carb. So I suspect my hot start assist isn't functioning. You might try checking yours too.

 

Tried it both ways, and it didnt smoke ...Is this a good sign thats its just a carb problem? Cause I actually did it a few times just to make sure...One was right after I had parked it, I went into a store for maybe 15 minutes, came out, wouldnt start. Once it started, it didnt smoke idling, or driving through the parking lot. Since one of my friends was at the store, I had him watch from behind me, and I got out onto the road and revved it close to redline and it smoked just once (nice little cloud), but then after that, it never did it again (even after repeating this experament multiple times). Also, it wouldnt smoke when I started it for the first time this morning...Im so confused .

~T.J.

 

Strike that last comment, it now smokes anytime I rev it over 5K, and even a little smoke at an idle...****!! Now my Dads not gonna have a car at all...And its all my fault .

~T.J.