Hey guys...i have a possible big problem on my hands. Just as i was about to take my rx out to paint, i started it and an enormous cloud of white smoke puffed out of the exhaust...i figured that it was temporary, and began to drive down the road. when i looked in my rear view mirror i saw the smoke was following me. I only have one idea which might be oil leak into the engine. Any ideas of solutions to this problem. Thanks

 

its a 1980 if thats any help

 

White smoke is coolant if I remember.

I had a similar problem and it was o-rings on the intake.

$5 dollars and about an hour of work

 

By intake do you mean air cleaner or carb...sorry a little confused

 

does the white smoke smell kinda like cotton candy?

 

nope...no cotton candy smell

 

By intake he means the o rings where the manifold attach to the block. When you take it off you should see 4 ports and 2 rubber black o rings. Thats the path for your coolant to go into your intake. Go to autozone/napa/pep boys/etc and grab 2 20mm freeze plugs and install those in its place.

 

just to confirm...upon removing the (exhaust?) manifold i should replace the weathered o rings?

 

intake manifold.

 

thanks alot

 

No problem. Chances are your IM gasket is shot...

 

any tips on removing the intake manifold...it looks complicated but is said to take less than five minutes.

 

also will the o rings being bad cause smoke to come out of the exhaust or the engine bay

 

It is easy to remove. 5 minutes to remove if you use 4 of them to decide what size the bolts are

I believe there are 4 nuts and 2 studs that hold the mani on. Just look on the side and you will see them. It has been a while since I had the stock manifold, I think it is one on the top left, one below that, one on the top right, one below that, and 2 in the middle, just center. When you take it off you should have some coolant come out.

And yes, the bad o rings will cause smoke in the exhaust. I went ahead and installed freeze plugs in mine, as to avoid this happening again in the future.

 

No cotton candy smell?

Have you noticed a drop in the antifreeze level in the bottle or radiator?

White smoke without the sweet scent can be condensing moisture in the exhaust, such as on cold days (or all winter long, in these parts). It's light, wispy stuff as compared to the thick billowy sweet smelling smoke caused by coolant getting into the combustion chamber.

 

It takes about 1 hour to remove the intake manifold if the original ratsnest is intact. A couple of those nuts are a bear to get at and undo. Then a corresponding time to re-install. Also, there are two very thin L-shaped plastic tubes with 3" long L-shaped rubber couplings at the ends that carry sump oil to the intake: don't break them since they are old and fragile. I just replace them (about $35).

You must also clean the intake flanges and install a new intake manifold gasket, about $13.

 

If you're in the South part of Fort Worth, you have Rotary Shop right at 7375 W. Vickery Blvd who can help...the old guy only works on STOCK rotaries, so don't remove the rat's nest or anything like that if you want him to help...if he's still alive, that is...it's been about a decade since I last dealt with him.

 

thanks alot...ill get started on taking off the manifold.