86 GXL smoke from exhaust
 

Hey everyone, newbie here. Long time reader, first time poster. I just bought a 1986 GXL and did as much research as I could before buying it and it seemed pretty dang good. But now that I have driven it a bit, I realize an issue. It is almost bone stock with only one modification; a fuel pump shut off switch. When the vehicle is fully warmed up, sitting in neutral, if I rev it up to around 3200rpm, after a few seconds, smoke pours out of the exhaust. It slow down after I stop revving it, but it doesn't really stop smoking. To me it looks white, but my brother-in-law says it looks a bit blueish as well. I don't see any smoke when driving, although it might just be dissipating in the wind behind me. I can't seem to get a straight answer from looking around the forums do I decided to ask here. Sorry for the long post. Thanks I advance. - Tyler

So when your doing 70 and the rpms are around 3k it doesn't smoke? That doesn't make sense :scratch:

Check your plugs and compression test it, but still be forewarnd, you can have good compression but still have bad oil seals on the rotors

Also, there is a vent tube that comes off the oil fill tube, check that and make sure it isn't plugged, and also make sure your not overfull on oil ;)

Thanks, I'll definitely check the vent tube. I was cruising around this morning and at 3500rpm in third gear it started to smoke pretty bad as well, but it went away after I shifted into fourth.

welcome to the board. :)

check for overfill. if that checks out fine, then check your plugs and upper exhaust for oil. also, start tracking your oil consumption.

Thanks :) My oil is good on the dip stick. What am I checking on the plugs? Just seeing if they're fouled or corroded? What am I checking on the exhaust? Just to see if oil is leaking onto it? How do you mean to track my oil consumption? Just see how long it takes till I need to refill it? Sorry for all the questions :S

only burning oil over 3K I wouldn't think would be rotor o-rings, but that doesn't mean it can't happen.

Yes look at your plugs to see if they are oil fouled (they probably will)

Also, did you check your oil with the car up to operating temp? Its how to properly check it, let it warm up, sit for 5 minutes, than check.

does it still smoke all the way up to redline? and does it SMELL like burning oil? Thats if you know what it smells like

If it burns it all the way up to redline, I guess its possible that one of the coolant o rings could be getting sucked in after a certain RPM and pulling coolant.

The plugs will tell you what its burning off

you're checking for signs of oil on the plugs and in the parts of the exhaust closer to the engine. you basically track oil consumption by seeing how many miles you can go, on average, before you need to add a quart.

Check you oil when the engine is cold, to me it always read more when it warm. For me, before i go to work/school i would run it for like 10 sec to circulate the oil through the engine, turn off the car and check the oil level.

I checked my plugs, the top plugs (trailing?) Are a bit wet on the threads, but the tips are dry, the bottom ones are both dry (I'm not used to these types of spark plugs, how do I know I'd they're worn down?). I checked the oil hot and it is still pretty full. When it started to smoke a lot I stopped revving it so high because I didn't want to blow anything up, on my next drive I will see if it smokes up to red line, and yeah, it smells like oil. Does that mean rebuild if it's the coolant rings? The exhaust looks oil free from what I can see without taking the intake manifold off. How do you check the vent tube of the filter neck? I can't figure out how to get that diaphragm looking thing off. Quick question if I'm allowed, is it ok that I can lock my transmission into first gear by pushing it towards the steering wheel? It scared the shit out of me when I couldn't shift into second.

Anyone got any additional ideas/info?

well, if you're saying it smells like burning oil, then it's probably oil. you just need to find out where it's coming from. the smell can't be confused with antifreeze, so we'll look for oil.

as i said, track your oil consumption. (you can also check if you're losing antifreeze, too, though - just in case.)

change your oil. it certainly can't hurt.

when you took the exhaust off, did you check both the manifold itself as well as the ports?

how many times have you filled the tank since buying it? maybe the previous owner put something in with the gas that doesn't mix well with it and it's burning off.

just spit-balling ....

I'll try changing the oil for sure, though the guy said he did one just recently. A girl is buying my old car tomorrow so I will have the cash to do a full 60k tune up. I apologize, I misunderstood about the exhaust, I'll take off the manifold after work. I've only fueled up one since I've owned it. A detail I completely forgot to mention is that it was sitting for a few years before I bought it.

definitely check the fuel tank. consider cleaning/restoring the fuel system.