Technical Smoke coming out through exhaust

Getting fumes inside and smoke out the back to me sounds like broken or bad rings. Blow by smoke can easily get into the cabin. Try this you may want to have a helper.
Start the car with the hood open, block the wheels and put the parking brake on, rev up the engine a bit with the car in gear and watch the road draft tube with the engine under load.

 

I don't know guys, from the OP's descriptions of what's happening it's really hard to make much sense of it all. I'm not sure if the problem (white smoke in the exhaust) started when he put Seafoam in the fuel tank, or if it was there before and has jut gotten worse.

Several of you are pointing to fuel in the oil, but fuel in the oil won't cause white smoke in the exhaust. So I'm not sure why that even came up. (btw, if you want a test for fuel in the oil, drop a couple of drops on the back of a business card and let the oil spread out. If there is fuel in the oil you will see a light colored ring spread out beyond the dark oil)

Some others are pointing towards sludge in the engine, but again that won't cause white smoke in the exhaust; and besides that he says the oil is very clean. Detergents in the oil would be picking up material from the sludge and turning the oil dark. So I don't think that's the problem.

White smoke indicates water/coolant getting into the combustion chamber, that's not good. As I mentioned before, white smoke can also be from raw, unburned fuel. I've rarely seen it in cars, but I have seen it in diesel engines before, typically old school mechanical injection engines, especially on cold startup. I've seen them fill the sky with white smoke until the temperature comes up and they clear up. I wonder if it's just the Seafoam in the fuel. I've seen that before too, though usually from pouring it into the top of the carb, and it goes away after a short time. The OP says he only added about 1/4 bottle to the tank, that's not much, but was that to a full tank of fuel? And is he still running on that same tank? Anyway, with the information so far that's where I would look.

OP, have you checked the coolant level, and is it low? And did you fill the tank with fresh fuel after you added the Seafoam? Are you still running on that tank of gas?

 

Good call Old Wolf. Or lack of compression is preventing combustion and the smoke is just raw gas being passed through the exhaust stream.

 

I've also had a blown transmission modulator valve that resulted in trans fluid being sucked into the intake...also produced a whitish smoke out the exhaust. Easy to check...pull the vacuum line at the modulator valve, if there is any fluid in the line, replace the modulator.

 

What up guys I do notice my car does run a bit rich. Today I almost had a heart attack cause i ran out of gas. Had a hard time turning it back on, but a gentleman helped me out and I'm up and running. I noticed the fuel pump does leak a bit from the top part of the pump. I snugged in that screw a few days back. Also, I don't have the classic fuel filter. There's usually one that comes from the carb, one to the pump, and there's one that comes i believe from the back of the fuel tank. That one has always been disconnected, but the other two are on each of side of the fuel filter. I did buy a fuel filter once its brand new but never installed it that has an option to insert to fuel lines from one side including the one that comes from the fuel tank and then the one that goes towards the carb. Wonder if that's my problem too not sure what the line from the tank coming to the fuel filter would do.

 

I doubt that there is a filter at the gas tank. There could be one between the tank and fuel pump close to the fuel pump and another between the fuel pump and carb. Just purchase a new fuel pump and a single inlet and outlet filter. Pull the valve covers and check to see if all the valves are working properly. Clean any sludge that might be clogging the drain holes and holding oil in the valve covers. Now this is gonna sound kinda mean. Old classic cars aint for everyone. If you don't have the Knack and tools to work on them or have deep pockets to pay someone who does. and if your too durn smart to learn something from those who you ask for advice. Then you likely don't need a old vehicle.

 

You've got one hole with just 30 on compression test.
At least 47 different reasons it could be blowing crap out the tail pipe. Of course it's running rich. That's because you're feeding it 8cyl worth of fuel and running only 7 cyl. 1/8 off

 

He states that the temp stays at 1/4. since compression pressure is much higher than the radiator cap pressure. if there is a bad gasket or cracked head or block he should be pumping air into the cooling system and overheating. Of course when he shutoff the engine the radiator pressure could force coolant into a cyl. then he would get a hydro lock and a bent connecting rod. Most of us here could have the problem diagnosed in a half hour. He needs to quit driving it and fix the cause.

 

I've opened my valve covers before and cleaned the manifold it used to have a rats nest in there. Did it around 2013, so i am able to open up the valve covers and check for sludge. A cadillac usually has a line that comes from the tank into the fuel filter, and the other standard into the manual fuel pump, and the one that goes to the carb so a cadillac 62 does have three hoses on a fuel filter except i'm only running 2

 

Haha! Very true I'm just driving it till it dies for now, my daily driver gave out lasted me 387,989 miles. I'm only using the Cadi cause it's my only option for now, so I can get to work. There's an auction coming up soon March 15th going to get me a car that can give me 30mpg. My brother is a mechanic so told me to drive it till it dies. lol! He's installed LS engines on old cars/trucks including a C10. I most probably will go with a LS engine and the 4l80 transmission, but my brother also offered to rebuild my engine, so at least I have the choice. For now, I'm just trying to get by since I don't have a permanent job, and just working an IT temp job that got pushed back almost a week after my start date. Just trying to CYA be able to get by at least for this month, while I save money to get me a 4 cylinder.

 

"my brother has poured transmission oil through the carb......."
hmmm

 

30 psi on one cyl. that piston has lips instead of rings. LOL. Seafoam aint gonna fix that. Possibly it already has a bent rod and the piston is down in the hole. Or maybe it does have a bad head or gasket and to fix the hydro lock someone has doctored the problem by wedging the exhaust valve open? my guess is water got into the cyl. and it now has a burned piston. It don't have enough compression to put air in the radiator and overheat. 30 PSI on one cyl that means the engine has to be torn down until you find what is wrong. It aint going to heal itself. With only 30 PSI on one cyl your driving a vehicle with a blown engine causing more damage every time you drive it..

 

Do what every one on here has said.
Plugs, wires, points and condenser. Fuel pump and filter. New gas hose at the same time.
R-R valve covers, lookie valve movement, clean covers.
Filters, oil change, lube the front end just because.
Whiff and siphon a little out of the gas tank. Is there rotten gas or mucho particulate in there?
Get a carb kit. If all you do is replace the accelerator pump, look in there real good.
Is there little bits of alien matter in there?
Rebuild time. Alien matter could be very, very fine.
Bleed the brakes real good. Dot 3 is your friend.
KISS principal.
Slow down.
This car has done a lot of sitting.
Bringing them back to life is a major roll of the dice, and art.
Get a good floor jack and real good jack stands. 6 ton stands comes to mind.
If you're in it, go balls deep.

 

What he said.
Get a camera thing and look in there.
I burned a piston in a Triumph once and got a lot of white smoke, no power though.

 

my 352 did the same thing
had a bent valve
and almost stopped up from 50+ years of non detergent oil
several push rods were stopped up and valve train was starving for oil
valve stems were beat up pretty bad from lack of oil

 

Hey thanks for the advice brotha I had already done those things 4 years ago. I did change the motor oil, filter, BUT I need to buy a new air filter, plugs, and wires it's been a while. The tank had already been cleaned a few years back so we're good in that dept. the carb is new. I do need to go back and check the valve covers and check for sludge maybe clean it out for now. I will definitely rebuild the engine as soon as I get money to pay my brotha.

 

Naaaa, he's got a nearly dead cylinder.
Although that a great tune up and revitalizing plan,,,, starting with a compression test always 100% of the time, every time stops the waste of time

Changing the oil more than every 4 yrs is good though.

 

Haha will I forgot to say tho the car did drive pretty smooth from Laredo, TX to San Antonio. I drove 158 miles in 3 hours and didnt have any problems. The smoke has always been there it just bugs me of course as I explained before have bad compression on one of the cylinders. Oh well at least it works for now!

 

4 years sitting is hard on a car.
I just brought a rare barely OT back from a 24 year nap.

 

There's your problem.
Don't drive it to work.
Your welcome.

 

Find the cylinder that has a bad plug/wire???........ Use the old squirt bottle trick!
With the engine warmed up...take the bottle and squirt each of the exhaust ports on the exhaust manifold/headers.
The one that does NOT immediately evaporate and sizzle the water....is the cylinder that is NOT firing!(because its cooler than the ones that ARE firing)
6sally6

 

I might actually do this cause I do think it's a bad plug/wire i could hear it on the passenger side. Last time they told me it was on the drivers side. Then again it was some random people that wanted to supposedly help me out, but almost kept my car although i went and picked it up myself before they tore it apart.

 

Random people helping out.
That kinda makes me shake.

 

Wow, I'm gonna watch this one, like a train wreck where you can't look away. Where's the popcorn?

 

Get a couple of vaccum cleaner hoses. Run them from the oil fill and road draft to the air cleaner on the carb side of the filter. Recirculate that excessive blow by!

 

12 volt leaf blower

 

I did that already eliminated the draft tube a long time ago ran a hose with a PCV valve into the Carb spacer.

 

I don't think that'a going to create any more pressure than a compression stroke. My experience with SBC's was that when they wiped an exhaust lobe that pressure got relieved when the intake valve opened. The sign of that was a sharp rapping backfire through the carb when you goosed them.

 

The hard part was getting the dip stick to go in.

 

When a intake valve is opening the poston is on a downward stoke. that creates a vacuum and fills the cyl. on the compression stroke and exhaust stroke that air fuel mix has to go someplace if it cant exit via the exhaust. over time a engine with a exhaust valve that doesn't open will get considerable gas in the oil.