Im kinda looking at a 63 caddy 2 door 1 owner car.... the ad for it says that "it has sat for a few years now and the gas is stinky and it smokes when it runs... it will run and drive around but smokes out of the dip stick...dont know if its bad valves seals or just from sitting or what.." I was wondering if he is right, or can it be something else??? Also how hard would it be to fix??? Please dont flame me for this, Ive never really dealt with this particular issue before. Thanks.
maybe excessive blow by. does it do it right away ? or does it have to run for a while? might also be a head gasket leak..what color is the smoke?..pure white? or light blueish?
It sounds more like the rings are stuck from setting,not uncommon. They might shake loose with a little driving or some additives might help,like Marvel mystery oil. If not then its time for a tear down and overhaul. Good luck,Normal Norman
Bad gas will smoke too when it breaks down. Oil change and fresh gas might clear it up. Your taking a chance no matter what. As was mentioned, could be rings too. Is the oil real thin? Does it smell like gas? Lippy
How much some? If it's shooting out it's likely a big issue. If it's just a little smoke it's likely just an older engine. Any odd noises coming from the engine? Does it have a PCV valve? Is it hooked up? On a slightly different note, why is the dipstick missing?
I wish lippy was right, but it looks to be too much of a chance to ditch my daily driver for it.... the owner seriously knows nothing about it and cant give out exact info...
Does a '63 still have a draft tube? Smoke out of that? Pull the PCV out if it has that and see how much smoke it gets. If there's a lot, pass. Although my old Pontiac got to smoking pretty good out the tube at lights and so on and still ran fine.
I have used Marvel Mystery Oil or just plain old ATF to "loosen" rings on many engines. My 48 Plymouth woodie wagon had been sitting for 20+ years when I got it. I poured a couple teaspoons full of Marvel in each spark plug hole and let it sit for a couple days. When I fired the engine it smoked like blue blazes for about 15 minutes while I drove it around the neighborhood doing my part to eliminate the mosquito population and then it stopped smoking. I had no smoking problems again as long as I owned the car.
excessive blow by....and please remember this is a one year only engine, and parts availability is generally comparitively scarce. Yes, '63 has PCV
blow by...but from what? check the oil and if it is real thin, it is likely contaminated with gas from starting/priming carb/etc. If not thin, then it is likely stuck rings/worn out engine. Good old tranny fluid, at least a quart, drive it for 30 minutes and change oil, add some Lucas. Works many times for me.
I used to have a off topic volkswagen that pissed oil and smoke out everywere and when I tore it down it had a piston with a whole the size of a dime I could look through, could be that. But when I fired up the Buick in my T for the first time in who knows how long it smoked bad, but after idling for a while it soon cleared up so its really hard to tell.
I talked to the guy some more and he said that the gas stinks.... old gas + engine thats sat for years... he started it with the old crap gas.... could that make it smoke????
bad gas, poor venting, sticky rings, it sounds like you just need to be thoughtful and careful. oil changes, marvel mystery oil, high test gas, good tune up. it probably isn't anything to really get upset about.
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