Re: White Smoke

Posted by Owen_Dyneto On 2009/1/12 10:33:35

I'm a bit lost (not the first time), we started out with white smoke and now we have black soot. I'm probably stating the obvious, but black soot on start-up is just a rich mixture probably from an mal-adjusted automatic choke. If it persits after the engine is warm it's probably a high fuel level in the carburetor or perhaps a leaking float or bad needle and seat. But none of this makes white smoke, only steam makes white smoke, though as I and others have stated, a small amount just from the humidity in the air is normal.

Here's my advice on white smoke; just drive the car and enjoy it and keep a constant check on the coolant level. If you don't have to add any, wonderful. If you find you have to add coolant from time to time, chances are you'll want to pull the cylinder head and check for a blow gasket or some other issue. Usually a compression test will reveal a blown head gasket.