Packard Forum Index » Pre-War (1899-1942)

Hi there,

Check to see if the inlet manifold drain is working alright. There is a ball-bearing at the end of the drain which is drawn up to seal the pipe when the motor is running. It drops when the motor stops releasing any liquid left in the inlet manifold. If it is not working oil/petrol/water will be drawn into the motor and come out the exaust as black discharge. I had this problem, it really baffled me!

White smoke is most likley head gasket. Blue, engine oil. If it is a worn or uncared for engine you may have multiple problems.

Pat.

Quote:

That's fairly normal. When it is humid, my car does that also. The symptoms you describe sound like an engine a little long in tooth. Probably needs rings and valve job. If it is running ok, and you can live with a little smoke, run it for a while.

Jim

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.

One thing that comes to mind is that a rich engine can deposit carbon in the intake and exhaust. If there is an excess of moisture it can dissolve some of the carbon and cause a black drip from the tail pipe. The moisture can come from condensation or from a leak in the engine like a head gasket.