Hi again, as some may know in here I have taken the head off my 1977 triumph 2500tc as the head was leaking and other back firing problems, but now that everything is together and running well and not back firing im getting alot of white smoke out the exhaust with a hint of blue, its quite apparent when i accelerate heavily, Now i though since i cracked the engine open and cleaned her out that maybe its old oil+water being kicked up and burnt off, so iv given it a few weeks so burn off with some runs and such, but it hasnt lessened, and it i doubt its a blown head gasket as i dont see any oil residue in the radiator, nor do i see any white sludge under the cap, so could it be a bad carb tune! or could it be the fuel additive iv been using! ( Bardahl insted o' lead gold )
pfemstn,
May 10, 2:49pm
bardahl we used to use as a decoke! will cause white smoke! How much are you using! stop using it and see what happens is the obvious answer!
NZTools,
May 10, 3:08pm
Disconnect the vacuum line to your brake booster and see if it dissapears.
ginga4lyfe,
May 10, 3:59pm
Oh, thanks, I was almost ready to assume that the rings needed to be done, and Ill try that too NZtools!
unclejake,
May 10, 4:30pm
Do as NZTools says, but if it is an automatic with a vacuum activated downshift then also check the presure modulatiing diaphram on the gearbox isn't split.
White smoke can be brake fluid or ATF
m16d,
May 10, 5:00pm
Yer. It won't be the head gasget, it'll be the rings. It is an old pommie car you know.Just drive it. whats a bit of smoke.!
girlracer2005,
May 10, 5:13pm
has anyone thought about asking if they replaced the head gasket or used the old one
mugenb20b,
May 10, 5:16pm
Why on earth would he reuse the old head gasket if he went through the trouble of removing the head!
sr2,
May 10, 5:19pm
Good advice, a small amount of brake fluid will make a huge amount of very, very white smoke! If there is fluid in the booster you will be looking at a m/cyl rebuild and at the very least (only if you're lucky) a strip, clean and inspection of the mastervac. A quick easy test is to pull the vac check valve out and poke your finger through the hole to see if any fluid is present.
petermcg,
May 10, 6:05pm
yes it is brake fluid or atf oil, and your backfiring would be just valve clearance''by the way good on you if you used the old headgasket, i do this lots.
bigracket,
May 10, 6:17pm
Rings.
girlracer2005,
May 10, 6:40pm
as alot of people that dont know alot about motors look at the gaskets and think yea its look find and dont relise the once they been trouqed down thats it
unclejake,
May 10, 6:42pm
^ Then why the white smoke!
tractor9,
May 10, 6:54pm
If it's rings, wouldn't it be blue smoke !
White smoke is usually brake fluid or water
ginga4lyfe,
May 10, 7:21pm
its a brand new Head gasket, dont worry I intended to do it rightand only once,( and the old head-gasket pealed away into 3 different layers) surely if it was the rings though the compression would be all over the place! its even at 160 psi on all cylinders, but yeah the backfiring was sorted a while ago, it wasn't the timing apparently the vacuum on the air box assembly was needed for the SU carbs to operate properly( and not backfire ) but yeah, its a bit cold out for me to be outside fiddling with the non return valves and such, so ill only do that in the morning
tractor9,
May 10, 7:32pm
Cold !! Harden up lad. We used to walk 15 miles backwards, barefoot through snow with a handful of hot gravel for breakfast blah blah blah.
ginga4lyfe,
May 10, 7:51pm
I bet walking to school was uphill 10 miles, the walk home was also uphill 10 miles! haha nah im good for the cold normally but i had the flue recently and im still battling with really nasty chest infection, so i would rather not aggravate it
ema1,
May 10, 7:54pm
I'd be taking a hard look at the brake master cyl/booster assembly for possible fluid ingress from back of M/cyl into the booster body then via the vac hose into the inlet manifold and check out the booster vac check valve for operation, pull the valve out of the booster body( you should hear a hiss if the booster body has any degree of vacuum present) and reach in with a suitable probe to check and see if leaking brake fluid is present in the booster vac body. Wouldn't hurt to check for vac leaks in the entire brake booster assembly and any vac hoses associated with it. After running the engine and after switching it off go pump the brakes and see if the pedal goes rock hard, if not then you can suspect the booster being at fault, you should be able to pump the pedal about 6 up to a dozen pumps before it goes rock hard, thus reducing the vacuum to nil in the booster! Check the vac modulator diaphragm on the auto trans, common fault here. White smoke and running rough certainly sounds like brake fluid or ATF being drawn into the engine, via a faulty vac circuit! Have you got a vac gauge that you can hook up to the inlet manifold via a vac port if you know how to read the results of a vac gauge check you will be able to work out what the fault is and where by process of elimination, i.e. by disconnecting whatever vac operations are being serviced by the engine and plugging the vac ports during checking, whatever one that you disconnect which allows the engine to run smoothly then you have hit the mark right there. Otherwise go around the engine while it's running with a suitable cutlength of garden hose and use it like a stethoscope, you'd be surprised where some vac leaks can be found by this method, hissing sound however small can be picked up this way! Good Luck
ginga4lyfe,
May 10, 8:14pm
its manual so no diaphragm ( thankfully ) and the only line going from the manifold to anywere is the vac guage, the booster assembly, and the rocker cover recirculation hoses, si Ill definatly look thoguh those, and pull out the booster valve, and yes the brakes do need a bit of a pump up. though its regaurdless if the car is running of not ( so may pay to replace the valves and hoses anyways !)
ema1,
May 10, 8:37pm
Hmmmmmmmm interesting .you mention rocker cover recirculation hoses, wonder if it had a PCV valve unit in there originally that controlled the vacuum between the rocker cover and the inlet manifold vac port! This is what it looks like !
I reckon you have an uncontrolled vac leak right there from your rocker cover hoses to the inlet manifold vac port. Take the hose off the rocker cover and plug it, either that or plug the port that the rocker cover hose goes to on the manifold and tell me what the engine does! This is getting very interesting.
bigracket,
May 10, 8:39pm
Poster says it is both. If its a compression ring it can show as white smoke, usually both go though. Ha has fixed the head (gasket) Therefore leading to increase in crankcase pressure, which is showing up the ring/bore wear. Yip totally agree also to eliminate the master cylinder leak theory, however it would show up pretty quick in the old fluid levels wont it! That only leaves guides if they not been done! But like someone earlier said a good start would be not running that additive through it. No mechanic just a point of view. Happy for the intelligent people to criticise me as im not a professor LOL
ginga4lyfe,
May 10, 8:40pm
Interesting that you bring up Rimmerbro's I found them the otherday , and nay no pcv valve, this is similar ( just updated ) to what my rocker covers are like http://www.rimmerbros.co.uk/Item--i-GRID008645 , inside the cover is a splash/slosh plate to stop straight oil being recirculated
ema1,
May 10, 8:48pm
I still reckon there should be a PCV valve in that system otherwise you have NOT got a control on vacuum from the rocker cover thus any part of the engine at all! Go plug the hose that fits between the rocker cover and the inlet manifold and see what difference it makes to the engine. You should have a vac port to the vac gauge you say it has then the distributor vac advance port, brake booster port and indeed any other port in the inlet manifold. In fact go plug off all the vac points on the inlet manifold completely and I'll bet that engine should run smooth! Just a matter of finding where the vac leak is.
ema1,
May 10, 8:53pm
How about posting a pic of the hoses that go from the rocker cover please and I can assertain from that whether it should have a PCV valve fitted in there!
ginga4lyfe,
May 10, 8:58pm
well thats the thing, it is running smooth, just lots of white and blue smoke( depends on how hard i push the pedal :P ) and Ill try find a pic, i think i have a recent one already
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