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I learned a couple of things today, including the reminder that I should not assume ....
I thought the smoke was coming from exhaust. My mechanic ruled out head gasket based on no visible smoke coming from exhaust and the results of testing the radiator fumes with some thingy. He believes it is coming from this "breather tube" which is located on the passenger side bottom of engine, toward rear:
You can see some smoke coming out ... I took this pic at idle.
Also, and not sure if this is related, the engine is blowing oil ... from somewhere. He thinks it is coming out of the filler cap. The firewall/hood is wet with oil, the top of the engine at bottom of filler tube, the coil and distributor also have oil on them. here is the passenger side firewall; you can see the blowback:
this is fresh oil ... we think coming from filler cap?
Happy and eager to hear your thoughts. My mechanic suggested I check in with you all to see if you have had these experiences. His questions:
What would cause excessive smoking from breather tube?
It is likely you have ring problems, ie compression and or oil. You might want to inspect your spark plugs for oil residue, perform a compression test and a cylinder leakage test. Excessive blow by is caused by worn engine rings.
It is likely you have ring problems, ie compression and or oil. You might want to inspect your spark plugs for oil residue, perform a compression test and a cylinder leakage test. Excessive blow by is caused by worn engine rings.
Thank you (and Mikey too!). So ... if it is rings, does that cause oil to blow from the filler cap?
And the smoke from the breather tube ... is that caused by rings too, or something different?
Absolutely. Bad rings not only allow oilinto the combustion chamber, but also release pressure from combustion into the crankcase. That pressure has to go somewhere. And out the breather cap/venthose is goes.
My guess is that the motor is done. Either damaged rings, broken piston skirt, or both. A leakdown test would confirm it. You would be able to hear air coming from the breather cap valve cover hole.
Absolutely. Bad rings not only allow oilinto the combustion chamber, but also release pressure from combustion into the crankcase. That pressure has to go somewhere. And out the breather cap/venthose is goes.
My guess is that the motor is done. Either damaged rings, broken piston skirt, or both.
Uhg. I hope you are wrong. Are these problems that can be diagnosed without completely disassembling the engine?
Yes as Mikey Lawless stated, if you have a hissing sound coming through the valve cover oil filler. The compressed air is getting past the rings into the crank case. This will be evident with a cylinder leakage test. If that is the case its overhaul time. Your spark plugs will be wet with oil and or have a gummy oil residue as well. Over the course of the engines life the cylinders will begin to taper causing the rings to loose their seal, the rings will be worn as well.
That is called a road tube.
I wonder how slick the roads were when most cars were venting crankcase gases out to the road surface.
Is your mechanic an actual mechanic?
Hi McLeod, we could have an interesting discussion about the philosophical answer to your question, but from a practical perspective, yes, he is. And in fairness to him, he acknowledged that *he* called it a breather tube, but he couldn't remember the actual name, He did explain its purpose to me, and pointed out that modern cars don't have them.
I'd like to be wrong for your sake.
But to be blunt, problems such as this don't fix themselves or just go away on their own. I've been "playing with cars" for 50 years, built dozens of engines and drag raced for the last 45 years. I've seen all kinds of engine damage.....mostly my own. (When you race a car, things break periodically. Something it's a BIG boom!)
The way to diagnose it it best is with a leakdown test. A simple compression test will tell you that a particular cylinder is down on compression, but won't tell you why.
A street engine should not have any more than 10-15% leakage. During the test, which uses a testing device, fills a cylinder with compressed air while the piston is at the top of its travel with the valves closed (Compression stroke). You can hear the air escaping at various places. Out of the crankcase means it is leaking past the rings. Out the carb means the intake valves are leaking, out the exhaust, means leaking exhaust valves. Out the radiator means head gasket or cracked block or head.
At any rate, I wish a good outcome for you.
Yes as Mikey Lawless stated, if you have a hissing sound coming through the valve cover oil filler. The compressed air is getting past the rings into the crank case. This will be evident with a cylinder leakage test. If that is the case its overhaul time. Your spark plugs will be wet with oil and or have a gummy oil residue as well. Over the course of the engines life the cylinders will begin to taper causing the rings to loose their seal, the rings will be worn as well.
@lizardman1@MikeyLawless okay, thanks guys. I pulled a plug a few weeks ago when I was having a spark problem, and it was wet ... I thought with gas (as I flooded it trying to start the engine). I took this photo about a half hour later and the plug was dry ... oil would not have dried that quickly, would it?
I'd like to be wrong for your sake.
But to be blunt, problems such as this don't fix themselves or just go away on their own. I've been "playing with cars" for 50 years, built dozens of engines and drag raced for the last 45 years. I've seen all kinds of engine damage.....mostly my own. (When you race a car, things break periodically. Something it's a BIG boom!)
The way to diagnose it it best is with a leakdown test. A simple compression test will tell you that a particular cylinder is down on compression, but won't tell you why.
A street engine should not have any more than 10-15% leakage. During the test, which uses a testing device, fills a cylinder with compressed air while the piston is at the top of its travel with the valves closed (Compression stroke). You can hear the air escaping at various places. Out of the crankcase means it is leaking past the rings. Out the carb means the intake valves are leaking, out the exhaust, means leaking exhaust valves. Out the radiator means head gasket or cracked block or head.
At any rate, I wish a good outcome for you.
Thanks @MikeyLawless ... and please note I wasn't challenging your diagnosis (I'm here because I KNOW what I don't know ...which is pretty much everything on this topic) ... I was just venting in the moment. I'm gathering all these opinions from your experienced guys and going to give them to my mechanic. I have a had a hard time finding a mechanic who will work on an engine this old, and the two guys who run the shop have been working on cars for 30 some years each. I trust their integrity ... and they were honest enough to send me to the forum for input.
The only place I have found locally to rebuild an engine can't even take it in for 10 months. More than the cost, the wait kills me. I'm going to keep looking in case the tests confirm your diagnosis.
That plug looks pretty good, do they all look like that??
I only pulled the one ... I'll pull all of them tomorrow and check ... I have a set of new plugs I was going to put in anyway. I'll be back to you on that. Thank you.
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