It just needs one small piece....the engine...

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Way2go
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Post by Way2go »

Kingswell wrote:Actually regarding what I previously posted. I think that there is another small oil leak. Its on the gasket that seals the black rocker cover. I checked the oil again and it doesn't look like it has changed much since I put the kleen flo in. Considering how much smoke its been putting out there is still quite a bit of oil.

Could the smoke be an exhaust problem. The back section of the exhaust is filled with a very oily soot.
Are you sure the smoke is oil? What colour is it & what quantity?
The exhaust soot could indicate that you are running very rich, maybe you aren't running the car much beyond the auto choke operation as I imagine most maltese journeys are quite short. Have you checked what your fuel consumption is?

If you are worried about oil leaks then maybe it's a good move to have the engine and bay steam-cleaned and then you will really be able to see what is coming from where and take quick remedial action if necessary.
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Post by Kingswell »

Mine is a manual choke.

The smoke is as white as white can be. The more you press the gas the more that comes out, except when starting, when starting a lot of smoke comes out regardless of much gas its given. It will pour out if given a lot of gas when not in gear, so dense that you cant even see the ground. I can see it coming out when driving in my side mirror.

The fuel consumption is very good. It last around 3 busy weeks on a half tank. It is better than my mum's 106.
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Post by Way2go »

Kingswell wrote: The smoke is as white as white can be. The more you press the gas the more that comes out, except when starting, when starting a lot of smoke comes out regardless of much gas its given. It will pour out if given a lot of gas when not in gear, so dense that you cant even see the ground. I can see it coming out when driving in my side mirror.

The fuel consumption is very good. It last around 3 busy weeks on a half tank. It is better than my mum's 106.
Then white smoke is unlikely to be oil as normally oil would be black smoke. Check your spark plugs and if the ends are black then you are running far too rich. (They should be brownish if the mixture is right).
White smoke is either unburnt fuel or you have a head gasket leak and its steam from the water.
Have you or anyone adjusted the carburetter before this started happening? You may well benefit from a tune-up on a garage machine in the first instance before exploring the more expensive option of unnecessarily changing the head gasket, valves or valve seats.
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Post by jeremy »

Lubricating oil smoke is a distinctive blueish colour - and has a noticeable smell which can be pleasant dependant on brand. If its pouring down the valve seals it will tend to be present on startup and also when the engine is on the overrun when there is a high manifold depression due to the throttle being shut and also not much if any combustion taking place. You put your foot down again and watch the car behind dissappear in this cloud of blue smoke!

The blueish colour is actually noticeable even on a diesel engine!

White and I mean white smoke on startup is water vapour - either condensation in the exhaust or cooling water. If the cooling water has antifreeze in it - you can probably smell the antifreeze if it is cooling water. Of course it has to come from somewhere - and so the coolant level will drop and I'd also expect the cooling system to pressurise. If it doesn't it may be something very rare.

Over choking or a rich mixture will lead to black smoke eventually - which will smell strongly of fuel. Deposits can collect in the silencer and be blown out when the car gets really hot or is made to work hard - as many diesel drivers will tell you.
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Post by Way2go »

jeremy wrote:Over choking or a rich mixture will lead to black smoke eventually - which will smell strongly of fuel. Deposits can collect in the silencer and be blown out when the car gets really hot or is made to work hard - as many diesel drivers will tell you.
But Jeremy, this is a 1400cc PETROL engine not a diesel and unburnt fuel is often WHITE.
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Post by jeremy »

Unburnt diesel fuel is white - hence the puff you get if you don't heat a diesel properly or it doesn't start first time for some reason. This is simply atomised and unburnt fuel.

Overrich petrol will produce steam from a cold engine - but if it is left running in a severely overchoked state it will get lumpy and eventually start chucking out black smoke - which just like the diesel engine is partially burnt fuel.

It sounds like this engine is producing loads of steam when it runs - which could be unburnt fuel but it seems to do it when warm and its in Malta which has a dry climate - and so I would not expect the quantity of steam you get on a nice cold British morning. The warmer and dryer climate would make any steam evaporate much quicker and with a sound car I would expect steam on startup to be barely visible from outside the car and certainly not in the rear view mirror.

So if it was running rich I would expect it to quickly get to the uneven running stage and then go on to emit very rich and smelly exhaust fumes and then start black smoking - (just like my Triumph Stag would if I wasn't very careful with the choke)

However Kingswell says he has copious white smoke at all times - which must be coming from somewhere - and the cooling system would seem to be the obvious place - either through the head gasket (but he doesn't mention poressurisation) or (and its unlikely) a porous portion of the head allowing water into the exhaust port or perhaps the inlet port. If it was one of these I'd try a leakstopper as it would probably seal up what is probably a porous casting.
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Post by cavmad »

I`d suggest head gasket if there`s billious clouds of white smoke emitting from it, though obviously a proper check over would be best.
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Post by jeremy »

I entirely agree Cavmad
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Post by Way2go »

cavmad wrote:I`d suggest head gasket if there`s billious clouds of white smoke emitting from it, though obviously a proper check over would be best.
Yes this is as I'd already posted but to eliminate the simple tuning possibilities before going for major surgery.
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Post by tim leech »

I would do a compression check to be sure.
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Post by jeremy »

Even feeling the hoses would be a starting point.
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