Hello, I just rebuilt a 2.3 liter that I got out of a junk yard. Im not sure what model car it came out of but the block number is different then the pintos. The problem is that after the first couple of minutes thick white smoke starts to pour out of the exhaust. The more warmed up it gets the worst the smoke gets. The engine has not been driven on the road yet and it has only been ran for about 1.5 hours. The smoking has just started lately. I just replaced the fuel pump because it was bad. It didnt smoke before the pump was replaced, but it did have black deposits coming out the tail pipe(carbon I think). I thought that the smoke was from when I jacked up the pinto to change the transmission pan gasket that some oil might have leaked into the cylinders. I had the front end up pretty high. I ran the engine for 20 minutes but still smoking. It started to smoke right after I let it down to see if the trans. pan was leaking(it was not).
Its exhaust is normal for the first few minutes. After about 10 minutes of running the smoke covers the whole neighborhood, it starts to idle rough and dies(smoke gets worst). The last 2.3 liter I rebuilt smoked right away and then got better as it broke in. Im wondering if its just breaking in, oil burning off, or if its another problem? Any information would be a great help. Thanks Tim
check for transmission fluid at connection from rubber vacuum hose to vacuum modulator
Is it actually smoke or could it be steam? I've had an engine that would start up fine, but as soon as it warmed up, steam would billow out of the exhaust. Turned out to be a bad head gasket.
The vacuum lines are dry to the modulator. The modulator was replace within the last two years. As for the head gasket I have never tested for a bad one before. Do I do a vacuum check? Also the exhaust smells strong of fuel, But I did hollow out my catalytic converter(before the rebuild and smoking started). Thanks Tim
Try a pressure test on the radiator. if it holds pressure it is ok, if not you may have a internal leak in the engine such as head or head gasket.
Tim,
Is the "smoke" coming out of the tailpipe white/light or black/dark in color? You mentioned the exhaust smells strongly of fuel. If it is black or dark in color, the problem is most likely in the carb somewhere. If it is white or light in color, there is probably a coolant leak into a cylinder (gasket, cracked head, etc). With a coolant leak into a cylinder, it may be giving you a poor burning or no burning of the gas going to that cylinder which would give you the strong fuel smell in the exhaust.
I did a pressure test and it held pressure. So I know its not a coolant related problem. Any other ideas as to what the problem could be?
You might do the pressure test with the engine both hot and cold. It may not show up on a cold engine.
Be careful with that HOT coolant don't get burned.
Pinch off all vacuum lines from the intake including your PCV, If it still smokes then it might be a broken ring or an upside down ring if they are directional. How did you prep your cylinders? Were they washed with soap and water or some kind of solvent? Soap and water is a must for cleanliness on freshly honed cylinders. Check your oil level, make sure there is no fuel in your oil from a bad fuel pump. Sabatoge???? Check your fuel, I've seen many small engines with diesel fuel from someone grabing the wrong can.
Hello, thanks alot cheapracer. I changed the oil and there was about 2.5 gallons of fuel/oil mixture. More fuel then oil.  >:(   I changed the fuel pump before all of the smoke started. I wonder if the fuel came from the bad pump before or if its another problem. I hope draining the oil will fix it. It still smokes but I didn't run it that long. Thanks again Tim