Posted by Steven Huff (216.67.201.207) on February 06, 2001 at 19:30:26:
In Reply to: Holy Smoke! posted by MadMav71 on February 06, 2001 at 18:45:37:
: OK. So I've got a new carb on my '71 250, fixed all the vaccuum leaks, etc, and my car still has a steady miss. All electricals have been replaced. The car is puffing white smoke, especially when you push the gas. From what I've read, this probably means I've got a head gasket leak, right? Or (sob) maybe something worse that's letting coolant into one or more cylinders, i.e. a cracked head/block. You guys got any other ideas about what could be going on? I haven't run a compression test yet, which is next on the agenda.
: By the way I have no idea about the service history of the car, and the engine has 111 k on the clock.
: Thanks!
When is the white smoke appearing? Generally it is pretty easy to tell steam from smoke. Are you getting bubbles in your radiator? Any bad discoloration of the coolant? You can put one of the pump up pressure testers on your radiator neck and pump it up to the radiator cap limit and see of your are getting any drop in pressure. Also you might be able to tell by looking at your plugs to see if you have a cylinder ingesting water. It will be noticeably cleaner if they have been in for very long. Hope some of this helps.