'63 Still Smoking

**DANNY PANTUSO** · June 12, 2006, 07:52 AM

Re: '63 Still Smoking

You have a hair line crack on one of the right side of the block on one of sleeves, or hair line on the right head in one of exhaust valve port. Danny

**Neil Anderson** · June 12, 2006, 08:23 AM

Re: '63 Still Smoking

It could be a bad lobe on the cam not alowing the intake valve to open on intake stroke thus tranfering the vaccum to the rings so it sucks oil from the crank case.

**Mike McKown** · June 12, 2006, 09:00 AM

Put your hand in the exhaust for a few seconds

and then smell it. It's easy to smell the difference between oil and anti-freeze, at least the green stuff.

The cracked head sounds likely. Over some period of time, you should be losing a measureable amount of coolant if this is the case.

**Terry F.** · June 12, 2006, 10:43 AM

Re: '63 Still Smoking

If the heads or the deck have been milled substantially you will get a poor a poor seal between the intake manifold and the head. It is possible to suck oil and antifreeze at this point. But it might not be your problem. If you pull the engine, take it apart very carefully. Look for signs of where it is coming from. You should be able to look inside the exhaust ports and spot the wet cylinder. If it is a bad intake seal, you should be able to see a wet intake port.

Narrow it down the location and then have an expert check for cracks, etc.

Terry

**Rob Dame** · June 12, 2006, 12:29 PM

Re: '63 Still Smoking

If the car is an automatic check the modulator valve. Rob

**David M.** · June 12, 2006, 12:33 PM

Re: '63 Still Smoking

I'd do some more detecive work as the last posts mentioned. Pull the ex manifold and run the car to see whats up. Read the plugs. Pressurize the cooling system to see if it looses pressure in a short period of time. With PSI on the cooling system you'll see it leaking too. No milky oil right? Pull the plugs and turn it over and see if it spits coolant. A bore scope helps get a look in the holes if you have a local mechanic with one. One can be rented too.
If its oil getting into the combustion chamber than it has to be getting in via the head or the intake. How do all the other specs check out? Vacuum, compression, leak down etc. Do all this before tearing it down again. If you find out where its comming from I'd try another shop for flux and sonic testing. The shop you are using may be missing something. Keep us informed with the fix or more clues. I like to see this stuff through. I trouble-shoot for a living and this will be one more for the archives.

**Terry F.** · June 12, 2006, 02:53 PM

Re: '63 Still Smoking

Excellent suggestion! In fact, that one happened to me a long time ago. Terry

**Terry F.** · June 12, 2006, 02:59 PM

Re: '63 Still Smoking

Someone has mentioned pressurizing the coolant system. I never had the tools for that. But, in many cases you can simply start the engine and watch for bubble to be constantly forming. I believe this mainly works with a blown head gasket. If you are trying to find a intake leak, it obviously won't work because you have a suction on that side. If you have raw oily spray coming out the back exhaust. I would thing you could spot the cylinder or side of the car by looking in the exhaust ports with a mirror and checking for a wet valve. Terry

**Roy B.** · June 12, 2006, 04:46 PM

Re: '63 Still Smoking

If the car is an automatic check the modulator valve. Rob may be right on! People do for get that. to check if it's that remove it and tap it on a white paper and if you get any red oil showing that's your problem.

**Joel T.** · June 12, 2006, 05:09 PM

Re: '63 Still Smoking

A couple of additional pieces of information..

The car is a 4 speed, not an automatic....

I've pulled the plugs before and old #6 seems to be the cultrit... looks to be oily. I have not run the engine with the exhaust manifold off, looks to be a next step.. to see what comes out.

I ran the car again this morning... placed a clean white rag over the exhaust tip (while smoking) and nothing is on the rag, not even soot. Seems to be a bunch of water vapor however. Tried this on both sides with the same no soot result. Definetely more vapor on the right side than left....

A few folks suggested a cooling system pressure test and compression test(s)... I have not done them yet, but will.

Last point, the engine has only 125 miles on it since the rebuild and only 25 of those miles since we put the head and intake manifold back on the car.

Since the initial build, both heads have been off once for a complete going over, with no problem found (valves and seals). The right hand head was off a second time.. they found a slight out of true condition at the bottom of the intake ports (a bow so to speak)... Shaved .010" from the head surface to true it up. That head was also magnafluxed and pressure tested with no problm found. The intake mating surfaces were checked for trueness, with no problem found.

I have a bunch of suggestions to work on.... starting tonight!

More to follow, Thanks!!!

Joel

**Duke W.** · June 12, 2006, 05:59 PM

Re: '63 Still Smoking

If the heat riser is functioning, it will be closed until exhaust gas heat expands the themostratic spring to open the valve, and they get "sticky" and even stuck closed with age, so you will see much more condensed water in the RH tail pipe than the left, and flow on the RH side will also be less since a closed heat riser forces all the RH exhaust gas across to the LH side.

The action of the heat riser will also rust out the RH muffler long before the LH muffler.

Wire the heat riser open (weight down) before you come to any conclusions about the source of more condensate on the RH than LH side.

Duke

**Les Jacobs** · June 12, 2006, 06:45 PM

Re: '63 Still Smoking/Suggestion

If it's a coolant problem, the antifreeze is likely fouling the plug. Suggest you replace the antifreeze with water and try again. If the #6 plug stays clean, you've found the problem. (I tried to cure an "oil leak" which was fouling a plug, and after some head work, used only water in the coolant system for a thousand miles or so. I thought the problem was solved until I added the antifreeze, whereupon the problem returned. Finally had the plug analyzed at a chem lab. Verdict..ethylene glycol.

**David M.** · June 12, 2006, 11:02 PM

Re: '63 Still Smoking/Suggestion

Another weird twist I've seen is; A head passed the PSI and flux test only to show a small hard to see hairline later on. We needed to heat the head up for it to show its true colors. It was cracked behind the intake seat and very hard to see. This was with older magnaflux equipment and a young tech. The technician must be thorough. Thats why I suggested a different shop to eliminate that. But do all the simple stuff like Duke and others mentioned first. You said #6 is oily, thats a start. You also mentioned that the oil appears at highway speeds or above. Thats a clue too. Look for the wet spot! Growing up my uncle was into C3s. He had a 68,HT coded L-79 car that he could not get the oil to stop comming out of the pass side-pipe. After pulling all his hair out he found a bad hole from the machine shop. Cracked oil ring and wrong end gaps on both comp rings. Way too large. No scores on the walls. Comp test didnt show it etc(a leak down test woulda' caught it)....It only occured when he "got on it". The plug in that jug wasnt too bad ,slight oil but not wet cuz it burned it off when he wasnt "on it"!? So now that pandoras box is open-who the hell is pandora anyway?

**Joel T.** · June 13, 2006, 07:34 AM

Re: '63 Still Smoking

Duke,

Nope, no heat riser... I pulled that out the first time the heads were removed... Blasted thing was new and stuck closed...

'63 Still Smoking

'63 Still Smoking

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment