65 283 owners: please help!

[wagonairedriver]

I have a 65 Cruiser with an original equipment 283. It had a problem with white smoke out of the exhaust when warm. I replaced and retorqued the gaskets. same problem. Rebuilt and resurfaced the heads, including magnifluxing. new gaskets. same problem. Took the heads back to the machine shop,had them rechecked. Tore down the short block. Had it checked for problems, and honed. Put in new main and rod bearings, new cam and lifters, new rings, new timing chain and gears. even had the pistons knurled and refitted them. Runs like a dream, tons of oil pressure. Engine bay looks great, freshly detailed and repainted. However, IT STILL SMOKES WHITE. Arrghhh! Help. I'm using a Chevy motor's repair manual from 1965. It says head torque is 60-70#. Can anybody back that up with a studebaker torque spec? Anybody able to solve this problem with theirs? I thought Chevvies were supposed to be easy... If nobody can help, it's going off a cliff. Only question is... will I be pushing it, or driving it?

[Randy_G]

I can answer part of your question, the Torque on the heads will be the same in Studebaker books as Chevy books since Chevy/Mckinnon built the engines for Studebaker. As for the white smoke, does it do it all the time or just when you start up? Does the car run hot at any time? I have a Monte Carlo that smokes white smoke when I start it up but it quickly clears up, and it has a new engine in it.

Randy_G
1959 Lark Sedan
www.AutomotiveHistoryOnline.com

[wagonairedriver]

The engine has never gotten hot since I've had the car, and it only smokes white after it begins to get warm. I was pretty sure the torque specs would be the same, but i wanted somebody with a Stude repair manual that covers 65 (if they made one) to back up my assumption.

[wagonairedriver]

Oh, by the way, thanks for your response Randy! Sweet lark...

[Dwain G.]

The 65-66 Stude shop manual definitely says 60-70 lbft on the V8 heads. Is this really smoke? Or is it steam? Steam will dissipate quickly, but smoke would hang in the air on a calm day. I would check the following in this order. If you have power brakes, check the reservoir often for fluid loss. Suspend the use of fuel and oil additives. Inspect the spark plugs, look for a 'steam cleaned' tip. Check for gas dilution in the motor oil. Have the (wet) intake manifold pressure tested.


Dwain G.

[wagonairedriver]

Thanks Mike and Dwain. The honing is correct, says the machinist (who's been doing my stuff for 3o years or so), I used sealer on all head bolt threads, no additives, am running the right oil, no power brakes, no oil dilution detected. Will check the plugs tomorrow,and the torque is correct. What a puzzle... What is your opinion on break-in? When I went to mechanics school in the early 80's (when I was 20,sigh) the practice was to accelerate in high gear from 20 to 50 mph and coast back down, about ten times to seat the rings, then just be nice to it for about 500 miles to let everything get happy with it's new parts. The dyno guy in town, says just run at 3000 rpms for a half hour and you're ready to race. He says better to break it now than later. Personally, my goal is not to break it, ever. Thanks for the responses. Oh, and I believe I would classify this white stuff as steam.
Kelly

[PlainBrownR2]

My three cents here. As far as the break in, the dyno guy must be a very rich man because he must go through alot of engines. I have never heard of doing anything like that and have it last very long.

The advice followed about accelerating from 20 to 50 and then being nice to it sounds alot more reasonable, as this allows everything to seat and wear in. The guys I knew in the Yahoo chatrooms had a set mileage where they had to be nice to the car after the engine was rebuilt. No hard accelerations, no revving to the moon, basically drive as normal as normal could be. Once the mileage was reached then they could go wild with the car as the engine has now "broken in". I would also be pretty regular initially about changing the oil to remove most of the particularites when the engine was exposed.

Are you sure you guys are getting the white steam mixed up with the condensate that comes from an engine sitting overnight? Engines aren't completely sealed devices, and overnight(particularly if its cold) when a car sits, moisture from the air will get down into the lowers of an engine. When the car is started and the engine is warmed the condensate goes out the tailpipe in the form of white steam. A little is not so bad. If you have alot, or in the case a pair of jet contrails going down the road, you might have a problem.


1964 Studebaker Commander R2 clone
1950 Studebaker 2R5 with 170 turbocharged
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[wagonairedriver]

Yes, unfortunately I do make a nice con trail(single exhaust) when I step on it. And it does begin to occur as the engine achieves operating temp, and does not stop until I shut off the car. Which I do as soon as the neighborhood disappears in a cloud of steam. Don't suppose I could convince the local police it is a Doble steam car?
Kelly

[Chucks Stude]

I have seen some C)(*Y engines that were leaking past the valve guides just enough to make a light smoke screen.

[ROADRACELARK]

Sounds like a cylinder leak-down test is in order. This not only tells you what the problem is, but where it's coming from. Much more informative than just a compression test....although it to is helpfull. These test kits are available through many sources, NAPA, Jegs Performance, Summit Racing, even Harbor Freight. Hope this helps.

Dan Miller
Atlanta, GA

[img=left]http://static.flickr.com/57/228744729_7aff5f0118_m.jpg[/img=left]
Road Racers turn left AND right.

[Guido]

Are you losing coolant? In order to have steam you need to have a source of moisture. When you tore down the engine was there any sign of leakage around the head gaskets?

[1956 Hawk]

Just one other thought. Water can get into the intake manifold on a Chevy as it has water passages that flow through it. You might check the intake for cracks, or check the intake gaskets.
David

[bob40]

If it is a automatic I had issues with a the modulator valve on those vintage transmissions.If they developed a leak trans fluid could get sucked up into the manifold via a vacuum line and white smoke came out the tailpipes.The valve is on the side of the case,big round cover,IIRC.All mine ever needed was a new gasket.

[N8N]

I agree with bob40 BUT... doesn't a '65 use the same B-W trans as a '64, therefore no modulator?

If there *is* one that would certainly account for the smoke, my dad had one go on his old pickup and it laid down a nice screen.

nate

--
55 Commander Starlight
http://members.cox.net/njnagel

[dictator27]

Are you absolutely sure it is steam? Is the coolant level going down? I'm with Bob40. Pull the vacuum line off the trans modulator and see if it is wet inside.