Eggo
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as it’s getting warmer smoke is coming out of the rad, not very visible in the photos
Lack of Power
- Thread starter Eggo
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How much run time does your motor get? Does it get run for a good amount of time or mostly stop and go driving? Does it sit for extended periods of time? I’m sure it was posted, does the white smoke have an odor to it? Coolant leaks will give off a sweet odor. Hold the palm of your hand about an inch or two away from the tailpipe for a few seconds then smell it. If it is coolant seepage, you will find routinely lower level of coolant after driving it. When tightening bolts are you using a torque wrench following the engine torque specs? No coolant loss? No coolant leakage? Is the motor overheating at all? Do you know if the motor was seriously overheated before? With the rad cap off and engine hot there will be some vapors coming out. More noticeable on a cool day. As posted, did you inspect the plugs? Wet? Carboned up? Know when the last time the motor was tuned? Condition of the plug wires, distributor, etc.
Hope it isn’t gaskets, or worse, but steps to take before having to get into that.
Hope it isn’t gaskets, or worse, but steps to take before having to get into that.
Eggo
Well-Known Member
up until i was having problems with it a couple weeks ago i was driving it every day as is my daily & the journey to work is about 20 miles so it was getting really good use. I don’t think the smoke has an odour but i have a cold at the moment so will check again when i’m feeling a bit better or see if one of my neighbours will check for me. the coolant does seem significantly lower than what i would’ve expected it to be though, has lost about 2L in maybe a months worth of driving whereas normally it doesn’t lose that much. I just tightened them using a spanner. It’s never overheated since i’ve owned it for the past 3 years and definitely hasn’t done recently. It is really cold today so that makes sense, need to check the plugs still but have just moved house and still unpacking / need to find my plug sockets! I replaced the whole ignition system when i imported it almost 3 years ago but haven’t ever had it tuned. will pull the plugs as soon as i can and see what they’re looking like
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Precisely. And what are the vacuum gauge readings ?
Eggo
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i’m not really sure how to do tests with a vacuum gauge so will look into it and have a go
You have some good advice . As far as your edelbrock carb 5 turns out on the air/ fuel screws is going to be pretty rich at idle.
Without a vacuum gauge a good all around starting point is 2 turns out from seated.
When screwing them both down into the seat once they hit bottom don't over tighten.
Like mentioned before plugs and compression test will tell you what your dealing with.
To preform the compression test once you have a test gauge and hose with the correct end ( the same thread size as your plugs )
Run the engine a little to warm it up then shut it off. Make sure you have a good battery charge or a charger hooked up.
Now pull the coil wire off.
Remove all the plugs keeping track of each plugs location/cylinder .
Remove the air cleaner and also hold the throttle open all the way and tie it open with a piece of wire ect.
If you do not have a starter bumper switch made up you will need someone to run the key switch I say that because some test gauges will lock in or record the reading and some do not.
Start with number one cylinder screw the tester hose end into the plug hole snug then hook your gauge to it.
With the starter rotate the engine 4 or 5 rounds then record the reading and. Cylinder number. Then switch to the next cylinder
Make sure the gauge is back to zero and repeat the test.
Once all eight are done and recorded you can put things back together.
Good time to replace plugs if needed and check all plug wires.
Take pics of the plugs for us.
Also give us the test readings for each cylinder.
A used 318 is prob going to run in the 90s to 100 range. its the difference between cylinders that will tell the tale. Different gauges will give different readings for total lbs.
It's the big jump from one cylinder to the next is what your looking for.
Say 7 cylinders are in the high 90s and one drops to 65.
There is your gasket leak or bad valve.
Broken or worn rings will show on a test but with what your describing I don't think that's the case.
Hope you can get a test gauge and time to test , that will tell you what's up.
Good luck and let us know.
Without a vacuum gauge a good all around starting point is 2 turns out from seated.
When screwing them both down into the seat once they hit bottom don't over tighten.
Like mentioned before plugs and compression test will tell you what your dealing with.
To preform the compression test once you have a test gauge and hose with the correct end ( the same thread size as your plugs )
Run the engine a little to warm it up then shut it off. Make sure you have a good battery charge or a charger hooked up.
Now pull the coil wire off.
Remove all the plugs keeping track of each plugs location/cylinder .
Remove the air cleaner and also hold the throttle open all the way and tie it open with a piece of wire ect.
If you do not have a starter bumper switch made up you will need someone to run the key switch I say that because some test gauges will lock in or record the reading and some do not.
Start with number one cylinder screw the tester hose end into the plug hole snug then hook your gauge to it.
With the starter rotate the engine 4 or 5 rounds then record the reading and. Cylinder number. Then switch to the next cylinder
Make sure the gauge is back to zero and repeat the test.
Once all eight are done and recorded you can put things back together.
Good time to replace plugs if needed and check all plug wires.
Take pics of the plugs for us.
Also give us the test readings for each cylinder.
A used 318 is prob going to run in the 90s to 100 range. its the difference between cylinders that will tell the tale. Different gauges will give different readings for total lbs.
It's the big jump from one cylinder to the next is what your looking for.
Say 7 cylinders are in the high 90s and one drops to 65.
There is your gasket leak or bad valve.
Broken or worn rings will show on a test but with what your describing I don't think that's the case.
Hope you can get a test gauge and time to test , that will tell you what's up.
Good luck and let us know.
Check around the bottom of the block for frost plug leakage
Geoff 2
Well-Known Member
Five turns out on the mixture screws does automatically mean a rich idle. The idle fuel comes from two places: the discharge ports where the mixture screws are AND a small section of the T slot. If the t/blades have closed off the t slot, then that additional fuel to sustain idle will have to come the mixture screws, screwed out extra turns. An air leak or poor seating of the sec t/blades can cause this condition.
Eggo
Well-Known Member
just getting round to look at this again, pulled a plug and it’s really oily. got new ones so will replace them all i think
Eggo
Well-Known Member
some definitely seem a lot more oily than others, like 6 & 8 seem super oily but 7 and 5 don’t seem that bad
Good call on the NGKs .
Eggo
Well-Known Member
oh no, is it likely i’ll need a new engine do you think
I’m not following where you are going as you don’t give any indication of having made the checks suggested earlier. You can look up what it involves to do the seats and such, and it wouldn’t require a ‘new’ engine. If the block or heads aren’t cracked or heads warped (such as from severe overheating.) Consider having a compression test done if you’re not equipped to do this.
Do the easy stuff first before looking at more invasive work: MO first, I’d run an engine cleaner through the motor and tune it, you have a start with new plugs. Are the plug wires in decent shape? Check the dist cap for wear/arcing damage. Electronic ignition, check the reluctor gap and rotor (arc burns-if so get a new one). Set the timing and carb settings to factory specs. Vacuum gauges are cheap from the auto stores and some may loan a timing light if you can’t purchase one or have someone to loan one to you. There are good videos on the web on how to use them. After running a cleaner through the engine, I’d change the oil/filter. Cleaning it may loosen some carbon deposits and gunk. Run an oil and fuel cleaner additive for a few hundred miles. May consider repeating this for another few hundred miles. I’m assuming the engine runs w/o overheating, low oil pressure, no leaking (as you indicated earlier) if so – run it.
Will this do it? Maybe. I’ve had success doing it and then not, having more serious issues; but this is a base to start from MO, and not too costly.
Do the easy stuff first before looking at more invasive work: MO first, I’d run an engine cleaner through the motor and tune it, you have a start with new plugs. Are the plug wires in decent shape? Check the dist cap for wear/arcing damage. Electronic ignition, check the reluctor gap and rotor (arc burns-if so get a new one). Set the timing and carb settings to factory specs. Vacuum gauges are cheap from the auto stores and some may loan a timing light if you can’t purchase one or have someone to loan one to you. There are good videos on the web on how to use them. After running a cleaner through the engine, I’d change the oil/filter. Cleaning it may loosen some carbon deposits and gunk. Run an oil and fuel cleaner additive for a few hundred miles. May consider repeating this for another few hundred miles. I’m assuming the engine runs w/o overheating, low oil pressure, no leaking (as you indicated earlier) if so – run it.
Will this do it? Maybe. I’ve had success doing it and then not, having more serious issues; but this is a base to start from MO, and not too costly.
Eggo
Well-Known Member
oops that’s my bad, thought i put an update of the compression tests as well. need to redo 6 & 8 as seem to have lost the photos. i also did a test wjtb that Reld liquid and it didn’t change colour so hoping that means the head gasket is okay. The plug wires are fine and have checked the dizzy cap and that looks fine. it runs fine without overheating and doesn’t appear to be leaking, it was leaking before i stopped running it but a head gasket change sorted it. what does MO mean?
Wait a sec - I was told there would be no math.
I think they represent compression test readings with a vacuum gauge?
I'd like to see how they are attached at the plug hole.
Orig69
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So you had a leak before and fixed it by replacing one head gasket or both head gaskets?
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