1955 331 smoking real bad on drivers side

[Mike Baillargeon #15848]

I'm working on a new project that I just got.    1955 Eldorado.........single 4 barrel carb.

When I first got the car I tried to turn it over and it was stuck.

PB blaster and some tranny fluid down all cylinders and it started to turn and then I put the plugs back in and it started.....no big deal.

Car ran ok with lots of smoke, i figure its all the stuff I put in the cylinders was burning off.

2 week of body work and now I go back to motor and change plugs, cap, rotor, wires, oil change etc......

rebuilt carb........car starts right up runs nice, sounds strong but is smoking like a train on the left (drivers side).

I let the car run for a 1/2 hour hoping it burns off and I notice motor oil is dripping out of the muffler & resonator.

I pulled the plugs on that side and #1 plug is oil fouled the other 3 are nice and clean.

Where do I go from here?  Motor sounds great, no weird sounds, just lots of smoke at idle and at all rpm levels.

Any ideas?   Thanks

Mike

[Bobby B]

Mike,
   Hi. Let's be Optimistic here….. .  Are you positive that the cylinder has spark? Are there any funky noises? Have you removed the valve cover and checked the Valve train out mechanically? A #1 would be to hook up a vacuum gauge while running, and see what's up with that. A #2 would be a mandatory compression/ leak down test, hot AND cold. This should pretty much tell you what's going on. Could be as simple as valve seals or a leaking head gasket. I've had this happen a few times when resurrecting vehicles that have been sitting even when the owner states that it'll fire right up and run like a clock. Hand of Doom says possibly a few broken rings, if not, you're into the upper end next. Obviously, raw oil is passing through somewhere. 10 minutes should give you an answer. Good Luck. Fingers are Crossed. Check Back…

                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Bobby 

[Roger Zimmermann]

Have a look also at the one-way valve for the vacuum pump. This valve is located on the block, behind the starter motor. If the valve is malfunctionning, it suck the engine oil when the intake manifold vacuum is higher than the vacuum pump.

[Mike Baillargeon #15848]

I did some of the things you guys wanted me to do.

We're still smoking but the oil dripping from the exhaust has pretty much stopped.

Bob there is spark getting to #1 cylinder, no weird noises actually the motor sounds good & strong.

I did find another oil fouled plug on the other side at cylinder #4.

I did a compression test on all cylinders and most were 150 to 160, #8 was 145 and #7 was 135, the two low ones had nice and clean spark plugs. With these decent compression #s wouldn't the valve train be ok?

Roger, the vacuum pump wasn't connected to anything, I connected it to the wiper motor along with the vacuum line from the intake manifold. I didn't put the car on the lift to see where the pump is or if its connected, down by the starter.   I don't hear or see any open vacuum line now on the motor.

Roger what does this pump do? I didn't feel anything coming out of that line to the wipers.

I need more thoughts.....I really don't want to pull the heads off but I think I'm heading there.

Mike

[Bobby B]

Mike,
In my opinion, 7 & 8 are not low enough to warrant pulling the heads yet, and they are not near the plugs that are fouling anyway. I've seen 30-40 a few times. Maybe at least pop off the valve covers and have a look. What happened with the vacuum gauge connected? Maybe someone could chime in that knows these engines better…...
                                                    Bobby

[Jon S]

It could well be that the piston rings need to be freed up by additional running.

[dplotkin]

Looks to me as though you broke at least one, maybe two oil control rings when you worked her free. On the very small chance that the rings are stuck rather than broken you might add some MMO to the crankcase & even let those two jugs marinate in it, then take it for a hard ride, push it up some hills and come down with a lot of closed throttle deceleration. If you're lucky they may free up. Otherwise I think you need to consider "going through" the motor, any good Cadillac is worth a motor job when it needs one.

Dan

[Mike Baillargeon #15848]

Bobby I just did a compression test on each cylinder,   no vacuum test.

Bobby I'm going to pull the valve covers and have a look.

Jon & Dan, would I still get good compression #s if those oil rings are broken?

The 2 oily cylinders should I just pour in PB Blaster & let it sit?.......would MMO or tranny fluid be better?

Mike

[dplotkin]

Jon & Dan, would I still get good compression #s if those oil rings are broken?

The 2 oily cylinders should I just pour in PB Blaster & let it sit?.......would MMO or tranny fluid be better?

Yes. The compression ring can be OK with a bad oil ring or damaged cylinder wall. You can try a very effective elixir made of equal parts ATF and acetone & let it soak overnight. If that doesn't do it, you will need to pull her apart.

Dan

[Jon S]

I'm hoping the oil ring is just stuck. I prefer MMO to the other options. Add some to the oil and directly to the 2 cylinders. I would probably add it to all 8 cylinders and leave it for 3 days.

[Mike Baillargeon #15848]

Yea, that's what I'm going to do, I'll soak all cylinders and go back to the body work.

Boy I don't want to tear it down..............fingers crossed.

Thanks everybody!!


Mike

[curly]

My 1950 wasn't stuck, it had 0 compression on all cylinders.  I put some oil in the cylinders, turned it over by hand a few times, then with the starter. Put the plugs in and it fired right up.  Smoked bad, but like yours, the longer it ran, the better it ran.  I put some MMO in the crankcase and some in the gas tank.  It runs pretty good now, barely smokes at all.  What little it does smoke is hard to see.  The final result for me was I had to put a non-fouler on cyl #7 to keep the plug clean. It runs well enough now to be an occasional driver or Sat. night cruiser.

Good luck.
T Lewis

[Jeff Rosansky CLC #28373]

Any leaking from the valve covers? Drain holes in the head ckd be plugged. Oil just pooling there with no place to go. Oozes down the calve guides. Just a thought/ something to check before you trar into it.
Jeff

[Bobby B]

My 1950 wasn't stuck, it had 0 compression on all cylinders.

I'm trying to figure out how that's possible. If anyone could explain this, please do…I've had 30-40 PSI with broken rings, but how could it be possible to have "0" or air leaking through both the 1st and 2nd compression rings on ALL cylinders? Are you sure the gauge was working and the O-ring was sealing the spark plug hole tightly? Were all of the valves also stuck allowing air to pass through? I've seen low readings due to the cylinder walls being "washed" of oil causing a poor seal due to flooding, but I can't see how that could happen and the engine run that well now. I'm stumped here…...
                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Bobby

[Glen]

Zero compression I believe would mean stuck valves. 

[Julien Abrahams]

I was also thinking broken oil control rings on one or two cylinders on the side that is smoking heavily. Unfortunately, the only solution I am aware off is tear down of the engine and replacement of the oil control rings. Maybe it is possible to do this with the engine still in the car, but I would take it out and rebuild it if your budget allows it.

[Roger Zimmermann]

Roger, the vacuum pump wasn't connected to anything, I connected it to the wiper motor along with the vacuum line from the intake manifold. I didn't put the car on the lift to see where the pump is or if its connected, down by the starter.   I don't hear or see any open vacuum line now on the motor.

Roger what does this pump do? I didn't feel anything coming out of that line to the wipers.

Mike, at low speed, the intake vacuum is hight enough to run the wiper motor. At high speed, the manifold vacuum is low; then the vacuum pump is acting. Of course, this pump must be in good condition to create some vacuum; the vacuum manifold at the firewall must also be working correctly. There are 2 valves inside made with diaphragm material; at that age, they are hard and/or broken.
I'm attaching a picture from the check valve and from the oil pump/vacuum pump.

[Mike Baillargeon #15848]

Great pictures Roger Thanks.

Roger if my vacuum pump is shot or not connected, would that be the problem of oil getting into the exhaust and smoking like a train?      A big part of the problem?

Oh boy, the car came in as an abandoned project and I remember seeing that vacuum pump cover in a box.

I wonder if they didn't know what it was and just tossed it in a box.  I hope the one I saw was an extra.......

Thanks again Roger,

Mike

[Roger Zimmermann]

Well, Mike...Years ago, I let the engine be overhauled. At first all was OK after the engine was put in service again, then, especially at idle it began to skoke at a point I saw no more the cars behind me. Once at speed, there was no more smoke. . After some hours of research, I found that the check valve just above the starter motor  war not working as intended: when the manifold vacuum was hich, it sucked the oil from that pump. I had oil in 2 cylinders, one at the LH and one at the RH.
You can do a test quite easily: when you are looking at the first picture, you see a metal tube coming out of that check-valve. It goes behind the RH cylinder head and is connected to a rubber hose. Try to blow and suck: you can blow but you should not be able to suck at this hose. If you can blow,  the check valve is not working as intended and must be opened to see inside what's wrong. Of course, if you don't know what is inside the engine, you will have to remove the oil pan (like I did for another reason 3 days ago) which can be done when the engine is in place.
That could be an explanation why you have smoke; a bad oil ring is also a possibility as others explained.
I hope my explanation is clear enough; it's not easy to explain something in a foreign language!

[walt chomosh #23510]

Mike,
  I once had a 302 Ford that had been in storage for some time. The previous owner had used Havoline Motor Oil and I decided to put "my" oil in it. Well,the motor would run good for a while,then smoke so bad I couldn't see the car behind me! Being a mechanic(who takes pride in everything he works on),this was embarassing BIG TIME!The smoke would stop for a while,then start to smoke again over and over. I decided to soak the cylinders(I believe I used WD-40 back in the day),then I switched to the same oil the previous owned had used. BINGO! FIXED! Motors can be funny,they sometimes seem to develop a relationship with oil.....walt...tulsa,ok