9o7yota

On my first start up, this happened. I thought it was coming from the exhaust manifold. Its not. After the engine has been running for about a minute smoke starts to come out of the exhaust manifold side of the valve cover. My oil light in my truck is not on, so im assuming that i have oil pressure and that its moving.. maybe its not?

Advice?

I'm trying to avoid taking off the valve cover. When i put on the valve cover i used rtv. Is there a reason it would be smoking?

peow130

what color is the smoke? exhaust colored smoke?
or black like burning oil?

Matt16

Is it just oil leaking on the manifold ?

camo31_10.50

yepp...

you're supposed to use a VALVE COVER GASKET....that's why they make them..LOL

*EDIT* oil burning is blue smoke..unburnt fuel is black LOL peow130.

i would be tryin to figure out WHY it's smoking in the first place......my motor doesn't smoke in the valve cover..even if i run it for 3 or 4 hrs..then take the oil cap off...it aint smokin???

peow130

Not internally....

Oh and, i was under the impression that oil burned black... Because it does :/

9o7yota

okay, its not black, so its more of whiter smoker... doesnt smell like combusted gas like exhaust does..smells like burning metal haha.. My valve cover had this rubber thing around the gasket side of it. I was told to just put rtv on the rubber and put it on.

Anyway..it doesnt smoke at first. Only after like a minute or two. The engine idle gets slower once it starts to smoke.

edit: ten mins ago i started it.. this was the result haha.

and by the way, a fresh 22re sounds raw. i sounded like a rice rocket before my rebuild.. now i can hear each cylinder hit from the exhaust..

peow130

So... Is the engine warm when the engine starts smoking?
Maybe you should take the valvecover off, and use a real gasket?

camo31_10.50

it's probably you're exhaust manifold gasket burning in..lol

and peow130....yes if you light a barrel of oil on fire..it will burn black..

but if a motor bruns oil...it'll come out as blue smoke...trust me..it does..i would know..my '80 burns the crap out of the oil..and therefore it smokes blue

peow130

that's when it's mixed with fuel, lol...
Oil+fuel = black smoke
just straight oil is black.
hence the reason i asked..
if it was black, then he'd have an oil leak.

camo31_10.50

oh hey i never thought about that...LMFAO...

9o7yota

hm, it seemed more like it was coming from the valve cover. like it originated and was spewing from the valve cover itself....could just been my drop light playing games with my head though.

camo31_10.50

well with the exhaust manifold being so close..my money is on the gasket burning in..it'll smoke heavily for a few mins...

9o7yota

good to know. makes me feel slightly better. I remember checking to see if oil was getting to the cam by turning it over witht he starter before i initially tried to start it the very first time when it locked up.

It turned very good for a while but i never saw oil spitting into the top of the head and around the cam... but my oil idiot light on my dash goes away so i have to assume that would mean im getting oil throughout my entire system right? maybe not?


If its the gasket, why does it not smoke at first? and start to smoke after about a minute

peow130

yeah but he says his idle lowers, which makes me think of a vacuum leak

camo31_10.50

because it takes heat to make the gasket burn in...hence the term "BURN IN"!!!!!!!!!!..hahahahaha

you need to get a mechanical oil PSI gauge PRONTO...it will help you keep track of when something bad starts to happen...

9o7yota

if thats so, can you explain how a vacuum leak, most likely on the intake side of my engine, is causing profuse smoking from the exhaust manifold side?

camo31_10.50

huh????..where did this vacuum leak come into play....wtf..

9o7yota

haha, i was hoping someone wouldnt say i need an oil gauge. Im sick of buying stuff. haha.

Okay, so it needs to heat up to start the burning.. somehow that obvious reason went RIGHT over my head.

9o7yota

lets assume theres no oil getting to the top side of my head.

Whats my problem, if im getting enough oil pressure to not set off my idiot light.

And it seemed that after running for the minute that i let it, it seemed to need me to give it gas to keep it running..im assuming its a cold start considering its 15 degrees outside..but i have it plugged in and i just recently put in warm coolant.

camo31_10.50

an oil PSI gauge is cheap...like maybe $12..then you need a mechanical oil pressure sending unit..which you can get from the dealer for fairly cheap...or get one off of a truck equipped with an oil gauge from the factory...not just the idiot light.lol