I have an 85 pickup with a 22re that recently overheated and started to idle rough when cold. I did a compression check and found all cylinders were a bit low with #4 lower than the others. I put a little oil in #4 to see if the compression would go up and it did. It was a tight angle to get the oil in the spark plug hole and I think I poured too much- maybe 1/4 cup. It started to smoke out of the tailpipe after about a minute of driving so I parked it. The next day I let it idle for 5 minutes to see if I could burn off the oil in the cylinder but it kept smoking. The smoke is fairly light when it is just idling but picks up dramatically if I try to drive. It's bluish and smells like oil.

I'm wondering if the compression test I did was the death blow for the rings or head or if the oil in the cylinder is just taking a while to burn off. I figured it would burn off in a few minutes of idling but I don't really know and I'm afraid to push it. Any suggestions for what I could try?

 

If you got that much oil in, it'll take a while to burn out completely. Like a drive around the block a couple of times to get it hot

 

the real danger would be if there was enough fluid in the combustion chamber to cause hydrolock, which could stop the engine from rotating, and damage parts.

doesn't sound like that happened.

 

Curious, what is the compression test results?
When it was overheating did you shut down the engine, or did it quit running?
Might be worth the time to borrow a block test kit from the parts store loaner program

 

#4- 100
#3- 115
#2- 115
#1- 115

I drove with it in the red for about 2 minutes at 30 mph then shut it off and left it for an hour to cool down. This was with a leaking radiator running rinse water after a flush. I topped off the radiator and drove 14 miles at about 55 mph and didn't go into the red again but when I slowed down into the driveway and a few dash lights came on and it seemed to hesitate a bit, I shut it off and coasted to my spot then ran the heater for about an hour. Dash lights didn't come back on the next startup. I think a block test is a good idea. I might just take it into a shop and do full diagnostics. I don't really have the space to do extensive work on it and it's my daily.

 

Those aren’t great compression numbers considering the spec is like 170 or 175 psi. If you put compressed air in thru the spark plug hole you’ll be able to tell if you are losing it past the rings or valves.

 

I'd ask for a block test (something you can easily do yourself if you want) and a leak down test. The leakdown tester can be borrowed, too, but you'll need to have a small compressor.