I just bought a 1988 Toyota p/u a couple of weeks ago from the original owner. He had done some performance upgrades through the years and installed Downey's header as well as the 2.5" exhaust system. Me, I'm an OEM kinda guy, but to each his own. My question is what is all the smoke I see around the header when the truck is running? I think it was oil from the valve cover gasket which I replaced today, but could it be something else? It's pretty bad and seems to be coming from the back of the motor.


I know the Downey gaskets are crap, and do not know what kind are currently on the truck. I am going to replace the gaskets for piece of mind and then power wash the motor of the years a gunk that has found its way to this part of the motor in hopes of eliminating the smoke. What gaskets are the best? Will the stock Toyota ones work?

 

If oil got spilled on header it'll smoke till it's gone.

Did it smoke prior to work you did today?

I like the remflex gasket for headers. For fit and longevity.

 

Hope that's it. The header bolts don't have oil passages in them do they?


The smoke was there before and still is. I haven't ran it for long today since my alternator belt was trashed and the auto parts store was closed.


Thanks for the gasket info!!

 

As far as I know, no.

Have you inspected for oil in the area? Might be easier to see from under the car, I am thinking rear half moon on the valve cover or rear main seal?

Prolly that valve cover half moon though! They are known to be leaky without a little help from RTV

 

If it was smoking before then probably not just from valve cover gasket replacement.

Look for pooled oil around top of header. Look for any fluids that could be dripping onto exhuast; heater lines, brake fluid. As mentioned check valve cover for leaks and half moon plugs.

 

You can definitely see oil on the top of the header. I will try and get a decent pic tomorrow. The vehicle is at my dad's shop which is over an hour away from my house.

It almost looks like oil was coming out of the header, but I'm not sure if the bolt holes have oil passages which could cause it to seep.

I'm thinking about ditching the entire exhaust and going with an OEM setup.

 

There isn't any oil passages in the header. So really doesn't matter if a header or manifold is on the truck.

Clean up the oil. You'll need to determine if you fixed the oil leak or if it is still leaking. If it is leaking from above the exhaust then I would think that replacing the valve cover gasket would be the only place for it to leak.

Is there oil in coolant or coolant in the oil? How do the plugs look? Compression?

 

You did the half moons when you did the gasket??

Then perhaps the counter people were unaware that the gaskets come with or without the 1/2 moon pieces.

It is oil burning and not a coolant leak??

A leaking rear main seal lubricates the clutch(not in a good way) and tends to drip out between bell housing and the back of the engine.

 

Are there two half moons in a kit meaning one for the front as well as one for the back? I only saw one in the kit and put it on the front since I pulled the old one off with the rest of the old gasket.

It's not coolant. I compression tested the motor and you can clearly see it is oil as well as smells like oil. I despise that smell.

When I say the back of the motor I am referring to the side of it, but more towards the back exhaust port. Again, I will snap a pic tomorrow if I make it up to the shop.

 

Should have been 2 half moons .

Bad day at the gasket factory or someone grabbed one and did not replace it

I bet that is the problem!!