Smokin SC

[zevenbergena]

My drivers side heat exchanger is smoking and I don't know why. Doesnt start happening until the engine gets a little warmer (idle for about 5 mins, almost to normal op temp on gauge) and does not stop. At first I suspected oil return tubes, as that seems to be a fairly common issue, after looking from each and every visible angle there is 0 leakage from anywhere above the exchanger. The smoke actually appears to be coming from inside the heat exchanger, coming out of the little hole below cylinder 1. I don't know if it's actually coming out of the hole, but thats the way it looks, otherwise it just kind of rolls off the surface of the bottom of the heat exchanger, fairly localised to the rear, below cyl 1. Ideas?
TIA
Aaron

[tcar]

You tried letting it run until warm up on a lift or jackstands?

I'm betting oil return... or... a bad stud or 2

That don't leak until its warm. Drips onto the exchanger.

[zevenbergena]

just ran it and let it warm up on the floor...

i could see there was for sure no dripping onto the HE. I'd be more worried about the studs, would they cause smoking like that? Im doing a valve adjsutment in a week, I should be able to check studs when I have the valve covers off, right?

[ischmitz]

Maybe the leak is minor enough so that all oil burns before hitting visible parts of the HE. It could come from up top somewhere (oil sender, breather, thermostat) and drip onto the exhaust port to HE connection.