Lots of smoke after valve job, help!

Kemo · 06-04-2002, 06:02 PM

I just did a number of things to my SC including the following.

1. Retrofitted early oil lines
2. Early style heat exchangers
3. New Spark plug wires
4. Performed a Valve Job.

Before these upgrades, my engine ran like a dog, like it would cough and sputter and clang until it reached normal operating temperature. I knew I needed a valve job. This is not my daily driver and I would only drive it every now and then, usually on the weekends when i could give it plenty of time to warm up. In any event, thru the good people here on Pelican BBS, I was able to amass the oil lines, heat exchangers, and muffler for a price I could afford. So, about 3 weeks ago, I decided tackle all of the projects in one fell swoop. The following is the chain of events that followed.

1. I jacked the rear end of my SC high enough to remove both rear wheels.
2. Next, I worked at getting off the heat exchangers, no easy task. Heat, soaking, patience, Makita grider, safety goggles, beer and a good BBQ pit helped me through it.
3. After removing the heat exchangers, I drained all the oil from the case and the resevoir.
4. Then i removed the stock oil lines with a big assed american wrench from Sears (1-3/8 to 1-7/16).
5. Then I installed the older oil lines.
6. I performed the Valve Job while the heat exchangers were off. I only found one valve that I thought was out of tolerance and adjusted it. I only had to turn the bolt about 1/8 of a turn to get it where I thought it should be. The .004" feeler guage was just barely able to slide thru there, about the same as the other ones. I was hoping that this was the one making the "clang".
7. When I removed the upper valve covers i noticed that one of my Beru connectors was basically broke in half, probably not giving any spark. And, my wires needed a change.
8. After the valve job, I went ahead and put in some new Bosch Platinum plugs, then I installed the early heat exchangers and muffler.
9. While cleaning up under there, I noticed a nice crack in the 'S' hose that goes from the bottom of the oil cooler to the oil resevoir. I made an order to Pelican for the hose and a brand new set of wires.

Today, I recieved the 'S' hose and the new Spark Plug wires from Pelican. I was really excited. However, my excitement was short lived. I installed the hose and the new plugs. Then I put in 9 quarts of Castrol GTX 20w-50, i was trying not to over fill. I was surprised that the engine fired right up, chugged for about 5 seconds and cleared out. That was the cool part. After about 45 sec of idleing, the engine started to smoke and it got worse and worse. The car was still up on the jack stands and I believe that my #5 Cylinder hasnt been firing for quite some time. Could this be that the #5 cyl has a bunch of build up and it just needs to clear it self out? Is this symptomatic of a 'tight' valve? Like I said, before all the work, I had no smoke except on start up. The bad wire was on #5 and that was the exhaust valve that was loose. If you have read this far, I really appreciate any comments you might have.

rstoll · 06-04-2002, 06:05 PM

Get it off the jackstands and try it again.

CamB · CamB's Garage

Any funny noises?

Good oil pressure?

Try driving it, if both are ok.

Cam

john_colasante · 06-04-2002, 06:32 PM

Just so you know what you did is not referred to as a "valve job" but rather a "valve adjustment".

A valve job means you regrind the valve/seats, install/check guides, springs, seals and retainers.

osidak · 06-04-2002, 06:52 PM

Unless you horribly messed up when doing the valve adjustment and bent some valves nothing you did would cause the engine to start burning oil ( I very highly doubt you bent valves although I have seen it done)

That being said my SC always belches some smoke after she comes off jack stands so I would imagine leaving it on jack stands is letting the oil pool in the cylinders thus causing the smoke. Get it off the stands and see if she clears up.

Kemo · 06-04-2002, 06:57 PM

ok... I have the car down from the jack stands. I already got chewed out by my fiance for what she calls "being a loud neighbor". So giving it another try tonight is not an option. I guess ill have to wait till tomorrow. 10PM in Dallas TX. No more noise tonight i suppose, I feel like I just got grounded...

Doug E · 06-04-2002, 07:06 PM

Kemo - how about pushing it out of the garage and down the street before starting it? Then when you motor back into the garage the neighbors will have a chance to adjust to the right noise level after hearing you return down the street.

I know it sounds crazy but I am just trying to help a fellow DIY out. Good luck!

Early_S_Man · 06-04-2002, 07:06 PM

Did you drain the sump plate drain plug before putting in the 9 qts ???

You may be overfilled by 3-4-5 qts of oil ... hence the mosquito fogging operation!

Kemo · 06-04-2002, 07:15 PM

Warren,

I removed the plug directly under and center of the engine and the one in the passenger fender well. Did I miss one? Oh...and the car was on stands when I drained the oil. The car was jacked up high enough to give about 2" of clearance between the tires and the ground.

Early_S_Man · 06-04-2002, 07:56 PM

Kemo,

No, you got both drain plugs!

And, no, a long-term fouled-plug miss won't cause much smoke after you replace the plugs and wires!

How long was it up on jack stands while waiting for the 'S' hose? It may have had a bunch of oil get into cylinders #3 and #6, and to a lesser extent ... #2 & #5, past the rings while sitting. You may want to pull the spark plugs ... if #3 & #6 are oil-fouled ... I think you have your answer.

If you find oily plugs, I would recommend pulling the fuel pump relay and 6-pin connector off the CDI-unit and spin the engine for a minute or so ... 15 seconds at a time with a rest period for the starter of at least 30-40 seconds between spins. This should allow any oil build-up to drain out the exhaust valves ... but it will still need to burn off out the heat exchangers. I think your smoking should be gone after warming up and driving for 10 minutes or so. Good luck!

Wayne 962 · Wayne 962's Garage

Agreed - just drive the car to get a good feel for what is going on...

Then update us...

-Wayne

Kemo · 06-05-2002, 07:32 PM

Well, it looks like a good drive up the street did the trick. I was pleasantly surprised to find ZERO oil leaks after i pulled back in the garage. I ended up putting in a total of 12 Quarts and I still need to add just a little more oil to get exactly between the MIN and MAX. All looks good but I was a little dissappointed that the valve adjustment didnt clear up all the valve noise. Its better, but since i know what to listen for I can still hear it. Once the car got up to temp it was really hard to hear. Hopefully, Ill do a better job next time. I would like say thanks to those that offered suggestions to help me overcome the fear of my first valve "adjustment".