White Smoke, 3.0 engine

[rjamesohio]

Hello all - I test drove an '80 SC today; upon startup the engine sounded nice and quiet, no mechanical racket at all, but I noticed WHITE smoke coming from the tailpipe. The car was pretty cold, perhaps having been driven a few miles about 3 hours prior, but it was a chilly day and the engine felt pretty cool.

Overall - the car was a bit 'tatty' so it had not been babied; regular maintenance had been done, but certainly didn't seem like it was a fastidious car.

Driving the car, power was 'ok' (never got overwhelmed by an SC anyway) but I just don't want to get into a rebuild. Mileage is about 96K, and the tensioners have not been upgraded.

Again - car would be OK for right price, but wondering how OIL could cause white smoke, and if I should run or just offer a price that would allow the enginer to be gone through. The entire car just looks TIRED, but there didn't seem to be any rust, signs of a wreck, et al. So - could be a good starter car?

Thanks.

[mreid]

White smoke and even some moisture dripping from the tailpipe is normal when the engine is cold on a cold day. Should go away as it warms up (this assumes its not generating a large cumulous cloud on start up).

[Reiver]

I wouldn't buy a car I was so ambivalent about. Get a car that overwhelms you.

[rjamesohio]

In total agreement on the car ; there seem to be enough SC's out there that are better values for the price UNLESS the guy would drop his price to the point where I can resolve the issues and still have a reasonable investment in the car.

But your point is well-taken; just still wondering how you could get so much condensation in exhaust in a few short hours?

[timmy2]

Completely normal. This time of year my car will produce some white smoke from condensation if I go for a short ride and don't let it warm up fully and then let it sit for a few hours.
Checking the oil cap for moisture or congealed oil and water would tell you if that is what is going on. (Short trips)

What is the starting price point for the car?

[CountD]

Originally Posted by Reiver

I wouldn't buy a car I was so ambivalent about. Get a car that overwhelms you.

Right on.

[Joe Bob]

Drive like a rental....burn off the water in the oil....or just change it.

[Nico911]

Originally Posted by timmy2

Completely normal. This time of year my car will produce some white smoke from condensation if I go for a short ride and don't let it warm up fully and then let it sit for a few hours.
Checking the oil cap for moisture or congealed oil and water would tell you if that is what is going on. (Short trips)

What is the starting price point for the car?

I totally agree. Mine does that too these days (I live in Montreal so it's pretty cold right now) and had a rebuild engine about 3 000 miles ago. Not an issue in my opinion.

[zelrik911]

White smoke on winter start-up seems to happen in my 3 ltr sometimes, but it goes away
after a small drive so I dont worry about it too much.

The known issues with these engines are broken head studs on the exhaust (lower) side and worn valve guides.
If the studs havent already been replaced, try and get them checked out prior to purchase. Worn valve guides might contribute to the smoking, but both of these faults are routinely present in most SCs that go for many miles before a top-end refurbish.

Good luck with it.
Peter in Melb.

[timmy2]

Valve guides are more of a 3.2 issue than a 3.0 issue. Head studs on the other hand are common to both.

[yelcab1]

Burning Hydrocarbons gets you CO2 and H2O. H2O is fine when engine is cold. When it is hot, the H2O burns off quickly.