White Smoke at start up

[bigmanjbmopar]

What is wrong with the motor when white smoke plumes out and smells rich and strong until it just about warms up?

440source stealth heads. New build less than 1000 miles on the motor. I little history, we had thought we had hydraulic lifters and had adjusted so until I realized I had solid rollers. The motor had run on and off with partially open valves during part of its break in. once properly or initially adjusted for solid rollers - .006 / .008 this is our first try at this gap. The car runs like a raped ape with a wicked power band but I fear it wont last if there is something wrong.

It has a eddy 800 avs on a rpm air gap performer. mech advance distrib. we did tune down the eddy originally to get it leaner. smaller jets rods and springs. have not changed back yet.

Bad head gaskets? running 91 oct pump gas put in some zmax fuel additive in this tank.

Over all the motor runs strong doesn't overheat.

Timing is set to 12 initial and 35 total.

I fear the heads are about to let me down.

 

[terzmo]

pull a few plugs and see what they look like...how long is it sitting before start? smoke on every start regardless of last start?

 

[bigmanjbmopar]

Overnight, cold, only cold not any start after that. let it sit until temp was less than 100° fires right up with only small amounts of steam out the pipes, it is cold here.

 

[Cranky]

Sounds like there's your answer. Cold pipes, hot exhaust and cold weather means a ton of vapor to the point it will create water.....

 

[midnightrider1818]

is it using coolant. if not. dont worry about it. run hard :headbang:

 

[bigmanjbmopar]

#7 plug - looks oil soaked?, these are the NGK V-Grove there is anti seize on the threads

 

[bigmanjbmopar]

Sounds like there's your answer. Cold pipes, hot exhaust and cold weather means a ton of vapor to the point it will create water.....

You would think but the smell is so rich, must be since we got the right adjustments on the lifters maybe something happened and the plugs got fouled/ I am hoping it's not a bad head gasket.

Not loosing any coolant or oil and no milky oil, crystal clear. Funny cuz when we had the valves partially open there was never any vapor out the exhaust now that we do everything seems out of whack.

 

[bigmanjbmopar]

Here is a pic of the #1 plug, looked at #8 as well and they were pretty consistently the same.

 

[terzmo]

cold starts I'd lean towards condensation...clean the plugs...run it and check a couple again...I'm optimistic about it lasting

 

[Cranky]

Rich condition, using a choke? Is it staying closed too much at start up? When the valves were hanging open, was the weather as cold as it is now? Also, when the valves were being held open, the engine wasn't creating much power and maybe not as much heat either. Just how much of a white plume is it making?

 

[bigmanjbmopar]

Yes choke electric, never seemed to work - at least in the normal sense - meaning when it's cold you have to manually keep the rpm up for a minute or two it only seems to work after it has cooled off and is started again then it seems to kick in and stay on around 1k.

When the vales were hanging open it was summer and 88°-110° outside never smoked, now lots of smoke more blueish white and lots like clouds. looking at the plugs that should make sense right? Wrong heat range for the plugs or just winter time cold and now correctly adjusted valves caused fouling?

Clean plugs see what happens or replace plugs and see what happens? go higher heat range? or don't let paranoia get the best of me?

 

[lewtot184]

take a magic marker a draw a line the length of the plug where the clean area is at the rim of the plug. put the plug back in and see if the ink line lines up with the intake valve.

 

[moparmarks]

Run a leakdown test if you can get a tester. Could have a small leak in a cylinder. While running compression keeps coolent out of the cylinder but while allowed to cool, pressure in the water jackets forces coolent into the cylinder.
Looking at your plugs doesn't look like your burning coolent continuously. Maybe a little rich.