61. 144cu. smoking issue

[61 Waycrosscomet]

Car is smoking bad on startup. after about 2 minutes, clears some but still way more than it use to. Starts out heavy and whitish, but the smoke
lingers in the air awhile. (sorry neighbors). then is more blueish, which also lingers. Suspect head gasket. Did compression check and all were
within 5 psi of 170. at about 8 to 10 cranks. Now not so sure its gasket. Could be bad rings? Thinking if I'm going through all the work of removing the head,should I just go and drop the pistons out the bottom and replace the rings as well. (something I have never done, but learning with you tube videos).
any thoughts or suggestions appreciated. thanks. John.m

[Caveman49]

Are you saying all cylinders were within 5psi from 170? That’s pretty good compression. Sounds like your valve stem seals are shot, smokin that bad. How many miles do you have on it? I’m sure there are some others here that have more knowledge on this…

[61 Waycrosscomet]

with the exception of cylinder 2. it was at 160, but according to my shop manual for this car, anything within 20 psi is satisfactory.....
The others were 5 psi off of 170.
Originally thought it was valve stem seals, all but one was busted apart so I replaced them all. Didn't help the smoke issue unfortunately.

[Caveman49]

You may have a bad head gasket. How’s the coolant look, does the smoke have a sweat smell, is it overheating, how’s the oil look?
Also, if you’ve already done the valve seals, did you by chance drop the pan, check for pieces in the pan and oil pump screen, change the oil?
Figure the more info you can give the better folks can help diagnose it.

[61 Waycrosscomet]

been keeping eye on radiator fluid, looks nice and green and clear. no oil drops floating, nothing on radiator cap.
Oil on dipstick looks good.
I'm hoping when i pull the head that I will be able to see something to indicate a bad gasket. From what I've seen on You tube there are usually
tell tale signs of a leaky gasket.

[Caveman49]

To me sounds like maybe you might need to check the valves out, for sure if you pull the head get them cleaned up. With the compression as it is, and no indicators of leakage anywhere….probably something simple I’m missing.

[pfleuret]

White smoke means coolant in one or more cylinders. No other explanation. You might look at the spark plugs to see if one or more is gunked up. Hopefully just a bad head gasket. Could be cracked block or head. Left unrepaired a leaky gasket can erode the block or head making a bigger problem. I figured out this stuff the hard way.

[Joe Travers]

What type crankcase ventilation do you have? It's either a draft tube or early PCV system I'm not familiar with.
Check Chapter 1 in the manual and make sure the crankcase is venting first.
Why I asked previously if you had blowby.

Joe

[61 Waycrosscomet]

removed crankcase vent tube. no blockages.
When i removed the plugs, 1, 2, 3 were shiny jet black, really only 5 and 6 looked like they should. light brown.
Looking into the plug holes, the first 3 piston heads look black with debris on them. granted this car is not street worthy, i run it about
once a week til the radiator fluid circulates.
When it cranks up, it runs rough for a few minutes with slight depression on accelerator til it smoothes out, which it always does.

I may run the compression test as there are subtleties to watch for when the gauge rises, such as how it rises on the first 2 strokes of the engine.
First time I was just watching to see max pressure and count engine cranks.
Either way, I think I am at least looking at pulling the head off. (not looking forward to those pesky push rod sleeves, tipping over...again)

[poboyjo65]

, i run it about
once a week til the radiator fluid circulates.

do you ever see any bubbles in the coolant with it running? that would be a sign of blown head gasket or crack some where.

[Joe Travers]

The plug readings don't point to a coolant leak into a cylinder. A squeaky clean plug would indicate that.

To clear up some discrepancies; are the black plugs wet or dry?

Joe

[61 Waycrosscomet]

ok, well the black plugs are shiny. like they've been shellacked or something. They look wet, but not when you touch them. Plug 4 is black, but dull looking. plug 5 and 6 are light toasty brown.

when I replaced the valve stem seals, i noticed some of the springs had that black shiny look as well, but seeing how old the car is, didn't think
too much of it.

looking at cylinder 1 through the plug hole it is black looking, with bits of tiny debris on top. compared to cylinder 6, which looks more silvery and
clean on top.

[Joe Travers]

IDK if you're engine will ever clear up if you don't run it for 30+ minutes @ operating temperature.
My engine will load up w/ carbon if I don't run it hard every now and then. It doesn't burn oil.

Take it for a good drive and have someone follow you if you don't trust it. See what happens.

Joe

[61 Waycrosscomet]

So I am biting the bullet and removing the head. radiator fluid drained. (and block plug, what a mess). carb removed, hoses.
only thing yet to remove is 2 bolts holding the exhaust pipe on. That might take awhile with pb blaster and / or small torch to bolts.
will remove exhaust manifold once head is removed.

is there any good advice on dislodging the head from the block? I know not to use anything to pry it apart.
what about using a rubber mallet? or should it come apart just by pulling on it? thanks. John.m