79 X , a little help and guidance

A

Andrew Salathe

Low Mileage
OK being fairly new to this, i have a few question i trust you can help and point me in the right direction.

I'm currently getting on the road my 79 X 19, fixing all the little bits and bobs that need doing all progressing well, apart from some intermittent excessive smoke, upon start up and at idle comes and goes .

white in colour but defiantly smells of burning oil not coolant.

Things I've done,
added engine flush and changed oil to a 20/50
changed coolant
new plugs
undertook a dry compression test ( first time I've done this) with the following results

1 = 150
2 = 147
3 = 145
4 = 147
oil clean and coolant is clean.

the car has sat around for the better part of year in my ownership and i would guess a few years prior to that, in total in test driving about 5km whilst i've had it ---------- drives and starts well

so my guess at this point is valve stem seals?
happy for all other opinions

thanks Andrew
 
Could be

I have both a 79 and an 87, the 87 sat for 5 years before I purchased it. Once going I found the same thing as you describe. I have done nothing, but found that over time now it rarely smokes at all. If you are going to do seals you may as well pull the head and do a freshen up of the valve seats, check the guides and change every seal on the head and block without pulling the engine. Personally I would just drive it and see it the valve seals soften up a bit and start to seal a bit better. Worked for me.


TonyK.


Grimsby Ontario Canada.
 
A Simple Thing to Check

Yea, my 84 will blow a little smoke if it sits up a while.

There is a recent discussion about the dipstick's rubber plug. Over time the plug will dry out and shrink, not sealing the tube well. As it worsens you can find the dipstick sitting loose in the tube, or worse. But that can cause an oil smell and oil escaping from the tube.

Jeff
 
Thanks Guys, drive it i shall, i have access to a trade plate so this weekend i will see if i can clear the pipes :), just have to fit the new carpet and fix 1 headlight then its of for inspection and registration
 
Andrew... welcome aboard...

Your compression is good but you might try a bit of Auto Trans Fluid (ATF) down the carb.

Pull the air cleaner and idle the engine until warm... rev to about 3000 and slowly pour in about 1/3 quart of the ATF over about 10 minutes.

MAKES LOTS OF SMOKE... use consideration for neigbors or warn them... but it also restores compression and cleans up the cylinder walls and valve seats. Stopped my smoking completely too.

Restest your compression afterwards and they'll probably all read 155 even!
 
smoke

did you shoot wd-40 in the spark plug holes or some type of lube before starting it after sitting for a while? helps lube the cylinder walls after sitting so long during that first startup so the oil can get to them.
 
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