Bob Allen wrote:
> >As for the smoke on start up, the engine probably enhaled a bunch of gas
> >waiting for the ignition system to accumulate enough juice to light off.
>
And Carol replied:
> But it kept on belching smoke even after it had been running for about 15
> minutes...
And a light went on in Ray's head:
Carol,
If it was just the gas that entered during your starting efforts, I should
think it would be gone very quickly. The one time I had smoke like you
describe was when the float stuck open on one of the carbs of my Sunbeam
Alpine when it was stored for the winter. That let gas enter the oil.
About a month later, we had a warm (comparatively) spell, and I decided to
exercise the car. I started it, drove about a block down the street, and
saw out the rear view mirror that it looked as if I was fogging for
mosquitoes. The dipstick showed way over full, and when I drained the
sump I got out about 8 quarts of 50-50 gas:oil mix. I'm lucky it didn't
explode.
The car's continuing to smoke after 15 min of running is the only reason
for my suggesting this. A stuck float might also have flooded the car
and could explain the slow cranking and hard starting. Just as a
precaution, I would pull out the dipstick, check the level, and smell the
oil. If you detect any gasoline odor, I would change the oil as a
precaution. I would wait for the 60 degrees my San Antonio dwelling
brother tells me is the winter norm, though. I sent him a copy of your
original post, to show him I have evidence he is putting me on. From now
on, I'm going to tell him it is 70 here in Vermont.
WRG
Ray Gibbons Dept. of Molecular Physiology & Biophysics
Univ. of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, VT
gibbons@northpole.med.uvm.edu (802) 656-8910
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