Let's see if you guys can figure this out. It's happened randomly before and I want to try see if its an easy fix.

There is oil leaking right above my head covers (between the carb and heads) on the passenger side.

This may be oil just spilling onto hot hoses but there is sometimes white smoke that comes out of the right engine side.


Can it just be that the guys who installed the engine didn't do a good job stripping everything for leaks? I'm also getting a few ounces of tranny leak every day, but I refill it once every two months and it's ok.

Any help would be appreciated, I'll try to take pics next time it happens.



And by the way, this may not have anything to do with it, but my tires pressure was low, and ever since I filled them up to 35psi, the issue above hasn't happened.

Let's see if you guys can figure this out. It's happened randomly before and I want to try see if its an easy fix.

There is oil leaking right above my head covers (between the carb and heads) on the passenger side.

This may be oil just spilling onto hot hoses but there is sometimes white smoke that comes out of the right engine side.


Can it just be that the guys who installed the engine didn't do a good job stripping everything for leaks? I'm also getting a few ounces of tranny leak every day, but I refill it once every two months and it's ok.

Any help would be appreciated, I'll try to take pics next time it happens.



And by the way, this may not have anything to do with it, but my tires pressure was low, and ever since I filled them up to 35psi, the issue above hasn't happened.
tire pressure not prblem oil on top of valve cover is prbably blow-by coming from PVC valve opening in cover, white smoke from exhaust however ,if it is constant, is a sign of head gasket failure and water is leaking into cylinder thats a big problem. get cooling system pressure tested you can ruin motor pretty fast

Are you absolutely sure it's white smoke coming out of the right side tailpipe? If it has a blue tinge to it, it's burning oil in one of the cylinders on the right bank. How many miles are on your engine? Or do you know? It would be a good idea to take a compression check of all the cylinders to get an idea of how healthy your rings and valves are. If your compression is low in one or more cylinders, you need to determine if it's leaky valves or bad rings.

I have around 15,000 miles on the engine now. It is more than likely a PVC valve since the smoke happens randomly...hasn't happened for over 2 weeks now.

I've scheduled a quick check at the vette dealership but I'm also going to get my brother to walk me through checking that PVC...apparently it's very easy.

Thanks for your input guys, it really helped.

if smoke is not constant thats a good thing

Oil Level OK?

Your car has 4-bolt valve covers. They tend to loosen up and leak on the exhaust manifolds, causing smoke. If the oil is between the valve cover and the exhaust manifold, the covers need to be snugged up a little or you need fresh gaskets.

Your car has 4-bolt valve covers. They tend to loosen up and leak on the exhaust manifolds, causing smoke. If the oil is between the valve cover and the exhaust manifold, the covers need to be snugged up a little or you need fresh gaskets.
thats a good possibility and easy to fix

Oil Level OK?

Oil level is good. It's still black and liquidy at full on the dipstick.

Your car has 4-bolt valve covers. They tend to loosen up and leak on the exhaust manifolds, causing smoke. If the oil is between the valve cover and the exhaust manifold, the covers need to be snugged up a little or you need fresh gaskets.

I did replace those gaskets about 6 months ago so it may be the case. I'm going to get a quick check up tomorrow at buyavette dealership though...Didn't have time last weekend.


By the way, it happened again this morning getting off the high way (I was driving aggressively at 70). It was very light smoke and smelled like oil burning. Just turned it off for a few minutes, took a towel to the hoses that had some drips of oil, and it ran smoothly again.

I didn't see any wet oil above the valve covers though. Just dried up.


I'll try to remember putting up pictures tonight.

You are all great for providing input on this, thanks again.

Is the white smoke coming from the engine compartment or tail pipe? I once had a vacuum modulator go bad on an older Chevy. The diaphram went bad allowing trans fluid to get sucked into the intake manifold & white smoke out one tail pipe. The smoke out one tail pipe was due to the dual plane intake which I'm assuming you have on your motor. Pull off the vacuum line on the modulator or intake fitting & look for transmission fluid in the tubing...

It looks like its coming out of the right side, bottom part of engine so it may be related to the exhaust.

Pictures:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/39363870@N03/?saved=1

The mechanics said it's probably condensation. The oil dipstick was also loose so there could have just been pressure leading to the tiny oil drips.

Otherwise, he said it's clear for the drag strip tomorrow. I'm going!