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Q & A: Engine Smoke

Hi John,
Talked to you last night about the PCV valve on the '68 Midget ( I have owned the car all of 3 days, its a surprise for my wife as her first car was a '67 back in '69) and how I thought it was causing the engine to burn oil. Again, after the car has run for about 5 to10 min. alot of blue smoke comes out the exhaust. I also notice when running down the road there is less smoke and a lot more when starting up from a stop.
I have checked the PCV and have found oil inside, spring looks ok, as does the diaphragm and plunger. With the engine running and the PCV opened up, if I push down on the diaphragm with my finger (closing the valve) the vacuum keeps the diaphragm pulled in (down). If I increase the idle the vacuum pulls the diaphragm down into the valve housing. However, when I clean out the oil and put the PCV back together it takes longer for the smoke to appear. The oil filler cap (plastic) is not plugged as I can suck or blow air through it. Ug! The separator (can) is not clogged as I can also blow air back through the hose. The hoses to and from the valve are not cracked, matter of fact they look new. I have also noticed when I put my finger over the port coming from the separator there is, I think, a strong vacuum and a small amount of air pressure coming out of the hose from the separator. You did mention compression rings. Can't find what the speck is (psi). Any help is greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Roger

Roger,

Another option here for a temporary fix -- is to leave the hose from the separator loose -- vent it to the ground -- and to plug up the PCV valve. Then drive it and see if it continues to smoke.

Smoking a... read more