Smokin 76 Chevy Pickup

[2500HD4X]

Hi everybody. New to the forum as a member, been lurking for several months... I have recently picked up a 1976 Chevrolet Pickup that has been sitting for many years (in a carport). Looks like it has been well maintained, but sat up for a long time. From what I can see through the oil filler it looks amazingly clean under the valve covers. I changed the oil first thing with Pennzoil High Mileage 10W40 w/supertech filter just to get it started. The question I have is does anyone have a suggestion to get the thing to stop smoking? Good compression on the 350-only 100K original miles. It smokes alot at startup and just a little after it is warmed up. I am thinking valve seals dried out and maybe a stuck oil ring-smokes alot when pushed real hard too. Any suggestions are welcome!

 

[KW]

It sure sounds like it needs valve stem seals. After replacing the seals a dose of ARX might help unstick any rings that may have stuck do to the leaking seals.

 

[theguru]

I agree with the ARX plus maybe try a 15w-50 if the climate permits.

 

[Bdiddy]

I second Jelly's HDEO recommendation. Not only can these oils fix some minor problems with their cleaning and consumption reducing abilities, they're probably the oil best suited for every day use in an older vehicle like this.

 

[pscholte]

quote:

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Originally posted by 2500HD4X: does anyone have a suggestion to get the thing to stop smoking?

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Since you have gotten some serious answers I will be my regular silly self...have you tried The Patch (goes right behind the headlights on front fender on the driver's side) or Nicorette in the fuel tank? (Hope you get it worked out!)

 

[brianl703]

First, unplug it, then douse it with water. Actual ticket from my last job (at a .com): "Server is smoking and has burning smell. Please advise." Too bad I didn't get to answer that one...

 

[Jelly]

Given you don't know the history on this truck, I'd start out with a top-quality HDEO, such as Mobil Delvac 1300.

 

[OffOrWFO]

Definitely sounds like valve guides. Auto RX helped my old, low mileage V8. The valve guides seal almost perfectly now. No smoke after a hard shift anymore. Try an ARX treatment-probably a good idea even if it didn't smoke.

 

[Gary Allan]

How long have you had it in service since the long idle time and how much have you run it, both in terms of frequency and duration?

 

[2500HD4X]

Gary Allen- I have been driving it daily since I got the truck- approximately 10-15miles to work and back and on assorted errands around town. I have only had it about 6 weeks. The smoking seems to be getting better lately, although I don't know if it is the Pennzoil HM oil or just being run daily blowing out the cobwebs. I appreciate all the responses (the one about the patch/Nicorette was funny, sadly it took me a minute to get it...) What do you guys think about running Pennzoil LL 15W-40 and maybe a little Maxlife Engine Protector for my next oil change? I am planning on fixing the valve cover gaskets (leaking on drivers side at back) soon and will change the oil afterwards, this will also give me an oppurtunity to see whats under the valve covers- What will Auto-Rx do for me? I have seen this mentioned in several posts but have no experience with it...

 

[Bdiddy]

I wouldn't hesitate to put in Longlife. My father has an 85 Chevy C30 (I think it's a C30, big box truck) that was leaking Halvoline 10w30 out of the valve covers and other areas like crazy, probably close to a couple quarts a week. Main reason for this was probably dry seals as this truck had to have been sitting alot, it's very low mileage for its age. I changed it over to Longlife several weeks ago and it hasn't leaked half a quart yet. Seems the valve cover leaks have stopped completely and whatever leaks were lower on the engine have been reduced considerably. The Longlife I'm pretty sure is the newer Shell reformulation as it was much lighter than Longlife I've used previously.

 

[2500HD4X]

What is wrong with using the MaxLife? From reading around here its got some good stuff in it...Just wondering. I usually don't use additives but this seemed like an option....

 

[Jelly]

I'm not a fan of using oil additives unless they are absolutely necessary, and the Maxlife product you mentioned does not meet this "criteria" in my book. Long-Life is a great product by itself and does not need any supplemental additives. Use the LL and let us know how it goes... [ July 24, 2004, 03:19 PM: Message edited by: Jelly ]

 

[deepsquat]

quote:

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Originally posted by 2500HD4X: What is wrong with using the MaxLife? From reading around here its got some good stuff in it...Just wondering. I usually don't use additives but this seemed like an option....

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The Max life oil apparently is good ...but he is asking about the maxlife oil additive .....waste of $$$

 

[Jelly]

Sure, go with Long-Life. DO NOT however use the Valvoline MaxLife Engine Protector...just use "plain" oil.