[TR] smoke? coming from valve cover vent

[Jeremiah Curry]

I think this may not be smoke, but rather steam.  

I have only driven about 5 miles since I replaced the headgasket (with the
ring of fire mod)  I also spent some time idling/revving the engine in the
garage.

After installing the choke cable and adjusting it, I decided to go for a
shakedown run and see if the problem would get better after a little drive.
Car felt great, maybe even more powerful than before, but I was only about
1/2 of a mile from my house when I started seeing smoke, looked down at the
temp gauge and it was pegged.  Turned around and drove home and found the
coolant over a gallon low.  I am guessing somehow the coolant is getting
burned off and coming out as smoke from the valve cover?

The strange thing is that the oil seems fine (clear not smokey).  I would
think if the water was getting in the vale cover gasket, it would be in the
oil too.  Maybe since I am running pure water, not coolant it just doesn't
discolor the oil?

What should I do next? Still do a compression or leak-down test?

Thanks in advance,
Jeremiah

p.s.  I am probably opening a can of worms, but I left the whole thread
below to add some context, but I have seen some people complain about this.
Why is that?  I have worked in IT for over 10 years and see no real
downside. The size of the messages is minimal. And it means that you can
keep the most recent message and delete the rest if you want one place to
look for refrence.

-----Original Message-----
From: triumphs-bounces at autox.team.net
[mailto:triumphs-bounces at autox.team.net] On Behalf Of Jeremiah Curry
Sent: Saturday, February 25, 2012 11:34 AM
To: 'Geo Hahn'
Cc: triumphs at autox.team.net
Subject: Re: [TR] smoke? coming from valve cover vent

Thanks Geo,

 

My card does smoke enough people might come running.  I had the head
completely rebuilt with new valves, springs, hardened seats etc. about 1000
miles ago, but the bottom end hasn't been touched in a long time.  A piston
seized in 69 and the PO replaced it and never put it all back together.  I
didn't touch the bottom end when I got it running, so that is likely the
problem.

 

I guess A leak-down or compression test would help tell me.  Which one would
be better?

 

I should probably have the carbs adjusted, I am scared to death of them.  I
am only 34 and have never really owned cars that weren't fuel injected
before.

 

Thanks,

Jeremiah

 

  _____  

From: Geo Hahn [mailto:ahwahneetr at gmail.com] 
Sent: Friday, February 24, 2012 5:41 PM
To: Jeremiah Curry
Cc: triumphs at autox.team.net
Subject: Re: [TR] smoke? coming from valve cover vent

 

You got the answers already but if it is any comfort... my TR3A smokes thru
the oil filler cap when first parked.

 

Whether it is a 'significant amount' is hard to say: it is noticeable but
doesn't cause bystanders to run or grab a fire extinguisher.  I did the
valve guides about 5 years ago and the rings when Jimmie Carter was
President so I expect the latter is to blame.

 

 

On Thu, Feb 23, 2012 at 9:08 PM, Jeremiah Curry <jeremiah at curryclan.net>
wrote:

...since I got it running, I am scared to adjust the carbs that paltech set
so
nicely for me).  

 

 

I don't think you want to be wary of adjusting the carbs.   Not to question
Jeff's abilities, but I don't see how anyone could get the carbs correctly
set-up without having them on the engine.  Do the basic stuff first (valve
clearances, points gap, timing, carb sync, etc) then try your hand at
mixture adjustment.  Several methods out there, all work best with a final
adjustment based on drivinig results.

 

Geo

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