Gray smoke from front right corner of the engine...
#1
Former Vendor
Thread Starter
![Default](https://rennlist.com/forums/images/icons/icon1.gif)
So I regularly start my '82 in the winter and earlier today I started it up and let it run for a while. It started just fine, as it always does, with no noticeable issues. However, after five or ten minutes, the garage started to smell like burned oil and gray smoke was coming out from around the front, right corner of the engine under the AC vacuum line solenoid. I couldn't see exactly from where, but I did have a small head gasket leak on the left inside of that same head gasket, but it wasn't coming from the same location as the leak. It almost seemed like it was coming from inside the timing gear cover. Has my head gasket leak gotten worse and is leaking oil down the front of the engine? I did not see any pools of oil on the ground under the car. No smoke was coming out of the exhaust either. Has anyone else experienced something similar with theirs?
#2
![Default](https://rennlist.com/forums/images/icons/icon1.gif)
Do you think it was cooking on the exhaust manifold or farther down toward the oil pan?
Passenger side, right?
Passenger side, right?
#3
You can call me Otis
Rennlist Member
Rennlist Member
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Terre Haute, Indiana
Posts: 6,662
Likes: 0
Received 10 Likes
on
10 Posts
![Default](https://rennlist.com/forums/images/icons/icon1.gif)
With my car, I have noticed it does not like to idle for a long period of time.
After 5 or ten min's idling, the oil pressure drops, as opposed to an hour and a half driving at highway speed, the oil pressure never drops below 5 bar.
Pull the intake tubes, and look inside the top of the timing cover vent hole to see if the belt Is tracking properly, and for belt dust.
Could be coolant leakage aggravated by high idle temps.
I don't know, just guess work from my end.
After 5 or ten min's idling, the oil pressure drops, as opposed to an hour and a half driving at highway speed, the oil pressure never drops below 5 bar.
Pull the intake tubes, and look inside the top of the timing cover vent hole to see if the belt Is tracking properly, and for belt dust.
Could be coolant leakage aggravated by high idle temps.
I don't know, just guess work from my end.
#4
Nordschleife Master
![Default](https://rennlist.com/forums/images/icons/icon1.gif)
Sounds to me like you've got a weeping leak of oil. After sitting there's enough to stick and smoke. Keep an eye on that and on the oil level. I'd look for smoke after a good drive of 30 minutes or more. Enough time and temperature to smoke-off excess.
A head gasket rarely fails in the oil passages. On these engines it's not unusual to have an oil leak between the cam tower and the head. That's a pain to fix but it doesn't require removal of the head.
The thing on the crossbar is a solenoid that lets extra air bypass the throttle and boost RPMs when the A/C is on.
A head gasket rarely fails in the oil passages. On these engines it's not unusual to have an oil leak between the cam tower and the head. That's a pain to fix but it doesn't require removal of the head.
The thing on the crossbar is a solenoid that lets extra air bypass the throttle and boost RPMs when the A/C is on.