barneys964

I have a 90 c4 and I had my oil changed a couple of weeks ago. My oil temp had always been at the 1/4 mark, but now it is up to 3/4 mark almost to the red zone and yesterday, there was a cloud of smoke coming out of the rear. Oil level is good. Same type of oil was used. Any thoughts?? thanks

Indycam

Is the smoke coming out the tailpipe or out of the vents / cooling air flow ?

barneys964

not from exhaust-oil pressure is good.

Indycam

Maybe the person who did the oil change spilled some oil that got on to the outside of the exhaust system .

ian89C4

Is it possible that the thermostat is not opening. If you are moving, does the temp still get that high?? Usually the temp goes up a little over half-way and then the thermostat opens and it drops back down. Also, how much smoke??

barneys964

The temperature will continue to rise even when moving. It has been going to 1/2-3/4. Yesterday, in city driving, it went into the red zone. The smoke cloud looked like steam after going through a puddle of water. Pressure and level are good.

tbennett017

When the car temp is warm, feel the right front wing over the wheel. If that is not warm, then see if you can feel the thermostat. (right in front of the rear right wheel) If either/neither aren't warm, then I would check the thermostat function. 3/4 is pretty high.

Also, just to check, are you reading the right gauge? There are three related to oil. It actually sounds like an overfill to me, but your information from the gauges doesn't fit the diagnosis...

Indycam

"Also, just to check, are you reading the right gauge?"
I was thinking about asking that .

It could still be an "overfill" ,
if to much oil was added to the tank before the engine was turned on ,
oil will overflow the oil tank and get into the intake .
The overall quantity might be right
but the oil tank might have been overfilled .

ChaseN

I was thinking the same, that he's reading the gauge wrong, BUT:

the oil level gauge doesn't have red at the top (its at the bottom) but the oil temp does...

Maybe the stars aligned, and the mechanic overfilled it, and the thermostat failed at the same time...? Seems unlikely...