OHH NO!! White Smoke and Metallic Sounds!

I have checked all around the post regarding white smoke and other exhaust diagnostic issues... cant seem to find any?

If you can point me to some post I will continue research.


Thats Right. What a bummer... Memorial Day weekend, and I have large amounts of white smoke coming out of my passengers side exhaust port, and the bell housing has sprung an oil leak...

Are these two problems connected?

I check all my plugs at my distributor cap and they all have good fire. ( I have new plugs, wires, and an OLD Distrubutor Cap.

Could it be just the cap and rotor need to be switched, or do I have something much bigger?

And it was running sooooo SWEET... until now.

Thanks for all the continued support!!!

Well. It is now locked down... Will not turn over, as I tried to start it with the value cover off to see if it was the vaules...

Now it will not even turn over.

It seems to be all over now.

Total Rebuild?

Any ideas?

Thanks for your help. I am devastated. THe dream has turned into a nightmare.

The metallic sound is a delicate high pitched slight ping, hardly noticable to anyone but me....radiates slightly from the exhaust pipe and not heard at the engine block.

BTW, Wehn operating today at 20 mi per hour we thought we ran over something and go it caught in the prop... It was like the boat downshifted. A noticed loss of power and differnt sound was heard. I shut it down swam under the boat, checking the prop, and the rudder... Nothing there.

Weird - yet could that of been the fatal blow?

I started it back up - no problems,,, the sound was not heard, no was the power diffenrence significant, we wakeboarded till dark and had no issues. 5:30 am next morning... boat hard to start - take lots of gas and several cranks , when usually it takes one crank and its up and ready. So the boat also has a gas smell and the white smoke was hardly noticable. It got a little worse.. then back at the house on the dry I removed the valve cover and cranked it once.. all valves seemed to be working shut it down... then tried a second time... no luck. It is locked down rock solid - just a click and thats all you get.

HELP!

However, I did replace the T Stat, plugs, wires, cables, and got it wetsanded and glossy for this weekend... and then the smoke.

Any further suggestions? Is this a piston that is broken and locked in the engine?

BTW, Everyone who help on this sight has been a god send.

I am willing to take on this challenge!

Steady Upright and Ready.
Jamie

wakesurfer wrote: New Engine or Rebuild? cost?

I think if you want to take this on yourself, you're going to have to do a very organized checklist. Pete reccomends getting quality help and I have to agree.

Did you investigate the hydro-lock? Pull all of the plugs and spin the motor...maybe with some towels. I'd say first thing is to get it to spin with the plugs out, and then go from there.

Most of the guys are out on the water or probably out of town this weekend. Hang in there.

Thanks Gents. I had to walk away from it for a few hours.. I will check the hydrolock today, then, I will check my oil color as I pump it out.. then see if she will turn.

On the riser gasket idea... how can that explain the slight metallic pinging noise heard during idle.

If you try to start your engine with the valve cover off.. could that of caused my lock up?

I have a 351 Commander.

I will report back with some of my findings.

Thanks Again.

O.K. I drained the oil, the first few minutes of draining I saw a few lines of milky white oil, then only black oil...

I have not run it long w this problem.

Fixed the hyrdo lock w the pull the plugs trick, it turns over and all rocker arms appear to be lifting and valves seem to be working in good order... ??

Do you think it could be as simple as a head gasket leaked water into my engine?

Remember it was a sudden loss of just a little power as if I was down shifting that was felt. As if I caught something in the prop.

New head gasket?

Any tips on removing the valve top end and all that it entails w compression wrenches?

Thanks for all the continued support.

Thanks - I ordered the book and I have a few other local friends to call on.

Whats your opinion on the head gasket idea?

Cheers.
jamie

I am hoping that is all it is, and I hope there is no cracked block.

Hoping for the best.

wakesurfer wrote: Anyone have any luck with an additive similar to what fixes a leaky radiator... for a leaky gasket?

Not a good idea! They may be a emergency fix on a car or truck (only on small leaks such as a freeze plug) they will not work on a boat with open cooling. The stop leak additives work by small fuzzy particles in the additive plugging small holes and building on itself until the leak is plugged. (like a air filter slowly getting clogged with dirt particles) This requires the additive to heated and circulated through the engine many times. On a marine engine with open cooling, the water gets sucked in one end and out the other. Hopefully this idea didn't come from the friend who is going to help you out with the problem!

Jamie, When you pulled the plugs and spun it to get the water out of the cylinders, which cylinders did the water come out? With exhaust manifold/riser problems, it is usually the cylinders that sit lower (aft) that get the water. This may be a good clue as to which direction to head - Manifolds or internal engine.

almabes wrote: Pull the exhaust manifold and check out the gasket.   A leaky exhaust manifold gasket could explain some different sounds you may be hearing, as well the hydrolocking issue.

Water is not ported through the manifold gasket so it won't be the problem. Manifold/ riser maybe?

Commander style water logs are less prone to a leaky riser gasket failure than the pcms, but they do crack. However, first you need to find the problem then you can find the cause. Get a compression tester immediately, use it and post the results.

The oil out the bellhousing could be due to a spun bearing or other massive failure but you should be able to feel that when turning the engine over slowly by hand with the plugs out.

wakesurfer wrote: The question of the hour is: "How do you know if the gasket is leaking, as when you pull the parts off of the gasket ---- the gaskets usually rip anyway? hard to tell?

the head gasket won't usually, but even if it does then you can still tell. But it is easier to track down if you remember which cyclinders had water in them.

Also if you don't know where the two gaskets are on the riser and exhaust manifold then your not going to have a clue to weather or not you install the head gasket right either so please seek help from someone that lnows what they are doing.

What are the specs on the compression for a commander?

The exhaust log is of a two peice design but is not like the pyramid and riser design most people here have (PCM Style). Pcm units have a joint where water is passed through from one piece to another, the commander style typically have a dry joint with a hose that brings water from one peice of the log to the other. That joint is less prone to leakage, and cant be technically called a riser joint since the second piece is not really a riser, but thats semantics...   The compression should be even within 10% or so among the cylinders, actual value is not as important. Either a blown head gasket or a cracked block will have a large effect on compression that will be easily noticed.

if he doesnt have access to a compression tester, pull the plugs and look for the clean one, thats where your problem will lie if you do have a problem on a cylinder