White smoke out exhaust ? (update cam problem?)

I noticed today that while driving there is alot of white smoke coming out of the driver side exhaust. The other side appears to be fine. What causes white smoke? Is this a fuel related problem? The motor is a 302/aluminum heads/holley 650 DP/MSD ignition. How would I go about fixing this problem? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

_________________


<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: BLACK65FORDFALCON on 6/17/06 8:54am ]</font>

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: BLACK65FORDFALCON on 6/28/06 2:10am ]</font>

white smoke is the famous signal of a bad head gasket, radiator low? Overheating or runnning hotter than normal?
[addsig]

What woody1 said.

Thanks for the tips guys. The radiator is full of coolant, No problems there yet. I checked the oil dip stick and there dosen't appear to be any coolant in there. While driving it today the temp guage was between 170 and 180. It is not over heating. Any more help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks once again guys.
[addsig]

Are you running a auto trans ? I'v seen this when it's sucking trans fluid from the vacume line going to the modulator valve. just a thought..

Take Care
Earl

_________________
Earl - Ranchero_65 Restomod Slowley in Process !
http://hotrodders.com/gallery/showga...p?ppuser=13792

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Ranchero65 on 6/17/06 2:36pm ]</font>

I am running a manual trans. This is definately a strange problem. My temp is 175, The radiator is full of clean coolant and my dipstick has not turned into a milkshake.

Is it possible that this could be a carb problem? I noticed yesterday that the engine has a horrible of idle stumble. It hesitates from idle to approx 1800 RPM'S. After that everything appears to be fine. Any more is always appreciated. Thanks once again guys.
[addsig]

head gasket
[addsig]

Well this just sucks. I probably only have 300 miles on these heads.
How can a head gasket be blown if the radiator is full of clean coolant? Where is the coolant going if it is full? The dipstick looks fine... The crankcase is not filling up with coolant, Just 5 litres of clean oil.

Also my temp guage never went over 175, I quess I'm in denial. What is the best way to diagnose a blown head gasket... Compression test or would a leakdown test be a better fit?

Also, Should I change both the head gaskets or just the one head gasket? Another thing I can't figure out is why the smoke is only coming out of just one pipe? I am using a H pipe so I thought that it would come out of both pipes. No? I am very reluctant to use the fel-pro gaskets again. I hear that the victor reinz gaskets work much better when using aluminum heads. Any one else using them? Thanks once again.
[addsig]

I noticed that happened once on my 351w. Unexplained white smoke exiting my right exhaust. Once I took off the intake, the mystery revealed itself. Intake gasket shifted and allowed coolant into the intake ports. I use plenty of permatex black around the coolant ports from now on.
Mike
[addsig]

First, put a vacuum guage on a port that yields true intake (not ported) vacuum. If it sags and recovers, and tweaking your idle circuit doesn't help it, you have a leak at a manifold interface.

Then, do a compression test. Adjoining low cylinders would say head gasket to me, but if you aren't seeing any bubbles in the coolant while warming, and no trace of water in the oil, it might be something else.

To me, your stumble sounds like a vacuum leak. See 79Stang351's response above. Might have a pinole gasket leak that is letting crankcase air and a little coolant seep into the end cylinders near the water passage, just enough to make the smoke.

If the engine is new, it is possible that as it heat cycles, the softer aluminum parts 'move' around slightly, causing the loss of the water seal. They need to be retorqued at least once after a hot cycle, and I've heard of people doing it routinely as a normal maintenance item.

One way to see if its a leak, take some starting fluid and CAREFULY spray around the head-to-manifold area as you advance the throttle thru the stumble. Smooth out? You got a winner.

Good luck!!!