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Series II, 2.8 V6 issue

bulldurham

bulldurham

Platinum Level Sponsor
Last fall I began noticing smoke out the driver side tail pipe. Since its a 10 year old rebuild I suspected worn rings but did nothing about it other than parking iy.
Recently I pulled the driver side head, had it gone through and declared it was crack free. I have just gotten it back together and fired up today.
After warm up the bluish smoke begins to appear again, so, worm rings are more than a suspicion. Also, I noticed the driver side exhaust pipe was much hotter than the pass. side pipe, which is not smoking. Also went through the valve adj. twice to convince my that was correct. Compression on #'s 4 and 5 were at 150 give or take 2-4 lb.'
I am seriously not wanting to pull this engine so any other diagnostics suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks.
 
Barry

Barry

Diamond Level Sponsor
bulldurham said:
Last fall I began noticing smoke out the driver side tail pipe. Since its a 10 year old rebuild I suspected worn rings but did nothing about it other than parking iy.
Recently I pulled the driver side head, had it gone through and declared it was crack free. I have just gotten it back together and fired up today.
After warm up the bluish smoke begins to appear again, so, worm rings are more than a suspicion. Also, I noticed the driver side exhaust pipe was much hotter than the pass. side pipe, which is not smoking. Also went through the valve adj. twice to convince my that was correct. Compression on #'s 4 and 5 were at 150 give or take 2-4 lb.'
I am seriously not wanting to pull this engine so any other diagnostics suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks.
Click to expand...



"After warm up ..." suggests that temperature is part of the issue.

What is the engine oil and what is the engine oil temperature after warm up?
 
bulldurham

bulldurham

Platinum Level Sponsor
The engine oil is VR1, 20-50 ; not sure about oil temp as I do not have a gauge for that but the oil pressure is reading 40=45 after warm up..
W/ regards to the exhaust temp., the driver side is what I would consider to be about normal w/ the pass. side being much cooler. My first thought was the pass. side had a blockage , maybe a collapsed muffler which is not likely.
 
Last edited:
Barry

Barry

Diamond Level Sponsor
bulldurham said:
The engine oil is VR1, 20-50 ; not sure about oil temp as I do not have a gauge for that but the oil pressure is reading 40=45 after warm up..
W/ regards to the exhaust temp., the driver side is what I would consider to be about normal w/ the pass. side being much cooler. My first thought was the pass. side had a blockage , maybe a collapsed muffler which is not likely.
Click to expand...


An inexpensive optical pyrometer (<$20 from Amazon) would be a good way to obtain accurate and relevant temperature information.
 
Last edited:
bulldurham

bulldurham

Platinum Level Sponsor
Today John came by { recovering from surgery }: with his assistance we went through the valve adjustment , finding a mistake where I had adjusted a valve out of the prescribed sequence. Rechecked the timing which was about where it should be.
As described in my original post, above, the exhaust temp on the driver side was much warmer than the pass. side . that has changed w/ the pass. side is now just about same as the driver side. I presume that to be a good thing. However when closing off the tailpipe, either . there is no pressure buildup. I do not find leaks in the exhaust system which might explain the lack of pressure in the end of the tail pipe. I would thnik closing off the pipes would want to shut down the engine but there is essentially no change in the engine idle. the PCV seems to be operating as it should. Temp wise the engine is running a little hot as per coolant temp but sitting at idle that is not unusual; oil pressure is 25 after long warm up at idle.
To my ear the engine is a little noisy w/ valve set at .014 intake and .016 exhaust.
John may want to weigh in on his observations. Tomorrow I will take it out for a few miles to see if it has any power, see if anything breaks .
 
Knightowl61

Knightowl61

Gold Level Sponsor
After going over the valve adjustments and timing both exhaust pipes had a little blue smoke at first, then mostly a little on the drivers side. The tail pipe temps are about the same.
The exhaust is two separate systems (no cross pipes). The wierd part is I can block both tailpipes with my hands for 30 seconds or more and there is no pressure backup, no exhaust leaks herd, and the engine idling (and sound) didn't change. o_O Totally stumped.
 
B

Bill Blue

Platinum Level Sponsor
Knightowl61 said:
After going over the valve adjustments and timing both exhaust pipes had a little blue smoke at first, then mostly a little on the drivers side. The tail pipe temps are about the same.
The exhaust is two separate systems (no cross pipes). The wierd part is I can block both tailpipes with my hands for 30 seconds or more and there is no pressure backup, no exhaust leaks herd, and the engine idling (and sound) didn't change. o_O Totally stumped.
Click to expand...
Natures way of telling you the car has more than ample exhaust capacity. At idle, it literally does not break a sweat.
Bill
 
Knightowl61

Knightowl61

Gold Level Sponsor
Every car I have ever blocked the tail pipe at idle would build up pressure instantly and would whoosh out when releasing after a couple seconds.
You could stick a potato in these pipes and get a baked potato after 5 minutes.
The exhaust at idle looks and feels normal but blocking the pipes has no pressure at one second or one minute.
 
bulldurham

bulldurham

Platinum Level Sponsor
Bill, I think you are right, in fact, I proposed a 2 to 1 just before the muffler ( eliminate one muffler ) and a 2" out the rear. I think that might increase the back pressure some. This engine runs great and starts w/ one turn of the key. My biggest criticism of it is that it is too loud. Eliminating one muffler would allow more room for a muffler w/ a more mellow tone
As for your question Filister, the answer is I don't know. What would that configuration look like ?
 
F

Filister

Gold Level Sponsor
Looking at the intake gasket for a 1978 mustang, there is a square hole in the center of each side. This usually connects to an exhaust port in the head. I believe this lets exhaust flow thru the manifold for quicker warm up?
 
B

Bill Blue

Platinum Level Sponsor
bulldurham said:
Bill, I think you are right, in fact, I proposed a 2 to 1 just before the muffler ( eliminate one muffler ) and a 2" out the rear. I think that might increase the back pressure some. This engine runs great and starts w/ one turn of the key. My biggest criticism of it is that it is too loud. Eliminating one muffler would allow more room for a muffler w/ a more mellow tone
As for your question Filister, the answer is I don't know. What would that configuration look like ?
Click to expand...
You might want to keep in mind the fact that the Duratec, both the 2.3 and 2.5, has a single, 2" pipe from head to rear bumper. It is welded together from 2" mandrel bends. That means no constrictions from muffler shop bends.
Bill
 
MikeH

MikeH

Diamond Level Sponsor
Filister said:
Looking at the intake gasket for a 1978 mustang, there is a square hole in the center of each side. This usually connects to an exhaust port in the head. I believe this lets exhaust flow thru the manifold for quicker warm up?
Click to expand...
Does it connect to an exhaust port or coolant passage?
 
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