Posted by Bill Bowes on August 03, 1999 at 20:46:42:
In Reply to: Smoking on the downhill posted by Mike Maier on August 03, 1999 at 11:27:01:
You have a valve job in the works. White smoke means coolant, but you cannot see this in the rear view mirror well enough to be able to tell the difference between white and light blue.
either one means valve job, but coolant smoke means it has to be done sooner. I drove my E-3 at Homestead raceway, and people said I was smoking in the corners, meaning weak valve seals. Other than that the car ran great.
I drove another 4 driver's schools, 2 years, and 50,000 miles with the car like that, before I broke down and did the valve job.
So! Unless the smoke prevents you from passing emissions, I'd do nothing until the smoke gets so bad that you can't stand it. 'Course you'll only notice it when you let off on the throttle, so I figured it was 50% of the time.
BTW, the motor was running great when I pulled it apart. The only reason I did it was that it was getting very embarassing, and I wanted to drive Sebring.
If the engine is overheating, then the coolant thing should be investigated.