Smoke from one tail pipe but not the other

[DipStick82]

Gromit, I will check the madular valve just in case and the specs on the head bolts. I have a torque spec wrench arriving g later this week. Do you happen to know the proper soecs? I'm still without manual atm.

Grump, thanks for taking the time to look at the photos. I'll reply in depth once I get to a keyboard!

[Gromit]

Depends which version of the Goodwrench 350 you have - probably best if you download the PDF document owners manual from GM Performance's website to find the torque for yours -

GM recommends on their 2014 290 HP version the head bolts tightened at 65 ft lbs. But I don't know if it is the same in a re-torque situation or if that is only upon original assembly.

Sometimes these head bolts are single use - maybe someone on this forum knows this but I don't.

Attached is the torque spec page for the 290 HP 350.

[Grumpy old man]

Don't waste your time , retorqeing won't do a thing .once a head gasket (and that's not a given yet) is comprised it's done your not gonna reseal it .I'm leaning more towards leaking valve seals .I'll bet the oil hasn't been changed since the engine was dropped in the hole .just by looking at the general condition .

[DipStick82]

OK Grumpy, so the oil was changed about 5 months ago and the plug that had coolant on it was #8 (passenger side, closest to the tail, furthest from the thermostat).

I'd sure be happy if you are right and my problem is valve cover gaskets and not the head gasket.

I've got a new thermostat gasket, more Autolite 86 spark plugs, and a METAL fuel filter on the way.

Regarding the radiator house, valve cover gaskets, and thermostat would LCM be a decent place to pick these up? I have a catalogue next to me here. I'm new to Chevy engines so I'm not sure if LCM is reputable or if you'd suggest elsewhere.

Also, which Thermostat? I notice LCM lists winter, summer, or standard. I assume Standard is " all purpose" but I would welcome opinions; I'm in the Pacific Northwest

Thanks Gromit! I'll look for a .pdf for my engine.

Kelley

[Mrturner1]

Lots of guys go with the 160 degree thermostat and think it'll be "better" somehow, but if it were me I'd stick to the factory temp thermostat, I think that's 195*?

Hopefully it's just some plugs and some gaskets, especially the valve cover gaskets that would be much easier than head gaskets. But if it turns out you need to do head gaskets don't let it spool ya to much, it's not as hard or scary as it seems if you've never done it before. It can actually be really fun if you like wrenching.

[Grumpy old man]

You can get all the parts you need by walking into your local autoparts store .advance / auto zone /oriellys /Napa . It very well could be your head gaskets but before you just assume it is try to do some diagnosis first . We only "see" what you post so pictures are very important , what has me leaning towards worn valve guides /seals is that you said there was no oil in the water and no water in the oil , show a few pictures of the oil dipstick (with oil still on it) and open the radiator cap (when cold only ) .

[DipStick82]

Grumpy i'll send more picture tomorrow. Still curious about LCM any reason NOT to buy from them? Thanks again.

[Mrturner1]

Sometimes if it's a head gasket you can take the radiator cap off while it's running, but before it gets hot obviously, and you'll see lots of little tiny bubbles in the radiator.

[Grumpy old man]

Originally Posted by DipStick82

Grumpy i'll send more picture tomorrow. Still curious about LCM any reason NOT to buy from them? Thanks again.

Over priced ,shipping costs , time waiting around on parts , time away from the computer in the sunlight in an auto parts store . Not everything has to come delivered by ups off the computer . Have you ever bought auto parts in a store before ? , not online like a real walk in store ?

[davepl]

Originally Posted by Grumpy old man

Over priced ,shipping costs , time waiting around on parts , time away from the computer in the sunlight in an auto parts store . Not everything has to come delivered by ups off the computer . Have you ever bought auto parts in a store before ? , not online like a real walk in store ?

They still have those? I mean that sell things other than fuzzy dice and license plate frames and so on?

Why would I want a kid to type the wrong part number into his computer when I could type the right number into mine?

Besides, all he's going to say is "Yeah, we have them at the warehouse, I can have one here tomorrow for you", which is the same as Amazon anyway.

Plus Amazon is the same price or cheaper, donates a percent of the sale to a children's hospital, has easy returns. I even buy oil on Amazon.

Heck, I bought my eRod LS3 engine on Amazon now that I think about it! If there was a family owned auto parts store that carried little things I'd buy the big things there to keep them in business for when I need the little things. But there isn't.

[Grumpy old man]

Originally Posted by davepl

They still have those? I mean that sell things other than fuzzy dice and license plate frames and so on?

Why would I want a kid to type the wrong part number into his computer when I could type the right number into mine?

Besides, all he's going to say is "Yeah, we have them at the warehouse, I can have one here tomorrow for you", which is the same as Amazon anyway.

Plus Amazon is the same price or cheaper, donates a percent of the sale to a children's hospital, has easy returns. I even buy oil on Amazon.

Heck, I bought my eRod LS3 engine on Amazon now that I think about it! If there was a family owned auto parts store that carried little things I'd buy the big things there to keep them in business for when I need the little things. But there isn't.

Well Dave he's in your back yard why don't you drive over and give him your expertise ?

[Newguy71]

Hey I'm playing around with the same issue and I'm at the diagnosis steps. Do you have an update as to what the problem was and what it took to fix it? Thanks!

[TheRocket]

Originally Posted by davepl

They still have those? I mean that sell things other than fuzzy dice and license plate frames and so on?

Why would I want a kid to type the wrong part number into his computer when I could type the right number into mine?

Besides, all he's going to say is "Yeah, we have them at the warehouse, I can have one here tomorrow for you", which is the same as Amazon anyway.

Plus Amazon is the same price or cheaper, donates a percent of the sale to a children's hospital, has easy returns. I even buy oil on Amazon.

Heck, I bought my eRod LS3 engine on Amazon now that I think about it! If there was a family owned auto parts store that carried little things I'd buy the big things there to keep them in business for when I need the little things. But there isn't.

Two of the locally-owned parts stores in my community (CARQUEST and NAPA) can get me most everything I need at a very competitive price and more often than not have them in stock. They can also give me lots of advice that I am not likely to get from somebody taking my order at LMC. Plus, it is much easier to get an incorrect part issue resolved locally than it is from LMC. Twice these jugheads at LMC have sent me the wrong parts. One I returned and the other sits in my office as it wasn't worth the hassle. It's not worth the runaround with them.

I don't see Amazon or LMC advertising in the local high school sports and other programs. The local guys do. Keep Main Street America strong by shopping at home and your community wins. Buy online and when the local store closes and you need them you will be SOL.