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| | | New to the forum; smoke at start, swivels, and steering | Joined: Jan 2021 Posts: 37 Likes: 1 newbie | OP newbie Joined: Jan 2021 Posts: 37 Likes: 1 | Howdy y'all,
New to the chevy van world. i just bought a 1995 g20 conversion. good condition! super excited about it... but when i start it the exhaust has some heavy white smoke coming out. now, I'm not loosing any coolant or oil.. so maybe the valve cover gaskets? As soon as i start driving it goes away and doesn't come back. but if i turn the car off and back on, it starts all over again...
Pretty sure its not condensation cuz its thick and quite smelly, like a boat...
also, steering... are these vans pretty loose on the steering front? like kinda floating down the highway also, like a boat?
if i HAVE to do the valve cover gaskets in order to save my engine from future problems i will, but I'm intimidated and i haven't found a good youtube video explaining how.. any suggestions on that?
and WHAT A BUMMER the front seats didn't come stock swivel! having a hard time finding a swivel attachment that matches my 11x14 stock base
Thanks! | | | Re: New to the forum; smoke at start, swivels, and steering | Joined: Jan 2014 Posts: 2,290 Likes: 137 veteran | veteran Joined: Jan 2014 Posts: 2,290 Likes: 137 | Smoke: - white is usually coolant, has a sweet smell. - blue-ish is usually oil, smells distinctly like burning oil. If you don't know that smell, pour a dab on the engine when it's hot and you'll learn it quickly, lol. - black/grey is usually fuel, has a pungent gassy smell, also tends to make your eyes water.
Steering: - Shouldn't be loose or spongey. Suspension can tend to "float" and make it feel like a boat, but if your steering is doing that, check and replace the worn parts thoroughly.
Valve cover gaskets: - Shouldn't be too difficult, just time consuming and messy. Best way to learn is by doing it yourself. Videos can help, so can a repair manual, but hands on will teach you more than anything else. If you don't feel comfortable or have little mechanical skills though you may want to take it to a shop.
Swivel bases: - Just keep checking the junkyards and FB marketplace / Craigslist. Keep in mind if you have the mechanical skills, you can make seats out of most anything work. Don't forget to check the RVs in the scrapyard while you're there. | | | Re: New to the forum; smoke at start, swivels, and steering | Joined: Sep 2005 Posts: 9,855 Likes: 234 carpal tunnel | carpal tunnel Joined: Sep 2005 Posts: 9,855 Likes: 234 | A valve cover leak won't come out the exhaust. It doesn't take a lot of oil or coolant to smoke on start up but, if it's not condensate and it's smelly like you say, it's gotta be one or the other. A radiator shop or repair shop can pressurize the cooling system to check for any leaks. Also check your EGR valve operation and the PCV valve. A bad (or uncontrolled) EGR can cause incomplete combustion during cold start (fuel smoke) and a crapped PCV can suck oil into the intake (oil smoke). Both of these items will usually cause a choppy idle during warm up. BTW you didn't say which engine you have but if it's the 4.3 V6, it's coolant.....
Last edited by CatFish; January 30th 2021 1:57 pm.
| | | Re: New to the forum; smoke at start, swivels, and steering | Joined: Jan 2021 Posts: 37 Likes: 1 newbie | OP newbie Joined: Jan 2021 Posts: 37 Likes: 1 | its the 5.0 305. at least my radiator has a sticker that says 5.7l so.... i will have the coolant system pressurized, i dont think its the EGR valve because it idles just fine... I suspect it most be coolant based off the smell, it smells almost good. nostalgia ya know...
Last edited by Brother_kitten; February 16th 2021 6:01 pm.
| | | Re: New to the forum; smoke at start, swivels, and steering | Joined: Jun 2010 Posts: 18,286 Likes: 559 | Joined: Jun 2010 Posts: 18,286 Likes: 559 | Heater core drippin ? as far as steering all Chevys float ... to help with that I installed dual steering stabilizer's ... and a sway bar
SUNSHINE VANS-VAN DIEGO ADRENALIN BY THE GALLON & CHASIN RACIN ONE FOR THE DIRT & ONE FOR THE STREETS '93 CHEVY G30 454 4X4 SPORTVAN EXT 146" WB '92 CHEVY G30 454 BEAUVILLE EXT 146" WB | | | Re: New to the forum; smoke at start, swivels, and steering | Joined: Jan 2021 Posts: 37 Likes: 1 newbie | OP newbie Joined: Jan 2021 Posts: 37 Likes: 1 | the odd part of it all is that the smoke stops once i start driving... my understanding is that if it were a head gasket it would smoke all the time... Ill check the heater core.
How was that installing the dual steering stabilizers? cost and time? | | | Re: New to the forum; smoke at start, swivels, and steering | Joined: Jul 2014 Posts: 4,805 Likes: 123 Uncle Rust N Dents | Uncle Rust N Dents Joined: Jul 2014 Posts: 4,805 Likes: 123 | It's possible that the head gasket is leaking in such a way that coolant only gets into the cylinder in large enough amounts to produce visible smoke when it's not running (and coolant is dripping/seeping in over time). You start it, and the coolant that leaked in there burns off and smokes... Then, while it's running, it's just getting a drop or so at a time, and not getting enough coolant into the combustion chamber to blow a bunch of smoke all at once. That could also be why you're not noticing a loss of coolant, because it's disappearing drop by drop rather than ounce by ounce.
Just an idea. | | | Re: New to the forum; smoke at start, swivels, and steering | Joined: Jan 2021 Posts: 37 Likes: 1 newbie | OP newbie Joined: Jan 2021 Posts: 37 Likes: 1 | I'm starting to think that perhaps, just maybe, I'm paranoid cuz its a new car and it was condensation the whole time, but it runs rich so as to give the appearance of having a strong smell. cuz it definitely runs rich... after the smoke is long gone the smell remains quite strongly | | |
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