Bit of a blow out!

[mad-4-moggywhite-1]

Hi everyone

I am requiring some re-assurance.

We attempted to drive our Morris Minor quite a distance, some 60 miles, after she had been stood in a garage having work done on her for quite some time. She had passed her MOT only the day before so we felt ok about doing this.
We called at the garage and filled her up and did the usual oil and water checks before setting off. I was following behind and we were a good 30 miles into our journey then all of a sudden I could see smoke coming from the exhaust the smoke became thicker and then smoke also started to come from the bonnet. On pulling over we discovered that the radiator pipe had split and was gushing out water causing the engine to overheat. Luckily we were near a local garage, we limped there and they replaced the radiator pipe and I think the heater pipe for us at 5.30 on a Friday evening! we were so grateful! as we were miles from home and they only charged us £15 a bargain to us. Anyway I noticed that whilst following again that there was now a blue plume of smoke coming out of the exhaust that was not there before and it seemed to get worse on gear changes. It got less as time went on but i'm worried that we may have caused damage to the engine as it got very overheated. Could this be the case?

[jagnut66]

Hi,
I'm afraid blue smoke from your exhaust means the engine is burning oil. Do you feel you are loosing power?? Do a compression test and see what the results are.
There are experts on here that will be able to diagnose how bad your problem is from these.
On a positive note, you have caught it early, as you were travelling behind and could see the problem, something you may have missed if you had both been travelling in the Moggy.
Also the 'A' series is a tough old bird and can run (local trips) for some time before it gets really bad, so you may be able to continue to enjoy using her (pub lunches etc) whilst you set about getting the parts to fix her.
Don't leave it forever though as it will only get worse.
Just goes to show how important it is to keep an eye on your hoses, carry spare ones for long trips and if in doubt replace them.
Best wishes,
Mike.

[simmitc]

I hope that the "smoke" coming from the bonnet was steam. That's not being picky, jusy wanting to ensure an accurate diagnosis. Are there any unusual noises from the engine. As above, do a compression test and report results. You could be looking at a head gasket, broken ring(s) or a valve gear problem. Probably best to not drive the car until you have identified the problem. If you do run the engine then keep an eye on both water and oil levels. Report back on compression, noise, and state of fluids; and we'll give more advice.

[bmcecosse]

It is likely (unfortunately) that the piston rings and/or head gasket have suffered some damage. A simple test is with the engine hot - remove the oil filler cap and rev up. Is there a plume of smoke/fume? The first signs of water loss are the heater 'going cold' and perversely - the temperature gauge (if you have one) reading low as the water drops away from the sensor.

[mad-4-moggywhite-1]

Hello again

Thank you all for being so helpful.

At the moment the car is not being driven as she is at our local body sprayers awaiting a re-spray very shortly. We dropped her off there at the end of the journey this was our planned destination for her.
I will certainly do the compression test when we have her home, and I will drive her this time and let my husband follow me so that I can see for myself if she is losing power, my husband has said that there wasn't any noise coming from the engine, he also told me to point out that the car had been fitted with a new stainless steel exhaust system prior to us driving her home.

Simmitc, the "smoke" was actually white from the bonnet so yes I think that was just steam. I will report back on fluid levels once we have driven her back post re-spray.

Mike, I certainly won't be leaving it I like to nip these issues in the bud save later hassle! and yes I will be carrying spare hoses with me and a good supply of water too!!

Bmcecosse, Thanks, I will carry out the test you recommend once we get the car back home the body shop is about 5 miles away from us so that should be sufficient to heat the engine without doing further damage I think.

I will report back my findings once she is back home with us. I am very grateful to you all. Take care.

[mad-4-moggywhite-1]

Hi all.

Well it is one year ago give or take a couple of days, since we purchased our 'project' 2 door Old English White saloon. She has now been transformed from a rather sad looking duckling into a beautiful swan.

However we still have the issue with blue smoke coming from the exhaust something that we have not needed to address until now as she has been at the restorers. So' Bmcecosse' we have tried your suggestion removing the oil filler cap whilst engine is hot and revving her up and there isn't any sign of fumes when we do this. Can you tell us what that means.

I followed behind on a trip to Halfords today and she is blowing blue smoke in plumes on gear changes and acceleration, and although still there,it is just trickling it out when she is cruising in fourth. Any more advice would be appreciated. I got my boiler suit from Halford's and I'm ready to tackle it!! errr.. well when I know how to that is!!!!

[amgrave]

That sounds like oil getting down the valve stems to me, it would tend to smoke more on the over run as the vacuum in the inlet is strongest when the throttle butterfly is closed.

[bmcecosse]

Well -you can try new valve guides and put proper 'top hat' seals on the inlets. Some seem to think it has helped them, although I am always skeptical unless the wear is 'a lot'. Meantime make sure the breathers are all clear. the overheating may have wrecked the oil control rings - but left the compression rings relatively unscathed.... As always - a hot engine compression test will help the diagnosis.

[mad-4-moggywhite-1]

Great, thanks so much both.

I will check it out.

'amgrave', someone else has also suggested valve stems to me so the issue may lie there. Well I have earmarked this weekend to do some investigative work so will let you know how I get on. Thanks again.