Greetings all. Need guidance please

[M7KYD]

Hi . Hope ur having a wonderful day. I could do with a bit of guidance with a small matter if that’s ok. My engine is producing blue burning smoke and the crackling sound of burning from the left side when only been running a short time. It’s 6-8 degrees hotter than the right top engine cover. When it first happened it was that bad I thought car was on fire and had to use a fire extinguisher. I then chased ant oil leaks and changed the lower cover gaskets. Engine bay was cleaned as was heat exchangers and pipes. The problem is still there after sorting the obvious. The problem seemed to start after my car had the left side cam chain tensioner refurbished and new chain guide put in. I’m now wondering if the oil is getting to the left side to cool the engine. The car is 1973 911TV 2.4 coupe with zenith carbs. Any help would be great thanks.

[mycar]

Hi and welcome to DDk.

As a starter for ten, I had the crackling and smoke in my 911. It was alarming but turned out to be too much oil in the engine. I sucked some oil out and all was well.

What's the oil level like on the dipstick and are you checking the level with the engine running ?

[M7KYD]

Hi and thanks for the reply. The oil on dipstick was just over the min mark and registering just above the red on the gauge. . The car has not been driven any distance since putting the new oil in after doing the lower gaskets. Cheers

[mycar]

No problem, someone will be along shortly that knows what they're talking about and no doubt be able to help out.

Meanwhile, tell us about your car. How long have you had it, do you work on it yourself ? And do you have a photo ?

[hot66]

welcome to ddk

Any photos of the engine bay ?

going through the obviou first ....

I'm assuming then both the upper & lower rocker covers are not leaking ? .. after cleaning the engine & the heat exchangers is there any sign of oil dropping onto them ? ( it only take a small amount to make a lot of smoke ) . Are the chain covers dry & sealed ? Where is the engine breather plumbed into and is the top of the crankcase by the bellhousing dry ?

[johnM]

I know I might be stating the obviously but you need to measure the oil level with the car running and the oil up to normal temp. Measuring the oil level with the engine stopped would result in way too much oil being added to get it to read on the dip stick.

Oh and welcome to DDK.

[mycar]

One other thought... do you have the correct length dipstick inserted into you engine ?

Guidance here :-

https://www.ddk-online.com/phpBB2/viewt ... p=534843&h

[M7KYD]

Hi. Just been and checked the car and there doesn’t seem to be any oil dropping onto pipes etc. . I have been checking the oil level with engine running and on level ground. To be honest I don’t have her running for that long before I shut her down and check for oil leaks smoke and burning. It’s the crackling burning noise that scared me the most. I’ve not took her a run after replacing the oil for fear of her going up in smoke. I have been pretty careful with the oil amount and she’s only just over min on stick and above the red on gauge. I will however check the dip stick is the correct length and remove some of the oil to see if this helps.

What part number should be on dipstick ?

Many thanks

Ps il post a pic or 2 in a new post to say hi. Cheers

[hot66]

Thecrackling noise ...is this a regular respective noise ?

[Sam]

I can’t really imagine the ‘crackling sound of burning’. Like a fire? I’ve had lots of cars that burn oil, but never so you can hear it.

[M7KYD]

I’ve had the car since 1988 and have burnt my fair share of oil on the heat exchangers. The smell of hot oil and some blue smoke was always part of the cars charm lol. The current situation is not charming lol. The crackling noise sounds like a crisp bag being thrown on a fire. It only comes from the left side of the engine bay and continues to make the noise as if reaching combustion for a good while after the engine has been switched off.
I’m just being cautious as the last time I drove her about a mile the whirling blue smoke and sound of burning and crackling coming out of the engine bay resulted in me having to use a fire extinguisher on the heat exchangers and left side engine bay. It was a very scary time .
Having dealt with the usual causes of burning oil etc the problem is exactly the same as it was. The things to note that may help are that the left side can chain tensioner was recently refurbished as it had failed. The chain guide was refitted as it had been wrongly fitted. A set of tensioner failure things were fitted. The right side engine cover runs a good 8 degrees hotter than the right.
Mmmm me thinks the right side of engine is not being serviced with oil - could this be possible. Thanks again to u all

[Gary71]

Maybe post a video as internet diagnosis is next to impossible as one mans crack is another mans bang.

So to speak

[wildtexas]

I'm wondering if this thread might be better off in the technical advice section or one of the 911 specific areas. It would probably see more traffic ?

I'm afraid I can't help you on the technical aspects of this one.

Matt

[Bootsy]

I'm wondering if this thread might be better off in the technical advice section or one of the 911 specific areas. It would probably see more traffic ?

I'm afraid I can't help you on the technical aspects of this one.

Matt

Good idea - I'll move it

[M7KYD]

Cheers for moving my new boy rant. I’m of to measure my dipstickand remove some oil. Oh the simple pleasures . Cheers