So, 133,000 mile engine....

I kinda lost my temper yesterday, hopped in my truck, started it up, and gunned it down the road, past a roommate of mine, who called to tell me I left him in a nice cloud of nasty smelling (possible oil) smoke.

Now, this is my first Chevy, and it's been in the family. Never towed anything, and has maybe had 5 loads of wood carried on it, in it's 7 year life. It has been babied, as far as I'm concerned, and the only hint at any engine problem is it likes to knock at startup until it warms up.

Could the culprit of the smoke just be the engine wasn't warmed up? Or am I flirting with something more serious? I peeked at the dip stick this morning, and didn't notice any milking, so I'm kinda ruling out head gasket for now....

 

Probably nothing to be concerned about, keep an eye on your oil level and pressure. A knock at cold start is "normal" if not very annoying.

 

More than likely it's just some oil that was either sitting in the combustion chambers that leaked past the valve seals while the engine was at rest, oil in the induction system from the PCV system, or extra fuel from cold enrichment mode. What year and engine truck do you have?

 

You need to grill him and find out the exact color of the smoke. Nasty-smelling makes me think it might have just been carbon being blown out of the converters, depending on the color of the smoke.

 

1999 Silverado, 5.3L vortech....

I thought it may have been just fuel from Cold Enrichment, but wasn't sure if it was even something the truck had.

I'll have to ask him more details Monday when I see him. Hopefully it's not a sign of something serious, because an LS1 swap isn't in the budget just yet...

 

a little blowby in a motor with that much mileage and known knock problems from the factory isn't that abnormal, I wouldn't be that worried, maybe put a catch can on it. Maybe have someone drive your truck and follow them in another car and see what it does.