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1997 Ford T-Bird Won't Pass Visual Because of Smoke from the Tailpipe

1997 Ford T-Bird 4.6 will not pass the visual because of smoke from the tail pipes. Everything else is good. Appears to be more white smoke than black smoke. I replaced the PCV valve & right valve cover gasket. I put SeaFoam product in the crankcase and ran engine for a few days and then changed oil with Mobil1 5w30. This seemed to help, but when we went back to the smog test the smoke was still enough to fail. What may be the cause of the white smoke? What should be my next steps be to correct the issue. Thank you and regards, Bill

Answer:

Visible white smoke typically indicates water and/or oil seepage into the combustion chambers. Water has an opportunity to enter the combustion chambers through the head gasket, at the junction of an engine's valve head and block. This will typically cause overheating and white smoke in the exhaust coming out of your Ford Tird's tailpipe. If the white smoke has a blue tint to it, you may consider more of an oil burning problem rather than water. The best test for this is simple measuring the amount of oil lose over the course of a month. Anything greater then half a quart of oil lose is a problem. If this is the case, you want to check your T-Bird's valve seals and piston rings, both of which can be tested via a compression test. The administrator of the compression and vacuum test must be proficient in reading these test results. posted by SmogTips Support

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