Hey everyone looking at this... I have a 1984 monte carlo base with the 305 5.0.. it definately has body cancer in the obvious places....(floors, LR panel, trunk, etc) The engine has never really ran right, smokes when I first start it, seems to run diffrent depending on the weather, vacuum lines are all plugged, disconnected.... ANYWAYS, I got rid of the air suspension that was on it because they were trashed and the rear end sank down... well now I just got done putting new rear struts on the car, started it up to move it and now its (for the most part) constantly blowing blue smoke - not alot but definately noticable, and usually it just did it when i first start the car... can the struts have a diffrence on the engine or am I just crazy? I dont know what to do, any help would be MOST appreciative...! I know its a huge project, but its something fun to work on and get away from the wife for a bit

 

it shouldnt have struts. should have 4 coil springs and 4 shock absorbers. with that said if its blowing smoke on start up could be bad valve seals,guides. if its doing it constantly it could be the above or the piston rings starting to go. seals and guides are a common issue. rings usually go a long time. you could do a compression test. if the motor has a million miles on it theyre probably shot, but the car doesnt always smoke if they are. when i took apart my 400 the rings turned to dust when i pulled the connecting rods and pistons out. it never smoked on me. at the point you decide its time to do rings youre probably better off looking for a appropriate small block for it(ie 327-400.) i dont fee the 305 is worth rebuilding, and essentially thats what you would be doing.

 

Okay replaced the shock absorbers....still the rear end raised up a bit after putting them on and the car started smoking alot more than it did.. I just find it weird that it did that

 

i dont think that the shocks should have raised it. unless as you said you were running air shocks and they leaked. it still shouldnt have affected the smoking issue. as long as the oil is at the right level, and the smoke is coming from the tailpipe then your issue is oil being burned. so its either the seals and guides, or the rings.

 

Alright, well thank you for your input, I will definately be running some compression tests!

 

like i said rings are usually the problem when you have smoke under a load. seals and guides is more of a cold start up type of deal. if you let it sit over night and fire it and you get a cloud of blue smoke that goes away with driving its more than likely seals. nothing major just embarrassing, and annoying.

 

yeah I think its the seals, i dont know if this is relevent, but under heavy acceleration, it seems like i hear them ticking or clanking pretty loudly, but can't hear anything when i'm on light acceleration, could it be the same issue?? I thought about adjusting the valve lash but don't want to get into it if its not the problem...,

 

the ticking and rattling is most probably the rockers. i have an unhealthy obsession with that, and hate ticking from rockers that need to be adjusted. a ticking sound can also come from an exhaust leak up near the flange on the header. i would check the rockers if needed adjust them and take it for a ride. the seals and guides dont have anything to do with the rockers they just go after a while. like i said its common, annoying, and embarrassing.

 

Well you said you had a mess under the hood...how about cleaning that up and you will prolly get it running a lot better than it is now.

 

I'm trying to work on that, the person i bought it from completely "ghetto rigged" it.. alot of the vacuum hoses are missing, unhooked and plugged, cracked, I dont really know where to start its a big mess..and yeah definately going to take some time