From the Reference Section:
- Carter Dual 4-Barrel Carburetor Idle Adjustment
- Carter Dual 4-Barrel Carburetor Adjustment
- Carter Dual 4-barrel Carburetors, Linkage Sticking
- Buick Cam Specifications for 401 and 425 nailheads
- Buick Cams from Kenne Bell, 401, 425
    - Nailhead Engine Specifications
- Head Flow Chart
- Nailhead Oil Pump
- Nailhead cam specs and cam selection
- Nailhead Parts Interchange
Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 12

Thread: Exhaust question and octane question

  1. #1

    Exhaust question and octane question

    OK, I'll be the first to admit I know next to nothing about exhaust. I have a 62 LeSabre with a 401, which until recently was only very rarely driven. There is a pipe coming off the passenger side of the engine, which is currently emitting great clouds of greenhouse gases which make people turn and glare at me with a very nasty "you're-putting-holes-in-the-ozone-layer" kind of look, and also prevent me from driving with the passenger side windows down. I am hoping, now that I'm driving her daily, the smelly exhaust will clear itself up, but I'm wondering if it would be possible to do something about it without too much trouble. Dual exhaust would be awesome, but I don't know that I can afford it just now, and I don't know how feasible it would be.

    Also, I'm currently running premium gas, because that's what the PO ran and I think I read it somewhere in the owner's manual. I don't object to the extra expense, really, but I was curious to know what grades of gas the others are using, and whether anyone thinks high-octane is better.

    Any suggestions and/or input would be appreciated.

    Thanks!
    Maggie
    From the home of the GS Nationals -- thank you for your tourism dollars!

    1962 Buick LeSabre, burgundy/white (sort of), with 69K original miles and a pristine pink interior.

  2. #2
    Well, I have the same car you do. A burgandy 62 Invicta. I love the thing. I drive it every Sunday to church. And no, I am not a little old lady, but I sure get a kick out of hearing that V-8 sing a tune like only a NailHead can.

    Now to your question. I am not sure if you are saying you have an exhaust leak, or you are talking about the crankcase vent that is coming out down there and vents the blowby out.

    If you have an exhaust leak, then you need to get that fixed or you are going to kill yourself. If it is the crank case vent, then that is something all together different.
    I put duals on my car and ran the pipes out in front of the back tires. If you are getting in the back seat with the engine running, you get a little shot of exhaust on your ankles, but not a big deal. I put some Dynomax Super Turbos on it, and it sounds wonderful. I call it my symphony of cylinders, playing the tune "V-8 Thunder"

    Anyway, I saved a bunch of money by not putting tail pipes on this thing. I really only have about 6 to 8 feet of pipe on each side and that is it. Really woke the engine up.

    As far as the blow by tube is concerned, I suppose you could plumb it back into your intake like they have done for the past 40 years, or you could put an extension tube on it and run it further down the underneath of the car. Mine doesn't really smell that badly. I don't notice it at all really. I know that when you change the oil, you will smell it worse because the additive pack in the new oil is burning off and smells some at first.

    As Far as octane rating. I run the highest thing I can run at the pump. They originally ran on 101 octane which you can't get anymore, so you have to do the best you can. I put an occasional can of octane boost in it, but not every tank. I would like to try some airplane fuel just to see what would happen. It is very high octane and these 10.25 to 1 compression engines love that octane.

    By the way, which engine do you have? In 62 there were three 401 versions. A 9.0to1, 2 barrel, and a 10.25 to 1, 2 barrel, and a 10.25 to 1 4 barrel. That would make a difference in what fuel you can run. If you have the 9.0 to 1, you should be able to run 87 octane and not ping.
    Good Luck. Enjoy your 62
    Last edited by 62BuickFan; 06-25-2007 at 09:30 AM.
    62 Invicta with 70,000 original miles. Dual exhaust otherwise stock. Blast to drive.

  3. #3
    As far as I can tell, there is no exhaust leak (I've had one before -- I'd recognize the signs ). I'm pretty sure I'm talking about the crankcase vent pipe. At first I thought there was a major leak where the exhaust pipe met the manifold, but those connections are all reasonably good. Now that the car is being driven more, the exhaust is starting to clear up a little bit on its own. Somewhat. It's comforting to know other people have run duals without too much trouble. Luckily, I am blessed to live in an inspection-free state, and have no plans to leave it, so I don't have to be as fussy about emissions as some.

    I'm pretty sure I have the 10.25 2bbl (I'm sure about the 2bbl part). I also found out the hard way about octane, because I put about half a tank of mid-grade in it a few days ago, and that was a BIG mistake! So I went back to the gas station the next day and filled up with premium. I've also been playing with the air/fuel mixture, which has helped smooth out the idle some (it was running very rich in the left bank and very lean in the right, plus there's several years' worth of crud to blow out of the fuel lines). I live near a race track, so maybe I'll blow some money on some 108-octane racing fuel!

    Oh, and I love my 62! Thanks!
    From the home of the GS Nationals -- thank you for your tourism dollars!

    1962 Buick LeSabre, burgundy/white (sort of), with 69K original miles and a pristine pink interior.

  4. #4

    Fuel

    U might also add some lead additive if u run 108, adds a little lubrication! I ran it in my 66 electra 401ci 10 1/4 - 1 w/ 4barrel. She'll light em up & get 2nd with that 108 octane! Difinetly use premium always!
    66 - 2 & A 1/4

  5. #5
    Save your money on the octane booster, do a search on engine timing vs ping. There are a couple good posts here about it. I will say, something visible coming out of the breather in clouds enough to draw attention would make me worry though even if it does clear up as you drive. You didn't say what color it was? Is it blue, white, or black? You might need a ring job. On the other hand if it clears up after a bit, you might want to try a heavier oil during the summer like a 50 wt unless of course you are up north. An old trick in the auto biz was use a straight 50 weight oil to make problems like that disappear till the first oil change. Rem that would be a STRAIGHT 50 wt and a multi vis. If you know anybody in the biz, see if they can do a compression test with the motor cold. That should tell you alot.
    Tonerman

    1955 Special
    Two Door HT
    264 V8
    Dynaflow

    Houston (Katy)
    Texas



  6. #6
    The exhaust is white. I know this because not only is it coming from the crankcase vent pipe, it is now coming from the obnoxiously loud exhaust leak that has developed in the last two days somewhere very close to the engine block. On the plus side, people can hear me coming from miles away! On the minus side, it's sucking even more gas down than normal without any increase in pickup (can anyone explain that one?)!

    I was considering a heavier-weight oil -- there's 10W40 in it right now, because that's what I ran in the spring. It's just recently got severly hot enough to warrant a change in oil weight. What would you recommend? The engine is very tight, with no leaks at all (except one minor coolant leak that I will address later). Luckily, I have another car to drive while I'm waiting on payday so I can have the exhaust looked at (I tried to drive it yesterday and really regretted it, and I tend to go to and from work at very odd hours of the day and night and I live in a very quiet neighborhood, plus it's sucking down gas like there's no tomorrow).

    Thinking of gas mileage, is there any ballpark estimate of what I should expect for a daily driver? With an intact exhaust system?
    From the home of the GS Nationals -- thank you for your tourism dollars!

    1962 Buick LeSabre, burgundy/white (sort of), with 69K original miles and a pristine pink interior.

  7. #7
    And another thing . . the engine is properly timed at 12 before with 30 deg dwell. Considering that high-octane doesn't mean what it used to, should I play with the timing a little bit and see what happens?
    From the home of the GS Nationals -- thank you for your tourism dollars!

    1962 Buick LeSabre, burgundy/white (sort of), with 69K original miles and a pristine pink interior.

  8. #8
    Retarding timing will make an engine ping less, but it will also make it run less as well. I have played with the timing on my 62, and it likes 12 degrees advance at idle. I tried to go to 14 and in pinged like crazy. I don't hear a ping at 12 with 91 octane, so I haven't tried to set it to 10. I have done that on my Grandad's 65 LeSabre with a 310 and it quit pinging, but ran like crap.

    As far as the exhaust leak, I wonder if you blew a donut gasket where the manifold meets the exhaust pipe. Or if you broke a stud bolt or something. Not sure why the increase in fuel consumption really.
    Let us know what you find out on your leak. Where is the white smoke coming from? You mentioned it is coming out of the vent tube and the exhaust? Is it steam, or white smoke? There is a big difference. If you have white smoke coming out your exhaust, and it doesn't clear up after the engine warms up, then, my guess is you popped a head gasket, or cracked a head, and coolant is leaking into the cylinder. You should be getting some vapor coming from the vent tube, but not real smoke.

    As far as oil goes, I run 10W40 Valvoline Max Life in mine. I have an oil pressure guage in the car now, and it runs right at spec for oil pressure. 40 psi cold and about 20 hot in gear. This car doens't use oil and the engine has never been touched. It sat outside for over 10 years, and after some months of tuning and rebuilding carbs, brake work and a good tuneup, it runs real good. It only has 70K on it.

    We had a car just like this when I was growing up and we put 225K on it before my brother blew it up by overheating it and cracking the block, or warped a head or something.

    Keep us posted.
    62 Invicta with 70,000 original miles. Dual exhaust otherwise stock. Blast to drive.

  9. #9
    Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but you probably have a gasket failure of sorts severe leak someplace. White smoke is water. Considering you are getting it out the breather too, could mean your engine MAY be in need of a ring job and gaskets. If I had to guess, you have broken a strip between a water passage and a cylinder. That would explain both white out the breather and exhaust. A quicky but not completely reliable test is with the car cold take off the radiator cap and start it up. If you see bubbles in the water after the engine has warmed and you see the water moving be ready for more intense diagnosis and shelling out of coin. How many miles are on the car?

    On another note, run ANYTHING other than 10-40 oil. I can't say what the problem is but it is more prone to sludge than any other weight that I know of. This comes from several mechanic friends of mine. Added to that, there are some companies that will void your warranty if you they believe that you have been using it in your new car.
    Tonerman

    1955 Special
    Two Door HT
    264 V8
    Dynaflow

    Houston (Katy)
    Texas



  10. #10
    The book says to run 10w-40 for most temperatures. In severe cold it said to go to a thinner weight, and in extreme heat to go to a heavier oil. Since I don't drive this car in either extremes, I run the 10-40 in it. I have torn down many engines that have run this weight and have not seen any difference in sludge build up what so ever. Sludge is created by poor maintenance, and or lack of proper oil changes, and by certain brands of oil and the additives they use. This car gets about 2500 to 3,000 miles/year, so I change it once a year.

    I will agree that the white smoke in the exhaust is not a good thing. The radiator test is a good way to check for head gasket leak. Also, look at your oil. It has become milky in color, then you are getting coolant where it is not supposed to go. Also, the white smoke from the exhaust is the coolant burning in the cylinder. You will have to tear the engine down to fix those issues. Hopefully it is not that bad.
    62 Invicta with 70,000 original miles. Dual exhaust otherwise stock. Blast to drive.

Similar Threads

  1. Exhaust air injection question
    By NailheadV8 in forum Nailhead: 264, 322, 364, 401, 425
    Replies: 4
    Last Post: 01-23-2014, 08:12 PM
  2. Exhaust Engineering Question(s)
    By Gene66Special in forum Small Block 215, 300, 340 (and Rover V-8)
    Replies: 5
    Last Post: 10-24-2010, 10:19 AM
  3. Exhaust system question
    By justjoe in forum Restoration Talk
    Replies: 0
    Last Post: 01-28-2008, 04:11 PM
  4. Exhaust Laws Question
    By darkfall_13 in forum General Chat!
    Replies: 3
    Last Post: 02-11-2005, 04:22 PM
  5. Exhaust Gasket Question
    By Nailhead_Sled in forum Nailhead: 264, 322, 364, 401, 425
    Replies: 3
    Last Post: 08-10-2003, 09:58 AM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
TeamBuick.com Privacy Policy