Questions and Answers
S-10 Smoking And Making Noise
Q. I'm new to this, so I'm not exactly sure how it works, but here I go. My vehicle is a 1988 Chevy S-10 Blazer 4x4 with a 4.3 liter V-6 engine, automatic transmission. Fuel injected with 144,000 miles. I'm not sure if the brakes are ABS or not. There is no A/C. It has power steering.
My problem is like this: The vehicle starts and runs rough usually with a poof of bluish smoke at the time of ignition. It doesn't smoke while running, though. It seems to run better with more fuel in the tank and especially if it is higher octane fuel. We just recently had the throttle linkage replaced because it was sticking and caused really high idling. For a few days afterward the vehicle seemed greatly improved, but now it has returned to acting strangely.
I recently replaced the spark plugs and am afraid that they may not all be properly gapped, but could that be the only cause of this problem? Also the vehicle makes a strong clunking sound when put in gear, regardless of which gear. There is a very faint sound that can be heard when the engine is running similar to the noise a helicopter makes. It's like a whomp, whomp sound under the usual engine noise.
I think that about covers it. Hopefully I gave enough information for you to diagnose something I could do.
Thanks for your time.
NathanA. The blue smoke is probably valve stem oil seals letting some oil get by on start-up. No big deal if you can put up with it. I can't see putting the money it would take to replace the seals into this car, too many miles PLUS, the noise could be a engine knock. It's very hard to diagnose this noise without actually hearing it. It would be best to stop by a shop in your area and have someone listen to it to see what's up with it.
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