about the oil leak, my mechanic said to change the
valve cover, do i need to buy a "NEW valve cover" or just a "VALVE COVER GASKET SET" ?
from my understanding there is 2 valve cover the right/left side?
from this site:

http://www.trademotion.com/partlocat...&siteid=214857

another thing is the other day i put seafoam, then after 4 days i added b12.
if the car is idle for 20-25 mins. or if u drive it after 30 mins..there is
a "white smoke" that comes out from the muffler....is this part of oil leak?
or another problem

i am hoping to keep this truck

mtc137 thanks for sound advice.

 

You should only need the gasket set for the valve covers. No reason why you would need new valve covers unless the old ones have been damaged somehow (unlikely). Be sure to remove all of the old gasket material before installing the new ones. In order to hold the new gasket in place while re-installing the valve cover - spread a little bit of liquid silicone gasket alone the inside edge of the valve cover so the gasket will stick to it.

 

Did you pour the seafoam and B12 into the gas tank or did you introduce it directly in the combustion chamber as some people do? Personally I recommend running it only through the gas tank with a full tank of gas. This cleans the combustion chamber more slowly but gently with less chance of messing up and causing engine damage.

You should only use one can at a time in a full tank of gas. Don't put two cans into the gas tank at once - this is too much. If you did that by mistake - fill the tank up with gas to dilute it. I don't think it will cause major problems, but it might make white smoke like you are having and cause it not to run as well. White smoke is normally caused by moisture in the combustion chamber.

If you use regular oil (not synthetic) and it gets into your combustion chamber (worn piston rings normally) it will burn blue out the exhaust and not white. I'm not sure what color synthetic oil produces - but I don't think it is blue.

 

the color that is coming out of the exhaust is white smoke, it comes out after 30 minute of driving or if i put the truck on idle for 15-12 minutes.

when i bought the truck, i initially added lucas oil in the gas tank fill it up half tank..then after two days i added seafoam in the gas tank fill it up half tank....then after maybe 2 days i added in b12 in the gas tank again with half tank..i know its overkill, but i wanted to clean the inside...

I do not see a blue smoke coming out of exhaust.

about the oil change i was not able to ask the previous owner what oil he used, he only told me it was done last month together with the transmission fluid.

Would there be a problem with the engine, would it need to be overhaul?
WOW...this will cost me a lot of money.....

thanks again

 

Phenoyz,

Don’t put anything else in the gas tank. Drive it until empty and fill it up with gas and nothing else. It should be clean enough for a while.


I’ve been working on my cars for over 25 years and I’ve learned the best thing you can do for a vehicle is to leave it alone except for routine maintenance and repairing things that break. Many times people get carried away trying to make a car run better and actually make it worse – I’ve been guilty of this in the past.


Here is what I suggest:


1) Change fluids and filters as suggested in the owner’s manual


2) Only run cleaner in the gas tank once a month or so (full tank of gas and one can of cleaner only)


3) Keep the inside and outside clean


4) Inspect tires and tire pressure regularly (every week or so)


5) Have your timing belt changed if it has never been done



6) Fix everything else only when you notice it is becoming a problem


There is an old saying “if it is not broken, don’t fix it”. This is good advice because trying to fix everything that is not broken can cause things that aren’t broken to break. For example, if you try to replace your valve cover gasket to fix a leak that is very minor and not much of an issue in engine performance you could end up getting dirt into your engine, which could cause a lifter to collapse or something similar.


Internal engine repairs always come with risk of causing damage. The idea is to reduce the risk by being very careful when making repairs and only making repairs when necessary.


I think your engine should be fine but don’t put anything else in the gas for a while. Give it time and see if the smoke doesn’t go away. Besides, it’s not abnormal to be able to see the car’s exhaust – especially on a cool damp day. In fact, it would be unusual not to see your exhaust on and cool or damp day.