Smoking in engine bay and exhaust when starting then goes???

Hi folks,
My clipper had an idle problem so I replaced the old carb with a manual webber and it now runs and idles great. Problem is it smokes for about five minutes from the engine bay on start up - its very light grey and looks to be coming from under the carb or near the manifolds somewhere.
Over the past few days it has started to grey smoke from the exhaust within a minute of starting. This smoke is quite heavy but after a mile or two it disappears completely. Other than this the engine seems to be very smooth and runs great.
Is this piston rings or somethign else sinister? Or could it be something to do with the carb? I really hope i haven't got to replace or overhaul the engine because if I spend much more money i'm heading for divorce. Also wondering if anyone knows roughly how much this might cost me?

bump - any ideas??

thinking of cheepist first —-have you had the carb set up it may be running rich (this is a long shot)also could be a brather pipe bloked or manifold gasket leaking(pain in the bum to change)if it is also maybe the rubber O ring in inlet manifold (remote chance of this)
im favouring breather issue but you just never no till you start taking bits off
im sure some one else will offer some more help at some point good luck

Thanks zorba-01. I'm hoping my local garage can get this sorted. Hopefull it will be one of the tings you suggested.

This problem has now moved on somewhat. My garage said it is just condensation in the engine which is burning off through the exhaust and engine bay and that there was nothing I could do about it and nothing to worry about.

On Friday I drove to work no problem but then it started to rain. On the 40 miles journey back I broke down on the Coldra roundabout near Newport (basically right on the M4). The car was juddering under acceleration and when I stopped at lights at the roundabout it cut out and despite a grumble refused to start. Had the police out and after an hour of waiting and diverting traffic in the rain the pick-up truck finally arrived. They towed me to their depot but when we got there the car start first time and seemed to be running great. But, as I rejoined the motorway it cut out again and this time the truck had to tow me all the way home after recalling them.

I had a look at it yesterday and the car started after a bit of effort. I couldn't see any damp on the plugs, in the dizzy cap or rotor arm. When it did finally start it kept dying but after ten minutes and plumes of condensation out of the engine bay and exhaust I could at least drive it into my garage. There was still loads of steam coming out everywhere and I've not wanted to take it out for any length of run in case it cies again.

So the question is where do I go from here? My garage who I trust say it is just condensation but could it be something else? The problem is its really unreliable now and despite spending about 2k since I bought it in July my Mrs is starting to get more than a little annoyed and wants to get rid for something reliable.

If anyone can help i'd be grateful or if there are any MK1 experts in the Caerphilly area i'd be happy to chuck you a few bucks for a quick look.

is it useing water ???????//

No its not losing any water so I think the head gasket is fine.

it sounds like steam to me i carnt see how the engine can smoke its either steam or exhaust gases- as for the cutting out on the motorway could it be muck in the tank , when u had problems with cutting out how much petrol did u hav in it,if there was not alot of fuel in the tank what could happen is while under accelerasion the low fuel pulls the muck and bloks the fuel line,i think with it been towed back and the bouncing aboutit unblocked it self,i would hav a look at it for u but im in doncaster so a bit far,
im sure some one down your neck of the woods will hav a look if u struggel pm me and i will send u my number and hav a chat to u if it helps vic

thanks for the advice and offer of help Vic. I agree about the steam but it will probably go back to the garage next week some time. Def not a mucky tank as i'd filled up that morning. i'll let you know what happens.

i recon its the coolant channel o'ring in the inlet manifold has degraded. this is also why the 2e2 carb was running so poorly.
i had the very same problem as you!

Its got a webber fitted. I've tried running it in recent weeks and its will start but cuts out and is now steaming loads. I've kept a close eye on it and it is lowing water. Been advised that it could be the head gasket or a crack in the head. Could this inlet manifold o'ring cause so many problems? Anyone got an idea how much this might set me back?

hi getting the inlet manifold off can be a bit hard – but by the sound of things this looks like ya problem i would have said that some one or garage should have this done with in 3 hours parts are not a fortune but i recon about £80 is there no one in your area who could offer you a cheep job some mk1 super macanic good look mate

yeah my old 1.6 always lost a fair bit of water, and it wasnt till i changed the oring that i found out that it was the casue of the leak!

the grey smoke is the clue, this is coolant dripping onto the zaust manifold and boiling off. mine had exactly the same

hi again i have had a look in my garage and found a new O ring and inlet manifolf gasket so all you will need is a rocker cover gasket if you want them let me no cheers vic

Is it likely to be the o-ring if it stops steaming from the engine bay after a few minutes running or would it likely be continuous? I was going to book it in to a garage next week for the head gasket but I guess i'll give the o-ring change a go myself. I can't find instructions in the Bentley manual but is it obvious once i've taken the rocker cover off or should I buy a mk1 haynes manual?

Thanks for the offer vic, its kind of you. If you could PM me your email address and how much you want for them i'll paypal the money asap.

cheers

i think mine was the same, thouygh it was near 7 years ago when i had to do this! i have a feeling it might be dripping for a while after shut down, then when you fire it up the next day all the damp is burnt off?

have a read of the 2e2 faq guide, near the bottom of the 1st post is a short guide on it.  hardest part is undoing the 6 bolts that hold it on, id advise you make sure you can get to them all before you start. if you do a hg it makes it easier, split the exhaust manifold from the downpipe then lift the head off with both manifolds still attached!
a mirror and thin socket extensions and allen bits are essential if doing the job in situ.

hi posted today it might be a idea to ask spudfingers if he nos of a thread on here with pictures to help you on your way ---re changeing the O ring and gasket i no there are a coulple of nuts that are hard to get at but im sure you will get there good luck and your welcome for the parts ;-)

Had a go at the manifold today but couldn't get anywhere near one of the effing allen bolts, let alone get it out. Will hopefully get it to a garage by the end of next week. I did take the rocker cover back off and it does have some milky deposits on it so i'll see what they say. Its hours away from being burnt

hi did u get the parts i posted ? also i feel ya pain on doing that job i did mine when i did the engine rebuild and with the head off and it on my work surface a couple of bolts were a pain -good luck with it :-)

Sorry for the slow reply. Yes got the parts and thanks again. Ended up getting the car towed in this week and it turned out to be water in the fuel. The carb has been cleaned and an additive put in the tank to emulsify the water so hopefully it will now be ok. It certainly seemed to run fine on the way home in the last half hour. I don't know where the water came from though, it was filled up at Morrisons so you'd expect their petrol to be quite dry. Fingers crossed that will be the end of it but as i've only been able to do about 70 miles in the car since i've had it in six months I expect the next breakdown is just around the corner. I'm half tempted to sell it in the new year and go back to bikes - but we'll see.