Smoke coming from the engine.

[JayB]

Hi guys. Sorry about bombarding you guys with questions again    But I have noticed that when I run my engine is in idle for about 20 mins I see smoke to start to appear from the space between the valve covers. Close to the spark plugs. But it isn't coming from it. Usually happens when the oil is at 20 psi and when the oil temp is at 115 degrees. I think that its just grease or dust being burnt off. ( I do see a lot of fiberglass shavings around the motor, maybe because its new) But what are the red flags I should look for to see if this is a big issue? Or is this normal for a new engine?  Thanks again guys!




Jay B

[justfreaky]

I'm not sure why you would have fiberglass shavings on your engine. Perhaps, try to blow or brush them off. I would double check for any oil leaks as well. Even just a small seepage will cause some smoke when engine gets up to temp. Yes; It could just be dirt, grease, dust or maybe paint burning off. I would check everything out, rather than just write it off and assume it is nothing.

Steve

[JayB]

Well it seems that when they were cutting the hood and fenders they were careless about cleaning it. But whatever it is I notice that the longer I kept it going the less smoke appeared. As for fluids I didn't notice any leaks. But I did notice that the back of the engine is about a 100 degrees hotter than the front.(Not sure if that is normal) And the back is where the smoke is coming from.

[justfreaky]

It is normal for the rear cylinders to get hotter.
Remember that these are air/ oil cooled engines. Also, they are mounted sideways to the way they were designed to be run in a motorcycle.
So, yes, the two cylinders closest to the firewall do not get as much air for cooling and do run hotter.

There are a few different approaches as to how to address this issue. I have seen people use everything from 3" brake ducting hose to the current use of fan(s) on top of the engine.
Do a search here on the site for Engine Cooling. I think you will find the results quite interesting.

Steve

[JayB]

Alright thanks for the tips. I just brushed off as much dust and fiberglass as I could. I'll post some time tomorrow with the results.

[JayB]

Well thanks for the tips once again Steve. As for the issue I tried using a cloth and a brush to remove the fiberglass shavings. But there was actually some grease in there as well lol. So it made it super thick and sticky. And took a while to clean. I ended up using a old STIHL blower I had laying around and took out more of the shavings left in the crevasses. And I just ran it for about 30 mins and had zero smoke at all!  And thanks for the cooling information too Steve I would probably buy a fan or something back there. I already have a NACA duct installed on the hood so I'll see how me temps get over the next couple of weeks.

[justfreaky]

Thanks for the update.

Steve