VA Randy Posted June 16, 2018 Share Posted June 16, 2018 Greetings, new owner of a '91 coupe here in Chesapeake, Virginia. A little backstory - have only seen a few Reattas in my time, thought they were beautiful cars. Was watching Young Sheldon a couple months ago and saw the one in the background drive by, noticed the full light bar across the back. Backed up the DVR for a better look, told the wife there was a Reatta on the TV. (She was not excited.) Started looking for one, found a red '91 in good condition a couple hundred miles away and picked it up last week. 112K miles, drives nicely and seems in good shape overall, (with the exception of defrost only, will get to that soon, and needs new paint because of clearcoat peeling on roof and trunk), made the trip home with no issues. Was puttering around with it yesterday, and when I started it, noticed some white smoke from tailpipe. Rev'd it and it blew some good sized clouds out. Took a short drive and after returning to yard, was still smoking, but a good bit less. Did some online research and believe it has a Series 1, L27 motor. Saw that these can have an intake coolant leak that causes white smoke also, and that head gasket failures are rare unless engine is severely overheated. Has anyone had the symptoms that I'm seeing, and did new intake gaskets fix the issue? Overall, quite happy with this car, makes me smile to drive it and see it in the yard (My son says I like it because it's an oversized LeBaron, I have an '89 premium coupe that I've owned since '95 with full digital dash package and 2.5 turbo under hood. He's correct, they do have similar body styles.) Randy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-a-n-i-e-l Posted June 16, 2018 Share Posted June 16, 2018 I have not had the issue on any of my 3800 engines, but the intake gaskets have definitely been improved over the years. Make sure you get Felpro and you should be fine. In my opinion if you are down that far and the car has original gaskets I would go ahead and do the head gaskets also. It is not much more work and could save a ton of pain done the road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harry yarnell Posted June 16, 2018 Share Posted June 16, 2018 Does the '91 have a transmission vacuum modulator? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VA Randy Posted June 22, 2018 Author Share Posted June 22, 2018 Totally baffled now.....my son came over a couple days ago and I started the car to show him the smoking issue and....not a puff to be seen?? Drove 5-6 miles that evening to my workplace and back, no smoke to be seen, even when revved up. Last night took another trip for 6-8 miles, then back home, still no smoke. I've worked on my own vehicles since I started driving in '74, have totally rebuilt 6-8 engines over the years, and consider myself a pretty damn good mechanic, but have no idea how this could be. When I said "good sized clouds" in my original post, I meant it, filled my side yard with white smoke that first day. Have never seen anything like this. At the same time, relieved that I seem to be good for the moment, had a minor accident 10 days ago and took off the fingertip of my right hand ring finger (caught in the lid of a "gangbox" at jobsite), missed the nail and bone, but the whole tip pad is gone. Hand doctor told me today that all looks good and estimates another 6-8 weeks of healing, so auto repair is out of the question for a while. Randy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie Posted June 23, 2018 Share Posted June 23, 2018 I agree with Harry that a transmission modulator valve with a busted diaphragm could cause the huge amount of white smoke you describe but I don't know why it would suddenly stop smoking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ol' yeller Posted June 24, 2018 Share Posted June 24, 2018 I thought white smoke meant we had a new Pope? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padgett Posted July 3, 2018 Share Posted July 3, 2018 White smoke to me is coolant, not tranny fluid. May collect after sitting a while. I'd probably pull the plugs and check for deposits, remove the valve covers and retorque the head bolts, if have a leakdown tester might not be a bad idea, then put new rapidfire or iridium plugs and drive for a while. Any "chocolate milkshake" in the oil or cap ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harry yarnell Posted July 3, 2018 Share Posted July 3, 2018 White smoke can be either coolant or ATF. Padgett you should know this... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VA Randy Posted July 4, 2018 Author Share Posted July 4, 2018 On 6/22/2018 at 9:51 PM, Ronnie said: transmission modulator valve with a busted diaphragm could cause the huge amount of white smoke you describe Told a friend about my issue and this is what he said also.... told me his story. He was driving (a non-Reatta) with a new modulator in hand to a friend's house that had a lift and got a ticket for smoking so badly, only a couple blocks from his destination. The cop insisted on writing a ticket, but ended up getting an ass-chewing and ticket was dropped - turns out my friend's mother was dating the local District Attorney, ha. Have driven only about 20 miles now, but no smoke at all, not even a wisp. Oil and fill cap show no "milk" - good sign. Next step is a compression test, but currently working on "defrost only" problem in the garage, want to drive it more, but damn it's hot here, want some A/C in my face. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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