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MG Midget and Sprite Technical - Smoky startup

Why does my 1972 mk3 midget Smoke on start up for about 1 min then mo more ?
raymond bossom

What colour smoke? How much smoke?
AndrewF

Could be a number of things so I'll list them and some possible causes although not all will apply, commonest first. It just depends on what the cause is.

Greyish/white. Coolant in the cylinders. Head gasket, cracked head.

Blue. Oil in cylinders. Valve guide seals, worn engine components like valve guides, compression rings although with rings it would probably tend to burn oil all the time.

Black. Unburned fuel. Sticking choke, mixture too rich.

Without a smoke colour, these are only guesses. The more information such as smoke colour will help narrow it down.
Clive Reddin

Of course there's always the possibility that it's just water vapour from the exhaust, if it's cold and damp and the car hasn't run in a day or so.
AndrewF

That's true, Andrew, hadn't considered that but it usually doesn't present as much "smoke" as coolant in the cylinders does. We need more information to help accurately diagnose this situation.
Clive Reddin

Thanks for info AndrewF The smoke is white also I only use the car about once a week so perhaps I am not using my MG enough ?
I have noticed that if I start it the next day there is hardly any white smoke so problem not as bad as I thought.
raymond bossom

Andrew, using the car more will help the car and your driving of it more in many ways not just "damp" smoke

plus you'll get enjoyment from using the car

surely you can use it more than just once a week and all year round, a car that sits around too much is just storing problems which could be avoided by regular driving
N Atkins

This thread was discussed between 30/05/2011 and 31/05/2011

MG Midget and Sprite Technical index

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