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Chrysler 360 Losing coolant and puffing white smoke

dbrahms

Contributing Member
Hey folks. I have twin 360's in my Egg Harbor. Starboard is fine but port side wont get over 2600RPM. On this port side, I'm losing coolant and puffing white smoke. The engine starts fine all the time and gets me where I'm going but again, has way less power than the other motor.

Could this be a blown head gasket, leaking coolant into the cylinders which makes me run on less cylinders leading to less power?

I also tend to see coolant end up in the fluid spill tray that sits under my engine. Someone said it might be a blown out freeze plug but I fail to see how that would make me puff white smoke and lose power. Motor runs only about 10degrees hotter than the other good motor and it never really overheats.

perhaps I'm lucky enough to have 2 problems? Thanks very much in advance for any suggestions.
 
Likely that is steam, not smoke that you're seeing. It should smell sweet too-not nasty like burnt oil. Like Bondo said, a compression test will let you know which cylinder is causing issue. If you're lucky it's only a head gasket-easy fix, not a cracked or corroded head. Good luck.
 
Likely that is steam, not smoke that you're seeing. It should smell sweet too-not nasty like burnt oil. Like Bondo said, a compression test will let you know which cylinder is causing issue. If you're lucky it's only a head gasket-easy fix, not a cracked or corroded head. Good luck.

Thanks - I'm pretty sure it's not steam since on warm/hot days, I see the smoke too. And the other engine doesnt do that...and I'm losing coolant over time too from that troubled side.
 
Likely that is steam, not smoke that you're seeing. It should smell sweet too-not nasty like burnt oil. Like Bondo said, a compression test will let you know which cylinder is causing issue. If you're lucky it's only a head gasket-easy fix, not a cracked or corroded head. Good luck.


Ditto
 
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