Hi all,
I live in a colder climate...3-10 degree's celcius during the winter. My problem is in the morning when I first start up my 81 245 with the B23. Firstly it is super rumbly on startup, sound like it us running on 2-3 cylinders for about a minute, then it gets going. Once it does get going, it is rather smokey. Now when I say smokey, it's normal for cars to give of "vapor" on cold mornings when they first start up, but mine is a combination of that vapor with a little more "white" smoke. It takes about 5 minutes of driving for it to go away...

Anybody have any clue what this could be, and is it harmful to the car, if not at least harmful to the environment.

Thanks

Classic signs of a warped head and/or blown head gasket.

- alex

Further to Alex's post, my similar symptoms ended up being a crack in the head
near one of the spark plug threads. Probably due to over tightening the plug.
You can verify that you have damp plugs by pulling them out before starting
when the vehicle has been left over night and had a chance to cool down and
leak.

It would be a good idea to scout out an available used replacement head before
the repair,whether you do the repair yourself or not, as if your head is not
salvageable, then you will be prepared. There are many versions of the head
so if looking for a used one, first get the number off of yours....stamped in
the head somewhere near the thermostat housing. I had a bad experience using
a head that was not compatible, and would recommend using only the exact same
numbered head unless someone that really knows will back up their compatability
claim and cover damage caused if it doesn't work out. syd