I have a carburated ford engine (454?) in my 1988 motor home. when I started it after sitting for awhile, it blue a lot of blue/white smoke from exhaust. I suspect that the fuel pump failed. are there any other thoughts to what happened?
If it started and kept running then the fuel pump is not bad. Did the smoke stop after a short time ? Have you checked the oil level and how old is the oil ? What about the other fluids ?
Ford didn’t make a 454.
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sounds like bad valve stems seals and/or guides
Not surprising for a truck that’s over 30 years old and probably has a lot of miles
Have you even bothered performing a compression test?
Have you hooked up a vacuum gauge at idle?
You might be surprised at the results . . .
I second db4690 about the use of a vacuum gauge and compression test.
Valve seals would not surprise me a bit. Thirty years of engine heat can do rubber in.
Another slim possibility is that with age and miles the oil return holes in the cylinder head could be clogged up with sludge. That allows oil to pool inside the valve cover and submerge the valve guide bosses. Oil begin to work its way past the valve stem seals.
I’d want to know the vacum gauge and compression readings. Maybe the engine is just old and ready for retirement. Also, a 454 is a Chevy so I wonder if your engine is the 460.
according to onlineconversion.com . . . 460 cubic inches = 7.5 liters
And I know the 7.5 liter gasoline V8 was common on the larger Fords
An F-53 is a massive beast, so it wouldn’t surprise me if the 460/7.5 was the standard engine
I have one two year’s older & it is a 460.
Yes it’s a ford 460 engine (if the 454 went out in my message that was my mistake).
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I’ll have to get a mechanic to come over and do a compression test. Thx to all for your input.