I found a project car I want to get, The z32 300zx TT auto I am considering buying off a friend has a slight problem with it! It is puffing a bit of white smoke. They told me they think its the Turbo... I am thinking it could be a few different possibilities, but what do you think? I think its the seal, or its a blown turbo. It is going to be my project car, so I am going to do all the repairs myself, but where would be the first place to look to find the problem? Any help would be great.
Is it blowing white smoke on idle, when it's cold or hot? Mine smokes white when idling sometimes... I just need to get a H/X-pipe installed to stop that. It would also smoke white heaps after a hard mountain run - again the turbo seals, but using a thicker oil stopped that
If it smokes cold when idle and dissapears, usually means turbo exhaust seal or stem seals if the smoke hangs around, if it's disappears quickly it's vapour and purely condensation in the exhaust. I large amount of smoke problems, like Kiz mentioned is usually from people using the wrong oil. A stock motor will bleed oil through the seals if the weight is wrong. ie people think they are doing the right thing by putting a 0w or 5w full synthetic in because it's $60 a bottle, it must be good. But your motor is tired, it's nigh on 20 years old, and even out of the factory the tolerances only suited a 15w oil.
My friend said it got looked over and was told it is the turbo or turbos, the turbo may be blown or it could be just the seal. If its just this I am pretty happy. My main concern with smoke is that its more terminal. What would a rebuild of a Turbo cost me?
blown turbos = engine out big dollars. plenty of good zeds for sale. anything under 10k will only cause you headaches dude... you can get a well maintained z for between 10 and 15
btw, your sig is massive. You should probably get rid of at least one of your pictures. And its expensive to get your turbos done. White smoke could also be PCVs, valve stem seals, worn rings or turbos. Agreed, get a comp check before you do anything, no point blowing money on something which is dead.
Rebuild costs about $1k each (member Hypergear seems to do very good pricing), gaskets hoses etc $300-$400, many hours of your own labour .....
The labour component is fine. I have a few zedder mates, who have done engine pulls before. If its the turbos, i have done dump pipes before, but I did it all from under the car.
Rebuilding a turbo is slightly more involved than bolting on pipes. Get it wrong? Do it all over again...
