My car has developed a smoking problem . Which is becoming bad for my health lol . Anyway just want to do a checklist of things to check before I pull the sucker out . It doesnt seem like condensation although there is some of that as well . It deffineatley looks like oil smoke . Here is a video from my other thread : Smoking Issue The engine is 700 odd kms old since full rebuild . Engine bored for new forged pistons . New head and rod bolts , new bearings and rings . Heads have been serviced with some valves replaced seated with new seals . Heads been decked . New gaskets everywhere and turbos have been rebuilt . Engine itself has all new coolant hoses and PCV hoses and valves yedda yedda . New timing belt , pulleys and tensioner . New oil and water pump . New thermostat and O2 sensors etc . So about the 700km mark it has started smoking predominantly while ideling and off the pedal when coming to a stop . As you take of it puffs smoke and then disapears until its time for gear change or slow down and off the pedal . It doesnt seem to smoke when accelerating or on boost . The boost pipes have no oil in them and are dry . The plugs have the earth strap mostly white and grey in colour . I have checked soon as I stopped so no ideling . the plenum seems a little moist and when I touch the inside of the plenum thru the balance tube holes I get a black sooty kind of residue on my finger . I noticed a little oil around the balance tube O'ring . The exhaust is an Npower cat back with H pipe . The cats are hollow so no honey comb inside . I will be doing comp test in a few days also . Any advice is greatly appreciated
Generally, if an engine is smoking under power it's piston rings. If it smokes on decelleration it's valves. If it does both it's stuffed.
That sounds like turbo seals on the exhaust side, mine was doing the same on decel and idle. On boost it would be fine. Remove dumps and check the turbos for abnormal shaft play, were they rebuilt or new CHRA? Dont pull the engine that wont fix it.
Valve stem seals? Mine aren't perfect. When the car idles for an extended period of time it will start puffing smoke and then it will clear out after you get up it. When I say extended period I mean 5 minutes plus. Maybe even 10. I only really noticed it when it was idling for ages on the dyno. Sometimes it happens on startup, but touch wood, after the 1100km trip I just did it hasn't smoked at all for the past two weeks.
Turbos have been rebuilt by A2zed . They were perfect with no shaft play . I would like to get as close to a diagnosis as I can before I pull the engine .
If it were mine, I'd be doing the diagnostics BEFORE I even considered pulling the engine. Where did you have the motor built? I'd get the mechanic that built it to do the diagnostics.
I had the heads and block done at Parry's in Arncliffe and I put the motor together . I dont know all the tricks , so unless there is something I can check which is the reason for this thread then it will have to come out . If its turbos , valves or rings it will have to come out anyway . So while the engine is in and running I would like to just cover my bases before I pull it . I might ring Parrys and see if there is any checks I can do while the motor is in . I may even take the car over there so they can have a look .
The first thing I would do would be to check for any abnormal noises while bringing the engine to normal operating temperature. Then remove & check all the plugs for signs of oil contamination. If there is oil burning in the combustion chamber, it should be evident on a plug or plugs, lay them out so you know which cylinder each plug came from. If you have access to a borescope, check in the cylinders for signs of damage & colouration of the piston crowns. While you have the plugs out would be the time to check compression, or better yet, perform a leakdown test on each cylinder & record the data for future reference.
Your Oil is wrong, I used exactly same oil and had same smoking issue. Changed oil to 10W-60 Liquid Moly and no smoking after that.
Serious ? ... so whats the brand of oil you use ? never seen liquid moly ? I was going to give it an oil change and go to mineral oil .
Liqui Moly is the brand, used in engines what have at least 300hp. It's not very famous in Australia but in Europe it's been quite often used. I can't guarantee you that different oil will stop your smoke but it's cheapest thing, easiest and one of the reasons. I got it from local car store in Perth, I think Auto One had it in stock.
Oil Type I disagree with the suggestion that its the oil. I have recently completed a full rebuild, reconditioned heads & turbos (one of which I rebuilt myself) and have run the same penrite 15w/60 oil. I have now clocked 1,700kms with out any issue of smoke from the engine. I did have an oil burning smell for some time after the rebuild, however, this was caused by the PCV tube splitting and spraying oil over the drivers side turbo - once repaired no oil smell. I have experienced the exact same issue with a previous car I owned (1985 Exa Turbo) it would smoke slightly under idle and excessive when decelerating. I understand that the engine layouts are some what different with the EXA having the turbo mounted at the "front" but the same symptoms applied. So I would check the exhaust side of the Turbos. I would also do a compression test on all cylinders to ensure that they are consistent and with in spec to ensure that the rings are seating properly. I would also be very reluctant to use the liquid moly in the oil with only 700kms on the engine as it is possible for the moly to not allow your piston rings the bed in properly - this was the advise I was given. Also - are you driving the car like grandma whilst its bedding in? My 2 cents worth. One last thing - after looking at your video it is smoking in the same fashion that my car was and was the catalyst for the rebuild.
I have read on other forums that similar problems occured when non OEM valve seals were used on other re builds .
This may be the same as what I am experiencing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3vp6VKGN3I http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOP-qH8RzoY This happens to me when I let it idle for a few mins and is worse after driving hard. Smokes for about 5 mins then stops completely. I get water out the back when I rev it. I assume this is turbo seals, so you may have a similar problem. I also have the N*power exhaust, only with the x-pipe. Possibly something to do with how that exhaust resonates that makes it worse? Anyway, if you have the engine out and change the seals and it stops the issue, let me know as I will have to do the same! In terms of checklist, maybe check for oil in the coolant and if the coolant level drops? I haven't really done this as yet, but is on the long list of stuff to do.
Did you do an oil change recently? Same occurred to me last year when I refilled with a bit too much of oil. Even 100ml over made a difference and it smoked. Just my input and what I have experienced. Cheers
It appears to be passenger turbo exhaust oil seal like zedboy mentioned earlier . Its annoying because its only been 700kms on a fresh rebuilt turbo.
Try fitting cats? I was running catless for a week when I first fitted 'n power' front pipes. Had exactly the same smokey issues as yourself, smoke cleared as soon as I had two new cats fitted.
Same thing happened to me after turbos were rebuilt from a2zed. Turbos were pulled with huge shaft pay (10+mm) after only a handful off
