Coming to the end of my patience with my car. For those followed my issues with a smoking exhaust last year, I still haven't solved the problem . A quick recap. In the beginning I had Z, and we were happy. Got 2.5" Exhaust with dumps and instantly had a problem with the passenger exhaust smoking badly when its been idling for 2mins or so. Decided that it was just a bung turbo so it was pulled and rebuilt. Re fitted turbo and still smoked at idle. Took turbo back to rebuilder who pulled it apart and showed me all the specs they had to rebuild to and all were within tolerances. Put another seal in it just to be sure. Refitted, and smoked still. I was convinced they were just dodgy and swore warn people of them. Performed plenum pull, Coolant bypass, ERG removal, PCV Relocation with new PCV's and fit a different turbo (that had little play and spun freely, Cheers Cresta). Filled up with thick as 15w60 oil. And now, just like Cheech and Chong, I'm still smoking. Can of our super tech members offer some suggestions as to where the smoke is coming from? I am coming to the belief that the smoke is coming before the turbo but to my knowledge oil ring and compression ring damage causes constant smoke not smoke at idle. Car doesn't blow smoke at WOT.
I had idle smoke Was PCV system needing maintenance. When it smoked was out both pipes. I guess with new PCV's and relocation thats not your issue. Checked compression with/without 1tsp oil, leak-down test? scary test to fail tho.
wow...thats alot of work to do and it still having the problem...bet it cost u alot id hav a look at ur cylenders....coz wen one of my coilpacks had it and was runnin on 5 cylenders my exhust was smokeing coz of unburnt fuel.... so mayb ur having inside engine issues =\
only a couple of places left to look. The PCV as mention on previously. This can be easily checked by disconnecting and plugging up the Driver's side (oppisite side as it feeds into the other bank), as it is only at idle this happen. Not advisable to go for a drive like this. Have you checked the inlet pipe into the drivers side. throttle body for oil it could be the compressor seal on thedriver's turbo (unlikely failure, but would give these symptoms. ie. only at idle). However it would give anice ploom of smoke on a pump of the throttle. And finally, and sorry to say the most likely. One, or more inlet valve guides seals are leaking.
exact same thing happened to me when i had my cat back fitted!! takes about 2mins for it to happen but if you drive before it starts smoking you will never see it.. wondering if i have the same problem as you..
What colour smoke? What colour smoke is coming out? And is it a lot or just lightly coming out? Maybe it could have something to do with the O2 sensor. As it takes a few minutes to warm up and start operating. Did you change the O2's when you did the exhaust? Do you still have Catalytic Converters on your system? If it takes a few minutes to come out and it's only coming out from one side, I'm thinking it could be the O2. Has your mileage degraded? Cheers Rob.
More often than not in my experience valve stem seals will only cause smoke when cold, once the pressure is built up and they're seated properly it usually goes away unless they're completely shot that is and not seating at all in which case they'd do it as you're driving aswell.
I have the exact same thing with my car. New exhaust, both pipes smoke after a few minutes of idle. The smoke is gray with a strong oil smell to it. My PCV system had new parts put in when I did the plenum pull about a year and a half ago. I also put in blanking plates on the egr.
As everybody knows now, because the engine breathes from the intake cam covers to the turbo inlet when in positive boost (think about it before you question it) you can safely assume it's not your PCV's.( PCV's get blamed for an awfull lot they don't actually do) Is it after a couple of minutes and then you give it a blat and then it smokes ( valve seals and or guides) or does it gradually start to smoke at a steady idle?( to which I have no response, but my money would still be on valve seals)
well mine is the same color/smell as akeizm. start car cold, after about 2 minutes it will gradually start to puff grey white smoke.. that wont go away untill i begin driving for about 30 seconds... BUT, if i just warm it up for about 1 to 1.5 mins and then start driving away normally but still taking it easy cause its cold, i will never see the smoke.. infact if i just keep my foot on the pedal and hold the rev's around 2k it wont smoke.. so i dont even need to drive it.. dump pipes were already in, o2's are new.. happened after getting rid fo the single cat back to a double cat back..
is some one going to send me some money for the answer? I can tell you rite now for a fact (have been there done that) if you fit a big bore exh to you Zed and don't have a balance pipe fitted to the exh YOU WILL HAVE SMOKE ISSUES! If you want to know the science behind it you will have to PM me as some people simply wont believe this and it's not worth the grief explaining it to deaf ears. Had the exact same issue with my Zed six years ago, drove it onto the hoist smoking, welded in a balance pipe - smoke gone, never came back again for about two years (14PSI boost on stock turbos doing drag racing and burnout displays it's no wonder they died in the end). please try it and let me know how you get on, I suggest a two inch dia pipe across the two main pipes just forward of the diff, make sure the holes cut in the main pipes are free of slag etc (IE dont cut with a gas axe) Best of luck. Glenn.
Thanks to all for the input. To answer some questions. Compression is good on all cylinders. O2's are good and working. Smoke is definitely oil. It as others have said starts about 2 mins after start up . Not all the time but most of the time. It starts thin but gets heavy quickly, heavy been, if i were i copper id pull me over. And as Mafi said if i hold it at 2k it isnt a problem. Exhaust has no balance pipe, Just 2 straight through pipes with cats. Mungyz may be on to something. Mafi and akezim do you have balance pipes in your exhaust? Valve stem seals sounds pausible. But would fitting a less restrictive exhaust cause them to leak more than a stock exhaust? I would have thought they would have been a problem regardless of back pressure. Is there any way I can test to see if the valve stem seals are faulty?
Well i just had a 2 1/2 in cat back done , no ballance pipe.....no smoke issues. Might just be lucky i spose. Cheers Patrick
straight through pipes no balance pipe, (h) i agree with 300zxt, having no balance pipe wont be the issue here, the pentroof Z doesnt use a H pipe (balance pipe) or an X pipe and doesnt have this problem.. mungyz - was the exhaust you got brand new when it was smoking.. as most exhaust systems are coated in a oil that needs to burn off.. ALSO, valve stem seals will be blue smoke TRUE? not white/grey like mine and ztoys/akiezms?
i have the exact same problem oily smelling smoke, not all the time only if sitting at idle for about 2mins, goes away when i start to drive, turbo's only just been rebuilt, 2.5" Straight pipe exhaust no cats no balance pipe... It scares the crap out of me cos i was like 'ARGHHH the turbo's have gone" but then i had em checked and they're ay ok so i just want to get to the bottom of this issue as its super embarassing...
