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constant clouds of white smoke out of exhaust

yubh8tn

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 21, 2019
Messages
223
Location
coeur d alene, idaho
Hey guys, just got the car running after skipping timing and destroying valves and guides for the second time. The car runs great but smokes like a motherf****r. It smokes instantly on startup and constantly the entire time the car's running. Always smoking like crazy. Not many miles on it but it doesnt look like oil and coolant are mixing. I'll drive it more and see but I was hoping you guys had some ideas as to what's causing it. Thanks
 

boostme

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 3, 2013
Messages
78
Location
Crete, IL
Unless I'm wrong, I thought white smoke indicated coolant. How's the air fuel ratio? Stock O2 sensors good?

Does it idle good? Compression test it just to be certain.

What else did you change? If it was the valve seals, it would smoke blue right?
 

JNR

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 23, 2004
Messages
9,814
Location
ca
If it is oil burning, then a good way to tell if it's valve seals vs piston rings:

*Decelerating/going downhill off throttle = valve seals
-or-
*Accelerating with throttle = piston rings

Usually you can smell the oil and yeah it'll have a bluish hue. Pure white "smoke" is either condensation or coolant/water. Raw fuel is more blackish, although one time I had a stuck injector and it seemed to appear a little more white than black, but did have a smell to it. Not like the old days of running overly rich and it burned your eyes, but a cleaner version of that (probably because cats in that case).
 

yubh8tn

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 21, 2019
Messages
223
Location
coeur d alene, idaho
its oil burning. i thought it was a white smoke but its definitely more blue and gets real bad on acceleration/takeoff. so rings then?

my afrs are perfect, i dont have stock o2 sensors just a wideband with narrowband sim. it idles fine most of the time but my throttle body is toast so its pretty hit or miss. this really sucks
 
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MellowVR4

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 25, 2009
Messages
1,662
Location
Milwaukee, Wi
Check to see if the pcv is clogged or stuck.
 

yubh8tn

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Joined
Aug 21, 2019
Messages
223
Location
coeur d alene, idaho
i ran the car with the line from the pcv to the intake manifold unhooked and no oil came out but smoke still came out of the exhaust
 
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yubh8tn

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 21, 2019
Messages
223
Location
coeur d alene, idaho
i just dropped my broken head off at the machineshop and told the dude to fix it. on my receipt i paid for new intake valves and guides and "rebuild service". I then reinstalled it reusing everything including headgasket. Important note is that I had pulled pistons to replace the piston heads but decided not to and simply put them back in the cylinders they came from with new rod bearings. Never removed or touched any rings and aligned the gaps with the wrist pins. I would also like to note there was a serious tick coming from the head, seemingly from the intake side (the side that was destroyed) that permanently went away after I redlined the engine for a few seconds. Car acts no different and still smokes a lot.

i havent had any time to work on the car since i made this post so no leakdown or compression test has been done. i also plan to pressurize the coolant system to see if maybe the head gasket is bad. i also put in like 5% more oil than the max so i will drain a bit to see if that helps.
 
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lowcashleblanc

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Joined
Mar 19, 2013
Messages
118
Location
Denver CO
Important note is that you reinstalled an old gasket. I’m sure people have done it before and got away with it. Doesn’t mean it should be done.

I have no way of measuring your skills as a mechanic but whatever you did, it was done incorrectly. I’d recommend having someone near you who knows more diagnose what’s going on. An ASE certified mechanic will probably be your best bet…

Furthermore, after reading your last post you’ve done a number of things that would make it even harder for others over the internet to help pinpoint your problem.
 

lowcashleblanc

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 19, 2013
Messages
118
Location
Denver CO
Things to consider:

Head gaskets become crushed when the head has been torqued down. This is why a new head gasket is recommended.

When you took the pistons out and put them back in…even though you reused and lined the rings up….mating surfaces have been changed.

The mechanic that did your head work could have done something incorrectly. Was the head decked to make sure the surface was level?

A lot of 4g63 owners are adamant about having a knowledgeable persons rebuild their internals due to perceived quirks.

Edit: Another source of smoke can be a turbo with bad seals. My old turbo Miata would dump white bluish smoke constantly from this problem. Are you on the factory turbo? Is it upgraded? It is a Chinese knock off?
 
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