car puffing smoke....

[Tre3zy]

hey guys well i had my galant for about 7 to 8 months or so now and i gotta admit i love it.... and yes i did had fun with it and boost on it alot in the early months that i had it.... not too long ago ive notice that the car is popping out smoke specially if i say for example im on a light for a good 5 mins or so and i rev the engine to move the car.... it pops out white or sometimes a bit of blue smoke in the exuast.... now i was just wondering wat can be the cause of this.... one of my friend said it could be my valve seals are gone cuz the car now has 240k on it and one guy said it could be the turbo because it was the original turbo that came with the car.... i check the intake pipe and found a lil bit of oil on it.... what you guys think is causing the smoke???? and is there a way to fix it???? i just wanted enough time till i get my back up motor ready to go in the car.... thnx guys

 

[raptorWagon]

a little oil in the intake pipe is normal if your car is still a stock setup. The oil comes from the valve cover ventilator pipe on the side of the valve cover, that recirculates that oil back into the intake pipe to the turbo. Does also it happen at higher rpms such as on acceleration when the turbo starts spooling. How much boost are you running? stock? It can be a few things, including valve stem seals or the turbo seals, maybe a headgasket if your seeing white smoke, considering the mileage on the car.
Is there a scent to white smoke?

 

[Tre3zy]

yea there is but its more of a blue one and it smells like im burning oil.... now i dont know if that smell is because i have a straight pipe.... see the thing is the smoke is not constant.... it only does it when i let the car sit on idle when its fully warmed up.... just like what i said.... like if im on a stop light and and when it turns green and i gas it then the smoke comes out but i dont see no smoke after i keep going.... it also happens when for example i turn the car off and the turbo timer runs for 1 min. and i turn it back on then smoke comes out.... oh and i was boosting 15psi by the way till it started smoking then i went back to stock 7psi

 

[belize1334]

There are a number of things that can put oil in your intake and cause it to smoke. Usually the smoking will be aggravated by boosting (either during boost or immediately afterward) or long periods sitting w/o running. I've not heard of the situation you're describing but that doesn't mean it isn't caused by one of these same situations that's just manifested strangely in your vehicle. Cars are, after all, magical devices that nobody truly understands /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif.

If it smokes on startup after sitting for several hours that usually indicates a valve-guide seal. Try letting it cool down a bit so that you're ready to turn it off. Then rev it up quickly to make sure you've burned all the oil out of the intake track and immediately turn it off. The next day, fire it up and watch for smoke immediately on startup. This would typically indicate that you have a bad valve seal and that oil is leaking into the combustion chamber from the head.

If it smokes alot while or immediately after boosting that is usually a turbo seal, a head-gasket issue (though you'd probably be overheating too or at least boiling your coolant out of the reservoir) or a problem with your PCV and/or VCV. Try taking the intake pipe off right before the turbo and getting an idea of just how much oil is accumulating there. Then do the same for the soft pipe just after the turbo outlet. If there's alot more oil right after the turbo (or if you can visibly see oil leaking down the turbo center-section) it's probably a bad oil-bearing in the turbo. Also check your PCV. Its the nipple on the head next to the trottle body that has a short (maybe 3") hose going back to the intake manifold. Pull off the hose and try blowing into that fitting. It's a check valve built into the nipple on the head so it should let air move from the head to the manifold but not the other way. Also, pick up one of these plastic fuel filters from your local parts store. Cut the hose from your VCV (the little nipple on the head right near your thermostat housing) to the intake pipe. Install the fuel filter inline in that hose and just moniter the oil accumulation in the filter. This will give you an idea of how much oil is getting into your intake at any given time.

Lastly, wait for others to chime in also before you start poking around. They often have better ideas than me and may point out where and why I'm wrong about the things that I say. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[turbowop]

I'll bet the title to 1051 that it's valve seals.

 

[belize1334]

^^ At odds? Cause I've got got a pair of old shoes that I'll put up against you.

 

[Brunoboy]

I'm the one who told him the turbo seals are probably out, take apart the intake and look how much oil is in the intake side, it does however have the pipe from the head to the intake tract, but it is a lot of oil in the intake tube....I on the other hand can say I have a puddle of oil in my intake side and it's not connected to the head aha

 

[Tre3zy]

cool now i understand wats going on.... thnx for the help guys.... just cant wait for my new setup.... ill post some pix of it when i start putting the motor together....

 

Did you address this issue already? I just rebuilt my engine with a new rebuilt head, new oem timing belt and mls gasket. It's about 40 miles since the major service. Now I have the issue of smoke exiting exhaust during start-up, 1st gear start to 2nd gear, and sometimes idle. It doesn't smell like oil is being burnt, but it smokes up a cloud. I'll have to check oil level tomorrow morning. It didn't smoke before and I have 144K miles. I want to say that it's residual chemicals being burnt. I just hope it's not a turbo issue, but all other gears are fine. Car runs strong after all these new parts thrown at it. Timing was perfect, rotated tension couple times, and it lines up perfectly. I hope this doesn't become more of an issue.