One Problem, Too Many Solutions??

[Booster-Shot]

Okay.

When I started up my laser this morning it sounded good...for about 40 seconds maybe. Then the engine began to stutter and the idle is just barely going any where. You almost cant see the idle move but you can hear it.

The car is also smoking from the exhaust and the exhaust manifold, but Im not sure if thats just because of cracks. I cant really smell anything from the smoke.

I searched and I found several answers that I dont know what to follow. I have heard things like a new biss screw,new coil pack, headgasket, exhaust manifold gasket.

Im not really sure which direction to take in trying to diagnose my car. Thanks-

 

[DiamondStarAwd]

do you have a catch can?

 

[ROOKIE1]

Color of smoke ?

 

[Booster-Shot]

white

 

[sawnuoff]

Sound like you may want to start by taking radiator cap off and looking for bubbles white smokes indicates coolant if its a lot also fuel can give you that same look to a certain extent does it smell like fuel?
Does it run past idle if so how good?

 

[Booster-Shot]

Sound like you may want to start by taking radiator cap off and looking for bubbles white smokes indicates coolant if its a lot also fuel can give you that same look to a certain extent does it smell like fuel?
Does it run past idle if so how good?

The only thing Im wondering is that what could be making my car sputter? Thats not a normal symptom for say a headgasket is it? My resivior is fine and the car runs pretty cold actually.

Im not sure if the smoke really smells like much of anything.

Ive actually only driven this car about 1 mile total, and thats being generous, so Im not really sure what Im dealing with here. But when I did drive it I noticed no apparent problems. No CEL, runs cool, oil pressure great.

I was thinking it might be condensation from sitting for so long, but I dont know if condensation comes out that much and why my car would sputter.

 

[StR8sPo0Ln]

White smoke is normaly an indication of a blown headgasket. How thick is the smoke that does come out of the exhaust.

 

[Booster-Shot]

Its pretty thick, thicker than I would think condenstation is.

Im not getting my hopes up about it not being the headgasket, Im just more interested in what could be causing the car to sputter now.

 

[adiffrentcity]

Been there dude, not with my laser, but if coolant is getting in the cylinders and/or compression is getting out then it will stumble and carry on. Comp test and coolant system pressure test might help you figure it out.

 

[madgrrl]

This happened to my 1g after sitting in the garage for about 3 mos. I was concerned it was the headgasket, or rings, or even a turbo issue.

for the smoke out of your tailpipe:

1. Check the compression. this will determine if you have worn rings
(this was my main problem)

2. Check your intercooler for oil. (you could be blowing/burning it up, I also had about a 1/6 cup of oil in my intercooler and cleaning it with brake parts cleaner improved the smoke out of the rear)

3. Look very closely at your coolant & smell the smoke for sweetness...(blown head gasket..)

The engine stuttering you are hearing I don't have any recommendations on, it could be anywhere from your alternator being bad, to your idle screw being off, or related to the smoke coming out the back (like having old gas in your tank/condensation in your gas tank... etc etc. )

I changed the gas in my car, did a comp check, checked the intercooler, took out the turbo and looked at the exhaust and compressor side (looking for potential oil feed leeks etc). The gas & intercooler maintainence improved things a lot but ultimately, I had bad rings so I ended up doing a rebuild/built engine. (FFWD did a great job)

hope this helps.

 

[Booster-Shot]

This happened to my 1g after sitting in the garage for about 3 mos. I was concerned it was the headgasket, or rings, or even a turbo issue.

for the smoke out of your tailpipe:

1. Check the compression. this will determine if you have worn rings
(this was my main problem)

2. Check your intercooler for oil. (you could be blowing/burning it up, I also had about a 1/6 cup of oil in my intercooler and cleaning it with brake parts cleaner improved the smoke out of the rear)

3. Look very closely at your coolant & smell the smoke for sweetness...(blown head gasket..)

The engine stuttering you are hearing I don't have any recommendations on, it could be anywhere from your alternator being bad, to your idle screw being off, or related to the smoke coming out the back (like having old gas in your tank/condensation in your gas tank... etc etc. )

I changed the gas in my car, did a comp check, checked the intercooler, took out the turbo and looked at the exhaust and compressor side (looking for potential oil feed leeks etc). The gas & intercooler maintainence improved things a lot but ultimately, I had bad rings so I ended up doing a rebuild/built engine. (FFWD did a great job)

hope this helps.

Actually this did help a lot. Like I said, I have only driven this car for about 5 minutes. I just bought the car, but this is my second turbo dsm. I know its risky to buy a car without knowing the history but the price of the car and the fact that it was stock was just too much to pass up.

There is a PS leak (just like every 1g dsm I have looked at) so I would not be surprised if the alternator was fried.

The looks to be rtv on the biss screw, so the gasket is probably gone and the owner didnt know how to go about fixing it.

I would go out and fool around with it more but its been raining almost every day. I will wait until it dries up and check back here if I need anymore help. wish me luck- Thanks

 

[Booster-Shot]

Well I got a good chance to look at the car today.

It drove strong and after about 5 minutes the smoke from the tail pipe dissapeared. But the sputtering was still there. Idle went to 750 with a jump of about 20 rpms (like I said, barely noticable but there)

A good amount of white smoke was coming from my exhaust manifold and I realized there were 2 decent cracks in it(1gs for you) Could this be causing my problem?

Also, I dont want to sound lame but it was wet outside and it my car was leaking that rainbow stuff you some times see in parking spaces. Is that oil? Haha, I know thats a bad question to ask but I never really knew what it was.

 

[adiffrentcity]

The rainbow effect is from anything petroleum based. Probably your PS leak or an oil leak. That BISS screw sounds like a good place to start, along with checking for oil in the intercooler. As far as the manifold, if the smoke is coming from inside the cracks I would still do a comp test and pressure test the rad/cooling system to diagnose a head gasket problem.