New motor. High idle, white smoke

[bigbro6785]

I just got a new motor installed in my car (one that is supposedly imported from japan). The car runs alot better now but not perfect. I took the car to the track to just to get a feel of how it was running and i lost to a stock 02 gt eclipse Not driver error because im a good driver. No times at the track i went to but at the end of the 1/4 mile i was only at 85 mph and I know thats not right. Here are some other symptoms my car has: For one my idle is wierd. Sometimes it idles at 900rpm and sometimes it idles at 1500rpm. It doesnt surge tho. Another problem is when i rev the motor at all at idle, white smoke come out of the exhaust. I know that is a sign of bad head gasket, but the motor was professionally installed and was inspected and compression checked. I just completed a boost leak test and it came up good. There is a slight leak at the tb gasket but nothing that would effect the car this much (it held 20 psi for about 30 seconds). I also checked for shaftplay in the turbo and there is none. Any ideas as to what I should check or get checked? Thanks for any input.

 

[hopwoodp]

I just got a new motor installed in my car (one that is supposedly imported from japan). The car runs alot better now but not perfect. I took the car to the track to just to get a feel of how it was running and i lost to a stock 02 gt eclipse Not driver error because im a good driver. No times at the track i went to but at the end of the 1/4 mile i was only at 85 mph and I know thats not right. Here are some other symptoms my car has: For one my idle is wierd. Sometimes it idles at 900rpm and sometimes it idles at 1500rpm. It doesnt surge tho. Another problem is when i rev the motor at all at idle, white smoke come out of the exhaust. I know that is a sign of bad head gasket, but the motor was professionally installed and was inspected and compression checked. I just completed a boost leak test and it came up good. There is a slight leak at the tb gasket but nothing that would effect the car this much (it held 20 psi for about 30 seconds). I also checked for shaftplay in the turbo and there is none. Any ideas as to what I should check or get checked? Thanks for any input.

Is this a jdm 6 bolt motor? What were the exact compression numbers? One things that is suggested to do on a used motor, is to change the head gasket, water pump and timing belt.

Chances are, you have some leaking valve seals or a bad head gasket. Not sure to what degree. I can't tell you much without some test results.

Having your idle range like you said may be a number of things. Like idle surge (though you mentioned you don't have but, how sure are you?), a vacuum or boost leak(even though you tested it at 20psi for 30 seconds) or some of your sensors are tweaking out.

White smoke generally means you are burning coolant.

 

[MountainDew]

Have you tried adjusting your BISS screw?

I think a leakdown test would really help figure out what's wrong. Also might I suggest, next time you start driving after a rebuild, don't take it to the track just yet. 95% of the time you'll have some bugs to work out beforehand. Also nothing wrong with breaking it in real well.

 

[bigbro6785]

I havent tried to adjust the biss screw because it idles fine sometimes. The only reason I took it to the track is because it is not a rebuilt motor but a used jdm one. Its just a 7bolt replacement. I am gonna take it backto the shop and installed it to have them look at it while it is still under warranty.

 

[MountainDew]

I havent tried to adjust the biss screw because it idles fine sometimes. The only reason I took it to the track is because it is not a rebuilt motor but a used jdm one. Its just a 7bolt replacement. I am gonna take it backto the shop and installed it to have them look at it while it is still under warranty.

Oh gotcha. Well if it's under warranty by the shop that installed it, might as well have them look at it.

I have the same idle problem. Sometimes it idles fine around 800-1k, other's it surges around 1500.

 

[bigbro6785]

I got 2 questions for you guys. Ok I was driving home today and decided to test the boost. At WOT in 1st and 2nd the boost is only about 8-9psi, once i shift it into second it goes up to a steady 14 psi, its also about 14psi in 4th at WOT. What could be a reason for this?

When I got home I decided to give the car a compression test myself. I did it correctly (car was driven for about 20 minutes before i did it, unpluged correct fuse, performed with pedal at WOT), from left to right the max pressure I got was 140-143-155-155. Correct me if im wrong but dont these seem a little low for a motor that is suppose to only have 30-40k miles on it? Thanks for any input.

 

[MountainDew]

Well on 7bolts, I know compression needs to be around 170 with a maximum different of 14psi I believe. However, 6bolts are different. I remember there compression numbers were a little low.

Assuming you have a sixbolt, all you said was "JDM motor".

 

[bigbro6785]

Its just a 7bolt replacement. QUOTE]

Not a 6 bolt, its a 7 bolt. This makes me so mad. I paid over 2 grand to get a motor put in the car and not im finding out the motor is bad. I am taking it back to the shop today. I just wanted to see what people have to say about the compression and boost problem