Bluish whitish smoke at high boost

[dsm-onster]

Man, I'm at a loss. I have lots of bluish white smoke coming out of my tailpipe on hard accel.

• Run at 18 psi with no knock (front mount, 650s Walbro 255HP, water injection)
• MAFT- fuel trims within 5% of 100 consitently
• New Small 16G
• Head was redone 5000 miles ago (tming belt broke)
• Compression check- #1 is 140, #2 is 120, #3 125, #4 is 135 (185,000 miles on block.... )
• New oem composite head gasket
• ARP head studs torques to spec then retorqued after 5 heat cycles
• Faint white smoke at idle (could not see it until I get down level with the muffler)
• Oil pressure- really high at 3000+ rpms can't stop banjo bolts on turbo from leaking (using copper compression washers from Advanced Auto)

So can ayone please tell me what's going on?

 

[half-cocked]

Head gasket, your compression test looks to be low which also be a head gasket problem.

 

[dsm-onster]

Are you for real! Man I spent a whole weekend replacing it... I bought arp head studs to keep this from happening. I torqued them in 4 stages with the moly up to 90 ft-lbs then after i started it and let it idle several times i went in and torqued them to 100 ft-lbs. yea 120 is low but arn't they all within the differential limit of each other?

 

[blackGSX2g]

Before you jump the gun, check your oil for water and water for oil to see if they mixed. If they are good, you can pick up test strips that test for hydrocarbons in your coolant to be sure.

Have a leakdown test performed to be 100% of what it is.

 

[Nanan]

I would be more inclined to say your rings are shot which is likely for that high of milage.

 

[ddavisaf]

Ditto. Blueish white smoke indicates oil, not coolant.

 

[dsm-onster]

That was my first impression, too. bot the shop manual says that my compression is within service limits (barely). I have ALOT of smoke after like 13psi. but none at all at idle. ... but I am infact pushing 18 psi into a 180,000 mile engine... one other thing, I have just recently installed my water injection... could the water be steam cleaning my internals and flushing out the carbon build up in the form of bluish white smoke???

 

[ddavisaf]

It's prolly more attributed to 18psi on a 180 thousand mile motor

 

[oldman]

1. Repeat the compression test while the car is fully warmed up both dry and wet.

2. Check the licp and ic for oil.

3. Check all related areas to make sure the crank case is venting properly.

4. What was the reason for HG replacement?

Post back.

 

[dsm-onster]

Okay . . .

1. Repeat the compression test while the car is fully warmed up both dry and wet.

OK. I repeated (w/ car warmed up to 205* & throttle WOT) a dry and wet test twice. Both dry tests: #1 @ 140, #2 @ 120, #3 @ 120, #4 @ 140. Both wet tests: #1 @175, #2 @ 165-170, #3 @ 155-160, #4 @ 180-185
I have 180,000 mile motor I suppose

2. Check the licp and ic for oil.

I have the PCV valve vented to a vented catch can but before i put my front mount on (like 800 miles back) there was a bit of build up of caked and oily residue.

3. Check all related areas to make sure the crank case is venting properly.

I have my valve cover breather plugged because I thought that if you have your pvc open to air then it would be enough ventilation (my pcv is still attached to the VC but with a hose running to a vented catch can). Could the catch can not have enough "ventibility" and ad that to me pluging up the VC breather I would have forced oil into my combustion chamber?

4. What was the reason for HG replacement?

Too much turbo and not enough injector I had a bad 3rd gear pull and I didn't see the knock in time. the gasket was not completely blown through but you could tell that it was stressed enough not to seal. The #1 chamber appeared way cleaner than the others. ANd I had lots of steam at a warm idle. I checked the head for straightness several times over ever inch of the head with a known straight edge and I saw absolutely no head flex with the naked eye. I cleaned the head and block up with steel wool and thoroughly rinsed and dried every spot.

With the variance between#2 & #3 versus #1 & #4. Could it be the head gasket? The wet test definately showed that the rings are warn though

... is it both?

 

[ddavisaf]

Pretty easy to see if you're losing a little coolant to your pistons. Pull the plugs and take a flashlight and check. But If you replace your rings well, you're gonna replace the headgasket

 

[dsm-onster]

Pretty easy to see if you're losing a little coolant to your pistons. Pull the plugs and take a flashlight and check. But If you replace your rings well, you're gonna replace the headgasket

There is no coolant in the chamber when looking with a flash light and now when it idles it doesn't even have that faint white smoke that one could barely see. Now I did jsut look at my coolant again and the coolent is green but not the same green as the antifreeze i mixed in it from my last head gasket job... It is thick and greyish green yet consistant (no oily streamers). BUT there is no coolant in the oil. What is going on?

for a little over $150 i can have the ring set the honing tool and the ring compressor. If it is just the head gasket i'll go a head and do the rings too. If it is the rings then I'll have to replace the head gasket.

 

[oldman]

I love it when people answer questions in detail plus more.

OK. I repeated (w/ car warmed up to 205* & throttle WOT) a dry and wet test twice. Both dry tests: #1 @ 140, #2 @ 120, #3 @ 120, #4 @ 140. Both wet tests: #1 @175, #2 @ 165-170, #3 @ 155-160, #4 @ 180-185
I have 180,000 mile motor I suppose

Not good, at least rings possibly more. Only a leak down can tell for sure.

I have the PCV valve vented to a vented catch can but before i put my front mount on (like 800 miles back) there was a bit of build up of caked and oily residue.

The pcv routes back to the intake manifold not to your intake pipe. I suspect the turbo seal (for reasons I'll get to later) may also be in question so focus on freshness of the oil. When I blew my 16g I found about1/2 quart of oil sitting on the bottom of my IC.

I have my valve cover breather plugged because I thought that if you have your pvc open to air then it would be enough ventilation (my pcv is still attached to the VC but with a hose running to a vented catch can). Could the catch can not have enough "ventibility" and ad that to me pluging up the VC breather I would have forced oil into my combustion chamber?

This could very well be the cause:

1. The reason why there are two venting outlets on the valve cover is probably because it needs both.

2. The pcv is designed to be sucked open by vacuum, not pushed open by crankcase pressure. When re-routing the pcv to a catch can, you must either hollow out the pcv or replace it with a straight fitting. And yes, the venting capacity of the catch can will also play a role.

With info we have so far, I believe it's very possible that excessive crankcase pressure may be the cause. What you should do next is check the turbo seal, valve seals and a leak down to determine what else is in play here. Make sure you fix your venting problem.

 

[dsm-onster]

With info we have so far, I believe it's very possible that excessive crankcase pressure may be the cause. What you should do next is check the turbo seal, valve seals and a leak down to determine what else is in play here. Make sure you fix your venting problem.

Dude, thanks for giving me hope . I assume then that I should still remove my IC to check for oil in there from the turbo, right? I'll have to remove the exhaust mani to determine if the valve seals are leaking (oil in exhaust runners), right (easy it has been off more time than on with me? And, the leak down test of course will tell me most everything else. . .

 

[oldman]

Dude, thanks for giving me hope . I assume then that I should still remove my IC to check for oil in there from the turbo, right? I'll have to remove the exhaust mani to determine if the valve seals are leaking (oil in exhaust runners), right (easy it has been off more time than on with me? And, the leak down test of course will tell me most everything else. . .

You have a very positive outlook on things, you'll do well. Most people will be crying right now including myself. Sounds like you have a good understanding of what to do next, best of luck to you.

 

[blackGSX2g]

Its always good to be positive about things

Look on the bright side, if it ends up being your rings you can do a full rebuild for fairly cheap (assuming you do the work yourself) and seeing as how you've replaced most of the other major components, you should have yourself a motor that should last for awhile.

 

[trbotaln]

have you checked your turbo for shaft play? You could be passing oil through the turbo.

EDIT: nevermind, I see that you have a new small 16g.

 

[dsm-onster]

So I had to take the car out this morning and everything seems ok now. With the pcv valve gutted and the VC breather unplugged, my oil leaks at the turbo banjo bolts stopped... I got on it a very little bit (it's raining now) and there was no smoke. at all. And the very small amount of smoke at idle has disappeared as well. I will Keep an eye on my rearview mirror when i get on it after it stops raining to see if it helped my smoking at WOT/high boost. Thanks

Hey, blackGSX2g. yea, i am tempted to throw a set of rings in it later this summer anyway... I have a fresh head, new turbo. and the PO rebuilt the trans a few month before he sold it to me (he sold it because the 14b was all but wasted and he was fed up!). With a new set of rings she'll be good to go... Mayby I should do the bearings (at least the rod bearings) while I'm in there... But I'll have to pull the engine for the mains right?

 

[blackGSX2g]

Mayby I should do the bearings (at least the rod bearings) while I'm in there... But I'll have to pull the engine for the mains right?

Since you have to take the rod bearings off to get the pistons out anyways, it is always a good idea to change them.

As for the mains, you don't have to take your motor out for that, but you do have to pull the trans to get the flywheel and clutch out/off.