97 GSX Smoke Issue

[StrokerMax]

Hi Guys,

I have read a lot on DSM Tuners but can't seem to figure out my issue.

I just bought a 97 GSX with a 6 Bolt swap. The guy I bought it from never drove the car. He was military and got stationed over seas and had to sell the car. I can't get in touch with the guy who built the car but he claimed the motor was just re-built 5000 miles ago.

I'm getting a continuous white/blue smoke at idle and when driving. It smells like oil or fuel. The car starts just fine and seems to idle smooth. I do have a light tick at lower RPMS. It smokes when cold or hot.

So far I have:

1) Checked my compression. Came in at 120 across all cylinders. The car has Manley 8.5-1 pistons .20 over so I figured 120PSI could be okay.

2) Turbo compressor feels nice and tight. It has a Garett GT-35

3) I've found a few boost leaks and fixed them... I have a few bad oil leaks as well. One on the drive side back of motor that I cant seem to figure out.

4) Replaced my PCV valve

I'm not getting any oil/coolant contamination

Car has 2g ported polished head with 1mm over-sized valves.
Precision 1000cc injectors
DSM Link
Manly Rods


From what I've read it could be

1) Blown Turbo seal
2) Bad Valve Stem Seals
3) Bad rings


Could it just be a tuning issue? I don't know where to go with this thing

 

[tuby]

That's burning oil for sure and 120 on compression is low. Have you looked at your turbo seals?

 

[Twinturbo120]

120 is lowwww, did you add a little bit of oil? If you do, and the compression goes up, bad rings.

 

[StrokerMax]

Thanks Guys. Okay. I will do a wet compression test this morning. I'll also check my intercooler lines for oil. Hope its the turbo but looks like it could be the rings. I'll keep you posted.

 

[boost97gst]

Unless your gauge is way off or timing is slightly off then comp numbers are low. At 8.5 it should be around 180. My mahle 8.5 are 180 - 185psi(the good 3 that is ).

I suspect timing though. ALL 4 are off the same exact amount? That just doesnt sound like rings. Smoke, that def sounds like rings. Maybe they all worn the same way, the same time.

Leak down will tell you the most.

 

[StrokerMax]

Okay. I checked the intercooler pipe and there is no oil in it. So its not the turbo.

I re-did my compression test on all cylinders. First without oil then added oil and 3 of 4 cylinders went up. Here are my numbers:

Cylinder 1 - 145 (dry) 145 (wet test) Not sure why the compression was higher this time than yesterday. It was 120ish yesterday.

Cylinder 2 - 120 (dry) 150 (Wet test)

Cylinder 3 - 115 (dry) 140 (wet test)

Cylinder 4 - 120 (dry) 160 (wet test)



Would you guys say its the rings for sure? Guess I will try a leak down test next. How would I know if this is a timing issue?

So strange that they seller said this engine was rebuilt but the rings are cooked. He was trying to say that it just needed tuning. I bought the car from out of state and had it shipped. Its got a ton of awesome parts on it at least. But sucks that the rings might be bad.

 

[Twinturbo120]

Its not that they might be bad, they ARE bad. The test you did pretty much confirms it. A leak down test would also be good, the more you know the better.

 

[StrokerMax]

Bummer..... Hopefully some of the engine parts are okay. It was a bad sign when I saw the EGT gauge wasn't hooked up. Not sure who runs one of these with a massive turbo and doesn't have the EGT gauge working. That and the Magnus intake has the taps for nitrous.... Not sure if it had nitrous but could have.


The engine supposedly has Manley rods, ACL bearings, 2g ported polished head with 1mm over-sized valves (Basically some decent parts) and hopefully was just redone 5000 miles ago like the seller said.

Assuming those are all good, what do you think new rings will cost me? I will most likely do the work myself since this car is not my daily driver. I can take my time and do it right.

 

[DSMReviver]

Check and see if you see any oil in your exhaust port. To do this your will have to remove your exhaust manifold. If you see oil in your exhaust port, either your valve seal are bad or valve guide are bad like crack(unlikely if bronze/maybe if stock guides). I would check here next.

if you don't see any in your exhaust ports, do the same with the intake. You will see oil if the intake side is bad

 

[boost97gst]

Bummer. Yea, its the rings. You can do a leakdown to confirm it but with such a massive jump doing the wet test i would say with some certainty it is the rings. Rebuild time.

 

[StrokerMax]

Okay guys. I need your help again please....

I was preparing for a motor pull and decided I better try the leak down test first so I went and bought the gauge. Here are my numbers..... What could cause this???

Cylinder 1 -- 25% loss

Cylinder 2 -- 28% loss

Cylinder 3 -- 22% loss

Cylinder 4 -- 30% loss

according to my leak down gauge these numbers are okay. and I did the test with my engine cold.

What else could cause my compression test to come in low and to blow white smoke? there is also oil like substance coming out of the tail pipe when the car runs.

 

[1G Eclipse94928]

Okay guys. I need your help again please....

I was preparing for a motor pull and decided I better try the leak down test first so I went and bought the gauge. Here are my numbers..... What could cause this???

Cylinder 1 -- 25% loss

Cylinder 2 -- 28% loss

Cylinder 3 -- 22% loss

Cylinder 4 -- 30% loss

according to my leak down gauge these numbers are okay. and I did the test with my engine cold.

What else could cause my compression test to come in low and to blow white smoke? there is also oil like substance coming out of the tail pipe when the car runs.

Your rings are leaking... its burning oil... if the engine is new, maybe it was installed without seating stuff.

 

[StrokerMax]

Cool. Thank you for the reply. I wasn't sure what % of a leak is okay. 20 - 30% means time for a rebuild.

 

[1G Eclipse94928]

Yea once you tear it down you will know right away whats wrong, and if the guy scammed you make sure you get ahold of the "mechanic" who did the swap and give him a good smack.

 

[StrokerMax]

Man this guy said the motor was rebuilt 5000 miles ago... It doesn't look that way to me. Unless the guy didn't clean up any of the old parts. The engine components are just too dirty.

At least the car actually has all the bolt ons advertised. I just hope the internals are accurate and not destroyed.

I'm going to rebuilt this one right.

 

[boost97gst]

5 to 10% is ok. I have a bad #2 that has roughly half compression of the rest(~95psi on #2). Iirc the leakdown on that cylinder was 25% roughly. Other 3 were about 5% which is perfect. Theres never a 0% leakdown. 5% is about the best you're going to see on any car.

Hopefully you just need a hone and rings? That'd be best case scenario. Make sure to have it cleaned well.

As far as it being rebuilt 5k miles ago. That is very possible. These cars are old and with all the old components under the hood you def cant tell if its got 5k on the engine or 205k, ya know. Cosmetics mean nothing. What very well happened was the original owner took it way to easy on it or way to hard during break in(first 20 miles). I would guess he went super easy on it and never ran it hard to seat it properly. That or the machinist didnt gap em right. Updates when you find out what the cause was though, that'd be nice.

Edit: If it werent so embarassing, id post a pic of my engine bay. You'd think it had what the odometer says:203k miles . Yet, from the oil pan up its about 4500 on it.( And a LOT of wasted money haha)

 

[StrokerMax]

I'll for sure keep you guys posted once I tear this thing apart. Hope to pull the motor this weekend or next. Gotta get the car ready for summer.

 

[StrokerMax]

Got my motor into the machine shop. The rings are bad, the head gasket was shimmed and not done right, the bearings are going bad, and my pistons are bad. The guy that built this car got the right parts but hacked the thing together. There was even bearings in the oil pan.... Meaning at some point a turbo blew up on this car.

I should know more about the top end tomorrow.

Getting my parts ordered this week and will be building this thing right

 

[VtecvrsTurbo]

What a disappointment. Sorry for your loss.

At least now you know your engine will be good to go.

 

[StrokerMax]

Hey I have a question for you guys.... I'm having my motor built here in Colorado Springs. The machine shop has already had my motor for 6 weeks... I called him today and he said he "Hopes" to have it done next week. 3 weeks ago he told me a week or two and it would be done. I'm starting to think I'm just getting put on the back burner.

Is it typical for a motor to take this long to build? He's doing a valve job, new pistons, rings, bearings and all assembly.

Not sure what to do about it.

 

[boost97gst]

Hahaha welcome to the machinist's world. Theyre clock is different than ours!. See, your job gets moved back when he gets a regular customer or a race teams block/heads in for machining. Mine took 6 to 8 weeks. Maybe more, cant remember. I wouldnt freak but i WOULD be calling him every friday or every monday to ask about the progress. Say, "so hey Bob, I got the bay wired and my interior finished, ready for a longblock to drop in! How we doin on my engine? So, what time should I come pick it up this week?" Just make shit up. There are ways to semi-guilt people in to hurrying up.
Ya know, be friendly but always be assuming its ready to be picked up. So when he tells you its not ready he will feel the pressure. You can sound a bit disappointed or kind of surprised its not ready. Just dont get cockstrong with him and bully the guy. He'll get it done.

Im not sure if this is how all machinists work but i expect, unless they are a vendor specializing in th '63, they will put "small" jobs to the side when big work comes in.

Does this particular shop build a lot of v8s? Like most shops?