bluish smoke when downshifting

[mike1999]

the other day my friend and i were driving around town and he mentioned something about a little bluish smoke coming out of the exhaust when i downshifted...... any advice or answers as to why because i hope my engine isnt dying .... i do have some crappy ebay headers, downpipe, and "highflow cat conv"(testpipe.. cough cough) any help would be great thanks

 

[oldman]

Probably pcv valve or valve seals, does it also smoke during idle as well? How fast are you losing oil?

 

[mike1999]

i dont believe it is at all blue when at idle that i have noticed or my father or anyone supposedly just when i downshift.... but then again he does own a civic and i have to teach him how to do everything with his car..... but it does not have any problem keeping oil.... it was leaking at one point but i replaced the valve cover and its fine now

 

[oldman]

Blue smoke out of exhaust indicates internal oil leaks, turbo seal, valve seals or piston rings. Smoking during down shift usually means valve seals, oil being drawn through intake valves seals under vacuum. This is just an educational guess as I'm not looking at the car.

 

[dsm_illicious]

If the blue smoke is pretty vivid, it sounds like bad valve seals to me. Had the same problem in the past, any time engine was under vacuum it would puff a decent sized blue cloud and oil was depleting quickly.

 

[mike1999]

so saying your educational guess is correct what then should i do about it? thank you by the way for the help

 

[oldman]

so saying your educational guess is correct what then should i do about it? thank you by the way for the help

I would first verify this by pulling both intake and exhaust manifold and look for wet oil in and around the intake and exhaust ports on the head. Use a small mirror and a flash light to examine the top of the ports where valve guide sits for signs of oil leakage.

After verification, you can either change the seals with the head in the car using special Miller's tool or use the opportunity to remove the head for a rebuild if money isn't an issue.

 

[mike1999]

well unfortunately money is an issue right now because im 16... and i need to find a job for after school seeing how the job i had in the summer was... just for the summer but i am looking around for a job and depending on what it is i will decide one way or the other.... if when i check it, it is as you say it may be..... but hopefully it isnt anything too bad and i dont have to spend money because i was hoping to turbo this summer.... but if an engine rebuild is a better idea i may do that or sell it or something and just buy a turbo'd one..... thank you for all of the help and any suggestions with the whole situation with engine rebuild/turbo/turbo'd car would be great thanks again

 

[talonTSIDriver]

BAD valve seals. Happen to me as well.

Also it does not really hurt the engine too much to drive with bad valve seals as long as you check your oil and add some when its low. So if you would rather wait to save up some money to upgrade the head, thats not a bad idea either.

 

[mike1999]

also very possible.... most people on here usually tell me to sell my car and buy a turbo'd one which i got mine for 6000 and could get more for it (according to kelley blue book) but either way would i be better off selling it and then buying a gsx or something? because all wheel drive would be really nice to have.... and a fast car for that matter

 

[Arod]

If your just buring a little oil while downshifting why not just install valve stem seals, rubber o-ring type seals that slip over the valve stem, instead of changing the vavle guid? Its probably not the best or recomended solutiong but it would keep you from burning a bunch of oil, is cheap, you don't have to remove the head, you don't need a special tool, and it would be easy. Obviously the best solution would be to just have the head completely rebuilt.

 

[mike1999]

well its really not burning a bunch of oil it just blew a little puff of blue smoke when i down shifted one day (so my honda friend says)... his on the other hand blows blue smoke a lot... feel so bad for him he just got it hahaha teahc him to buy a honda

 

[iceman1110]

well its really not burning a bunch of oil it just blew a little puff of blue smoke when i down shifted one day (so my honda friend says)... his on the other hand blows blue smoke a lot... feel so bad for him he just got it hahaha teahc him to buy a honda

Many people put Honda's down, but I have owned one before and that was the most reliable car I had ever owned until the Lexus joined the family.

 

[mike1999]

yeah i dont really have anything against them i just like making fun of him for it.... its all in fun... plus the thing is faster than my slow ass non turbo eclipse