2G Car blowing blue smoke at idle after sitting.

[BoostBum]

I have a problem with my car smoking after sitting at idle for a few minutes. The engine is rebuilt with all new seals and the turbo as well. It burns no oil when driving just if I'm stuck at a stop light or something for a few. I have to keep the rpms up while stopped to make it not smoke. Does anyone have any suggestions on what this could be?

 

[2GFWDbeast]

sounds like bad valve stem seals

 

[GRAVEDIGGER]

A puff of smoke upon starting as well as a puff coming off of an extended idling period are both signs of bad valve stem seals.

 

[BoostBum]

The valve stem seals where replaced in the rebuild though.

 

[2GFWDbeast]

well you said engine was rebuilt. Was the head also rebuilt to??

 

[BoostBum]

And it doesn't usually smoke on start up. And after it idles for a bit a little smoke will just steam out of the exhaust, but when reved it'll make a cloud. It stops after its going down the road a mile or two

I put new valves in the head due to one being chipped and a new headgasket. And the valve stem seals

 

[romeen]

I agree that your symptoms are most consistent with a problem with the valve stem seals. It's possible to damage them during install. Did you lube them up with motor oil before installing? Were the valve stems clean and free of burrs?

 

[Boosted DSM 32]

Check the turbo my car was doing the same thing it only smoked when i floored it, it would smoke out the whole street but if i drove it normal it hardly smoked at all.. it sounds to me like you have a bad turbo seal

 

[justa4clturbo]

Or worn guides stem seals won't seal if your valves have a lot of play in guide

 

[GRAVEDIGGER]

Or worn guides stem seals won't seal if your valves have a lot of play in guide

True ^^^

 

[bastarddsm]

Thats defiantly valve seals. Keep in mind if you get a little ham fisted when installing the seals you can rip them.

 

[Auto Enthusiast]

I have the same problem going on. I have a 98 Eclipse, non turbo 2.0. Just to clear everything up... I don't have any issues when the revs are high, out side of idle range. But when the engine remains at idle for 20 seconds or more, it'll start puffing out that blue smoke and the engine will start to shake, misfiring. I have no lack in power once I put my foot back on the accelerator. She runs perfect out side of that. I hope to fix the problem myself... Any ideas on what it could be and how much it will take me to fix it?

 

[PhilRose08]

I have a problem with my car smoking after sitting at idle for a few minutes. The engine is rebuilt with all new seals and the turbo as well. It burns no oil when driving just if I'm stuck at a stop light or something for a few. I have to keep the rpms up while stopped to make it not smoke. Does anyone have any suggestions on what this could be?

Did you get your diagnoses on this problem as I have a similar issue.

Thanks

 

[1990TSIAWDTALON]

Very old (10 years) post, but #7 and #11 are the most likely culprits. Would have been nice to hear the conclusion to the problem.
We have had valve seal issues that caused smoking and replaced them on a turbo motor only to have the issue come back a few weeks later due to worn valve guides. They let the valves wiggle a little, wearing out the new seals in a very short time.

 

[Ceezdsm99]

Very old (10 years) post, but #7 and #11 are the most likely culprits. Would have been nice to hear the conclusion to the problem.
We have had valve seal issues that caused smoking and replaced them on a turbo motor only to have the issue come back a few weeks later due to worn valve guides. They let the valves wiggle a little, wearing out the new seals in a very short time.

I have the same problem, I get blueish white smoke when idling but when I drive it goes away but once I idle at a light for more than 2 minutes or so it starts smoking , and it lets out a puff of smoke . It has a very unique smell to it , not like oil or exhaust gases . My turbo is stock , don’t know much about this car so I haven’t looked into it and am focusing on the suspension parts for now as they are all shot out , but it might be my turbo because boost does cut off sometimes and I have seen oil in the turbo hose before but not a lot . Other than that everything else is good . Don’t know how to do valve stem seals , Im not mechanical inclined when it comes to the actual motor If someone in Southern California could help me , I’ll shoot you some cash $$

 

[GSXRunner]

Check your PCV, it could be stuck open. Usually this happens when the spring gets gunked up and no longer compresses. Remember, when you're idling, vacuum is high and if the PCV doesn't partially restrict with high vacuum as it's supposed to, it could suck oil into the intake and give you smoke when you're idling. Had this problem on my wife's car (not a DSM). It would let out a good puff of smoke when started cold. What was happening was when the engine was shut down, the oil that coated the inside of the hose slowly drained down and settled in the PCV valve, kind of like it was a little shot glass of oil that when started got sucked right into the intake and cause a big puff of smoke. If you shut the engine off for a second and restarted, it wouldn't do it again.

 

[Ceezdsm99]

Check your PCV, it could be stuck open.

Thank you I’ll check that out!

Where is the pcv located at?
Been having a hard time getting answers on the forums

Hey gsxrunner so I found out where the pcv is. The hose going to it seems almost rock solid, it looks almost like it’s been replaced before … I don’t know what to check or how to check if the pcv valve is stuck open.

Can you help me on that. Thanks a lot Boss

 

[GSXRunner]

Pull the hose off the PCV. Plug it with something like a bolt and take it for a ride. If the smoking goes away, then you know it was the PCV and you will need to clean or replace it.

 

[Ceezdsm99]

Pull the hose off the PCV. Plug it with something like a bolt and take it for a ride. If the smoking goes away, then you know it was the PCV and you will need to clean or replace it.

Pull it with something like a bolt ? What do you mean . Okay I’ll take off the hose , mines all stock so it’s held by clamps .

 

[GSXRunner]

Pull it with something like a bolt ? What do you mean . Okay I’ll take off the hose , mines all stock so it’s held by clamps .

No, you undo the clamps, remove the hose and plug up the hose with a bolt. To do this test, you have to block off the hose or you'll have a huge vacuum leak and the engine will run like crap. The PCV can be left unconnected for this test. Put everything back the way it was when you are done.

 

[Buddy2]

+1 to valve seals. Once there is more rpm this would not be so much issue but if its only idle itd be more prone to do it. If its not losing significant amount of oil tho it does not sound much of an issue yet. Checking out PVC valve is ok and that the valve cover breathing house is open too.

 

[GSXRunner]

Could be worn valve seals/guides as well. Usually when it's the stem seals, you get a big cloud of smoke when you decelerate. I thought I had bad stem seals after I sprung a bad oil leak. I jumped to conclusions and replaced the stem seals and it was still blowing that blue smoke. It wound up being the turbo. Best to rule out less time consuming/costly problems first.

For this guy I'd say test the PCV first, then check the Turbo before suspecting the stem seals. If the Turbo rotor has 1/8" play, the Turbo needs rebuilding. If there's oil there, but no play, I would suspect a restricted oil drain from the Turbo. Could be a glob of RTV in the J-pipe blocking the return flow. This can cause the Turbo to overfill with oil and cause a leak on a perfectly good Turbo.

 

[Ceezdsm99]

Could be worn valve seals/guides as well. Usually when it's the stem seals, you get a big cloud of smoke when you decelerate. I thought I had bad stem seals after I sprung a bad oil leak. I jumped to conclusions and replaced the stem seals and it was still blowing that blue smoke. It wound up being the turbo. Best to rule out less time consuming/costly problems first.

For this guy I'd say test the PCV first, then check the Turbo before suspecting the stem seals. If the Turbo rotor has 1/8" play, the Turbo needs rebuilding. If there's oil there, but no play, I would suspect a restricted oil drain from the Turbo. Could be a glob of RTV in the J-pipe blocking the return flow. This can cause the Turbo to overfill with oil and cause a leak on a perfectly good Turbo.

Could be worn valve seals/guides as well. Usually when it's the stem seals, you get a big cloud of smoke when you decelerate. I thought I had bad stem seals after I sprung a bad oil leak. I jumped to conclusions and replaced the stem seals and it was still blowing that blue smoke. It wound up being the turbo. Best to rule out less time consuming/costly problems first.

For this guy I'd say test the PCV first, then check the Turbo before suspecting the stem seals. If the Turbo rotor has 1/8" play, the Turbo needs rebuilding. If there's oil there, but no play, I would suspect a restricted oil drain from the Turbo. Could be a glob of RTV in the J-pipe blocking the return flow. This can cause the Turbo to overfill with oil and cause a leak on a perfectly good Turbo.

Actually I am leaking oil from the oil pan . Previous owner put rtv sealant or some sh.. to seal it up from leaking , been having to add oil . My turbo hose did have some oil in it . I do suspect my turbo to be bad , but it still boosts but sometimes from 1st to 2nd it dosent boost right , and after I boost my rpm’s go low then come back up … my baby has a lot of issues but that’s how I like them I guess Since I’ve owned so many dsms and dealt with a lot (mainly 420as ) Lol anyways , it only smokes after idling for about 5 minutes or so , cold start and when I drive it , it dosent smoke . My gst is fully stock , with a stock turbo which is probably blown . Like you I was about to spend a whole lot on valve stem seals and what not , but thanks to you now I will look into the turbo . I actually have a brand new 16 G turbo but to be honest I don’t know much about boosted cars as this is my first gst and I don’t know how to do anything involving a turbo .

 

[chrysler kid]

Valve stem seals will smoke heavily at idle, especially when there is a large vacuum.

Remove the exhaust manifold and check to see if the cylinder head is wet with oil

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[Ceezdsm99]

Valve stem seals will smoke heavily at idle, especially when there is a large vacuum.

Remove the exhaust manifold and check to see if the cylinder head is wet with oil

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I got a code recently , so much things to fix on this car it’s stressing . I got a p0170 code for bank 1 , ordered a O2 sensor it didn’t end up being the right size , cleaned the sensor since I had no other option but too put it back . Cleared the code and code didn’t pop up for 10 min then Drove for a while to see how it would turn out .. ended up getting 2 extra codes besides that P0125, P0135 and the previous code p0170 for the sensor , . Parts store gave me the wrong part .. and the dsm is hating me for it I guess