Smog

[Vividus]

I own a 1990 Eagle TSI AWD. Original Owner. About eight years ago, car made a bang sound and some smoke would wisp up from the turbo. Then it wouldn't pass Smog. I took in to dealer and they said I needed a new engine. Not wanting to part with the car I put it in storage for four year and got a new truck. I then had to move it from storage , so I drop some gas oil, change and new battery and it ran better than ever. So I took it to SMOG, it barely failed. Guy there told me to get new wires and plugs and it should pass which it did. One of the spark plug was missing the gap arm. Apparently the dealer didn't even check it. I drove the car for a couple of weeks and the wisping smoke was back. So on a hunch I pulled off the turbo and manifold. The turbo and waste gate was fryer, looked like lava on the inside, totally burned. The manifold also was cracked really good. So I put it back in storage for a couple of years while I bought parts for it. This pass month I had the Big 16 Turbo and wastegate, improved manifold and a 190 fuel pump installed and the oil changed. I took it to Smog and it won’t pass. At idle it is 300/220, failed but at rpm it was 120/220, pass. It appears, if the car runs there isn’t much smoke, if any. But if I let it idle a while like at a long stop light, puff, big cloud. My mechanic says to drive it awhile, because the rings parts might be dry. I’ve put 500 miles on it now and it is still the same. My mechanic says the compression is good. The car running really really well, but the smoke and not passing smog is bugging me. I’ve also tried gas treatments, Nothing. Any ideas? Sorry for the long string. Car has 135k on it mostly highway miles Thanks.

 

[travislaw]

I own a 1990 Eagle TSI AWD. Original Owner. About eight years ago, car made a bang sound and some smoke would wisp up from the turbo. Then it wouldn't pass Smog. I took in to dealer and they said I needed a new engine. Not wanting to part with the car I put it in storage for four year and got a new truck. I then had to move it from storage , so I drop some gas oil, change and new battery and it ran better than ever. So I took it to SMOG, it barely failed. Guy there told me to get new wires and plugs and it should pass which it did. One of the spark plug was missing the gap arm. Apparently the dealer didn't even check it. I drove the car for a couple of weeks and the wisping smoke was back. So on a hunch I pulled off the turbo and manifold. The turbo and waste gate was fryer, looked like lava on the inside, totally burned. The manifold also was cracked really good. So I put it back in storage for a couple of years while I bought parts for it. This pass month I had the Big 16 Turbo and wastegate, improved manifold and a 190 fuel pump installed and the oil changed. I took it to Smog and it won’t pass. At idle it is 300/220, failed but at rpm it was 120/220, pass. It appears, if the car runs there isn’t much smoke, if any. But if I let it idle a while like at a long stop light, puff, big cloud. My mechanic says to drive it awhile, because the rings parts might be dry. I’ve put 500 miles on it now and it is still the same. My mechanic says the compression is good. The car running really really well, but the smoke and not passing smog is bugging me. I’ve also tried gas treatments, Nothing. Any ideas? Sorry for the long string. Car has 135k on it mostly highway miles Thanks.

My guess would be a lot of your seals and gaskets have cracked and your mixing fluids and or vaccum leaks. You can't leave a car sitting for a couple of years and then expect it to be fine when you start it up. Your seals and gaskets require lubrication to keep them good. Most mechanics I have talked to say to never let a car sit for more than a couple of weeks without starting it up and letting it run for a couple of minutes. I had an RX-7 before my Eclipse and the dealership told me I couldn't go longer than a week without starting that car because the Rotary seals go bad fast. You may also want to find out what happened to the tip of the gap arm on the plug, you don't want that roaming around in your engine, you could be asking for some major trouble.

 

[Vividus]

True. And I have heard that about rotaries. We ran a scope in the cylinders and they looked good, didn't find the remains of the plug. Didn't look like it scratched the cylinder walls. I had the vacuum hoses replaced, but the mechanic didn't seem to confident that he got all replaced. Wish I could find a good mechanic in Reno experienced with Eagles. The car has never drip fluids and the engine has always been fairly clean and well maintained: oil changes, lube, checkups at dealership, belts replaced, etc. Except for wearing out batteries and one clutch at 20k, it never has had any problems. The radiator and oil has been checked and they aren’t mixing with each other. Maybe it is the vacuum or valves? I might check that cylinder again that had the bad spark plug. Thanks.

 

[jp171]

I'm not sure if they're still around, but I remember hearing good things about a DSM specialist called Doug's Dynopower in vegas. Hope that's helpful.

 

[jp171]

Also, if you're barely failing emissions, one thing that's worked for my Sentra SE-R, and many others with turbo and NA SR20DE's (and might work for DSMs) is to retard the timing to 2 to 3 degrees less than stock, drive for about 30 minutes, and then take it to the emissions station. It's just a thought, and even if it doesn't work it's unlikely to damage anything.