Smoke Coming Out Of Breather Why??????????

[flyingdsm]

Hey Guys,

I just started my car up this morning and out of no where, alot of air started to huff from the breather filter on the valve cover(one next to the thermostat housing). Even after rev'in the engine a bit during idle, ALOT more smoke came out. I changed my PCV valve about a year ago too. I then took out the oil cap and air shot out of there as well. I recently redid my timing belt, changed head gasket, and valve seals about 2 months ago as well. Can anyone help me out??

BTW, if my piston rings were to go, would this happen?

 

[Defiant]

O ya sorry bout that one. My car is a 1991 TSi AWD with a small 16g ported and clipped, 190lph fuel pump, 2.5 inch turbo back , 3inch intake K&N filter, and basic free mods...

Okay.

Again:

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/showthread.php?t=148744

Do It.

 

[Turbo Talon DL]

On a different forum someone said that it might be a vacuum leak..Does this sound correct with the symptoms the car is displaying?

His rough idle/cutting off could be caused by a COLD engine with a vacuum leak. The smoke, he's got other problems going on there. I thought some smoke was supposed to come out of the breather... Thats what i've OBSERVED on my car.

 

[JiveMasterT]

His rough idle/cutting off could be caused by a COLD engine with a vacuum leak. The smoke, he's got other problems going on there. I thought some smoke was supposed to come out of the breather... Thats what i've OBSERVED on my car.

some smoke is supposed to come out of the breather.... and a vaccum leak can cause major problems to, so check your stuff.

 

[Hotshyt]

ok, after you install the filter, where do you run the other hose?

 

[suprdave09]

I have recently put on the maf-t and put on a intake pipe without the breather lines. I now notice that i have smoke coming out the brether line. I have all emissions removed and my pcv valve routed to the ground as well with intake mani side capped off. I had some coolant get into my intake manifold from when i replaced the throttle body, could this have gotten into the oil and be causing it to smoke or what else could it be?

 

[W_Static]

How many miles are on your engine? One possibility is the rings, I had the same problem when my rings went bad. I had white smoke, almost like steam coming out of my catchcan. When you have bad rings gas and water pass right by your rings and into your crankcase and cause that smoke you see in your lines, especially on turbo cars because boost will cause blow by and force gas and water into the crankcase. Change your oil and run a compression test, then a leak down, and let us know what you come up with. By the way what weight oil are you using? Could be too thin.

 

[andrewjscott]

I'm having a similar issue. I live in Canada, and it gets cold in the fall so I just attributed the "steam" as warm engine gas exiting to a cool environment. I see you are in Michigan, where I'm sure it also gets pretty chilly, so if the original answer i got here was correct, this may be the issue.

 

[Old Mitsu Tech]

Where is the smoke coming from? If from exhaust then here's your color codes. Black is fuel blue is oil and white is coolant. If coolant is burned through engine you may lose your o2 sensor as the silicones will damage it. White vapor from exhaust on startup is condensation. Large clouds of exhaust smoke that is white is head or head gasket damage which we have all observed on some poor joe on the side of the road with hood up and large clouds. Loose coolant in the intake can't get into the oil by any method I can think of. If you are getting oil into your intake you may have compressor seal problems. PCV into atmosphere I am not sure of. Anyway that's my 2 cents and hope it helps.

 

[want_a_gsx]

ok so all the sudden, smoke started coming out of the breather and the exhaust. at first it was a lot. looked like i had just done a compression test with oil. now, smoke is always coming out the breather, not too much from the exhaust but there still is some smoke.

i just did a compression test, and it is dramatically lower. i checked oil and there are some bubbles in it, but no oil in coolant?

is this a blown headgasket? why is there smoke coming out of the breather, thats way above the valves.

Compression
before after

normal wet Normal wet
1. 120 150 90 ?
2. 90 120 85 100
3. 30 40 15 20
4. 135 165 134 160

 

[DanThMan1983]

Those numbers are pretty strange if I am looking at it correctly. Whats it running like? What do the plugs look like?

My guess as to why its coming out the breather is some bent valves and its coming past the seals or something. Im just an amateur trying to help so im not sure.

 

[slipstream808]

What was going on when smokes started coming out of the breather? I mean if it was at idle and you were looking at it and all was find then wow, that's pretty wierd.

What color is the smoke out of the exhaust and breather? What color is your coolant and oil?

BTW, smoke usually comes out of my breather when I floor it, but that's normal.

 

[1990talon]

Also you may be blowing exhaust into your coolant. Can you post a better chart of you compression check.

 

[dieseltech]

It's been my experience that smoke from the breather usually indicates bad rings, or a hole in a piston. You'll need to do a leak down test to confirm this.

Bring the cylinder up to TDC compression stroke. Have the spark plug removed. Use shop air to pressurize the cylinder and listen for leaks. If you hear it from the intake, it's leaking out of the intake valves. If you hear it from the exhaust, it's the exhuast valves. If you remove the oil fill cap and you hear it coming from the crankcase it's the piston rings/burnt up piston. Hope this helps.

EDIT: going by the numbers you've posted. I'd say the most likely candidate for causing the smoke from your breather will be cylinder #3. As for the rest, they look to be following #3 to their demise.

 

[atlguyinbama]

Ok, I'm stumped. When I put my new clutch and turbo in, my friend overfilled my car with oil a bit. Like a 1/2-1 quart... I know, what a dumbass.... I know I am too for not double checking him.
So anyway, I had my car up on a lift at work and there was oil all over my transmission. I freaked for a minute, and then saw it was coming from the breather filter (I know, I need a catch can). So, I checked the oil and sure enough it was overfilled. So now that it is at the correct level, whenever the car is running, smoke comes from the breather filter...
At first I think blow-by, but my compression is 173-176 all the way accross the board (2g pistons, I guess). So what could be the cause of this? I never noticed it before the new clutch, turbo, and the overfill.
Please help

 

[Auto RS T]

Possibly a clogged/bad pcv valve. Sounds like the crankcase isn't venting or there is oil in your breather.

Did you take the breather off and see if it smokes?

 

[want_a_gsx]

before

Norm Wet
1. 120 150
2. 90 120
3. 30 40
4. 135 165

After

Norm Wet
90 ?
85 100
15 20
134 160

i know that i need to get my engine rebuilt and from looking at the compression, looks like my rings are bad. on two of the pistons, i saw big dents if not holes on the front side. possibly from the exhaust valves. piston 3 is the worst. thats the one where i thought i saw a hole through it.

i would say that the smoke is very bright white. the car doesnt overheat or anything.

you guys are gonna think i'm crazy...but i installed a home depot intake and didn't make a whole for the breather tube. i was at the gas station and my car sounds like it wants to cut out. i popped the hood and i noticed the breather tube wasn't being filtered so i tied it (i was 3 blocks from my house!). instantly smoke started coming out of the exhaust. lots of it. popped the measuring stick for the oil and some smoke was coming out. i think i saw smoke once under the hood but it was very little, but just enough for the headlights to show. that was after i was boosting a lot.

when i checked the coolant a couple days ago, it was normal. no weird colors or oil floating around. the oil seemed normal too, except for the bubbles. i kinda noticed the oil a little lighter, but i was unsure since i added a quart of oil a day or two before that.

0 shaft play, so seals on the turbo must be good

 

[No_Skillz]

You have 15 compression in #3? You shouldn't be driving it. The rest don't look healthy either. Since the wet test barely helps, I would say it's not your rings. Do a leakdown test to try and pinpoint what's going bad... but I don't know if it's worth the effort. I would look into a rebuild.

 

[Bmxr152]

the same thing happened to me and look what was wrong. Just giving you a heads up!

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[want_a_gsx]

i am gonna do a full rebuild...

2g pistons, new rings, hone cylinders, new bearings, gasket set, new timing belt kit, new water pump, and buying a head somewhere in the classifieds. am i missing anything else?

this is my daily driver and school just started so i have to drive 20 miles total everyday.
whats the worst that could happen if i keep driving the car?

 

[atlguyinbama]

Ok,
I replaced the PVC and the breather filter and I'm still getting smoke at idle. Not only that, but I changed the oil today (correct level this time), took it for a drive and oil had came out the new breather. At first when I did it, it was before I changed the PCV and suspected a stuck PCV staying open all the time letting the valve cover pressurize with boost. Thus in turn blowing oil out of the breather. Now, with new PCV, it is still doing it.
What the hell is going on?