Smoke!!! What the hell!?!?

[95420A]

I finally got the GSX running again so I took it out for a spin. Now it's smoking like hell at idle and has a burning smell! Piston rings??? I figure I probably need to do a compression test now damn it! No tools+Out of town+No help+DSM=PAIN IN THE A$$. But at 174,000 miles what can I expect I guess. By the way it's dark but I think the smoke is white

 

[95 'clipse RS]

if its white its coolant.

white=coolant
black/charcoal=fuel (rich AFR situation)
blue=oil

knowing what to look at is your first step. i'd say you should look through the cooling system of why you could be burning coolant in the combustion chamber or leaking turbo seals if water cooled. if its truely white smoke, i think headgasket would be the main source. or turbo seals, cracked block/head for other examples. but yeah a comp. test or leakdown test will tell you most likely if its in the combustion chamber, if not, then its probably turbo seals.

 

[95420A]

I'll give an update in the morning as to the definite color of the smoke

 

[95 'clipse RS]

ok excellent. but by any chance have you noticed the smell of the smoke? if you run actual coolant then the smoke should smell somewhat like it, like kind of sweet. oil will smell like burnt oil obviously (have no other way to describe it) and be a noticable blue, fuel will smell like fuel. that may help you determine what it is tonight so you'll know what it is to look for it tomorrow. have you driven the car at all? if so, how much does it smoke then?

 

[95420A]

I drove it about 10 miles or so today and first noticed a burning smell a little over half way through the trip. Since I bought the car I've only put 15.6 miles on it.

 

[95 'clipse RS]

wow, thats a shame... since you stated you got it running again. what was wrong with it before?

 

[95420A]

ECU rebuild, mpi relay, coolant temp sensor, fuel pump rewire, and a few other wiring issues. It's been an ordeal but when it boosts it's all worth it.

 

[95 'clipse RS]

yeah i know, boost is addicting!! but none of the previous things done to the car should have anything to do with the issue you're having. let us know tomorrow if its white, blue, black smoke, since it'll be daylight and you'll know for sure. i'm heading out to taco bell and gettin off though but ill be on tomorrow as well, and ill check up on the subject and add anything i can help with if anyone hasnt chimed in by then.

 

[95420A]

ok thanks

 

[95420A]

Ok took it out for a drive and no noticeable smoke while driving. Pulled into a parking lot and let it idle. As it sat there it started smoking more and more. Didn't really see a color to it maybe a slight bluish tinge. Any ideas?

 

[95420A]

Anybody?

 

[sschambers]

It's hardly ever bad oil rings. A good way to check the rings without a 'tester' is to go down a steep hill while in gear, not using the throttle. Once you get to the bottom, smash the throttle. If it throws quite a bit of smoke, then start to worry about rings.

Compression tests won't give you a 100% answer to bad oil rings. A leak down test would be more accurate.

If your smoke has a slight blue tint then it's probably oil burning. You'll just have to figure out why it's burning oil. Valve stem seals maybe? Headgasket is also a possibilty. Blown turbo?
Did you bother pulling the plugs yet to see what those look like?