Smoking cat

[Bowlesy]

Just made the switch over to Mobile 1 high mileage synthetic. It drips a little but is getting better (thank god) I've noticed since the switch that after 15 or 20 minutes of driving semi hard my catalytic converter smokes a little. Is this coolant being burned off or is it something I need to worry about. I also put only 4 quarts in it (the manual said 4.5) and my dipstick reads that I'm way overfull. I did the oil change myself as I have for years now and know all the old oil was drained and even flushed a bit with the new synthetic. Any input would be helpful.

 

[PrimerPLus]

What color is the smoke? How much is coming out? Get a video. Fix your oil leak. If you drained Ll your oil and put new filter on and you put in 4qts and it said was full then I'd probably leave it at that. Run the engine for a bit shut off let it sit for a few minutes then check it to make sure.

 

[kleenf4i]

And I thought I was going to see a(meow) cat on fire. Oh well maybe next time.
ok, You cant see your cat, internally. So do you mean that the smoke is coming out of the exhaust? if so, and it wasnt before, you overfilled it. If the dipstick reads "overfilled", unless its the wrong dipstick, 10 out of 10 times its overfilled. A quart over, sometimes .5 quart will produce smoke from being overfilled. the color of oil burn is a blueish gray color and is very dense , like a fluffy cloud.

 

[Cdc1221]

That doesnt explain the cat smoking unless theres an exhaust leak by it or oil is literally running down the bottom of the car. If its the latter, id be real concerned

 

[impossible]

(...)the color of oil burn is a blueish gray color and is very dense , like a fluffy cloud.

Hi,
and in addition to that of course you will smell, if the engine is burning oil

If your dipstick shows too much, you should exhaust a bit out.
(or drive as long as the oil is burnt )

Regards

 

[kleenf4i]

agreed with the above 2 posts. What is unclear is if its coming out of the tailpipe, or of its smoking from a leak dripping on the cat. we need to know if the smoke is coming out of the exhaust pipe. Are you now part of the misquito control unit, as you drive?

 

[Bowlesy]

The smoke is kindlof blueish. It goes away in under three minutes. None out of the exhaust though. Just by the cat. I think I've got a bad seal at the front of it or maybe a hole somewhere. There is no odor coming from it at all either. It almost looks like my cat is steaming.

 

[kleenf4i]

sounds like you have oil dripping on it. When you stop and park, it puddles up a bit ,then has to burn off. when its slowly dripping as you drive, between the wind and the drip not being able to dool up, its not noticable.im thinking the back side of the valve cover has a small leak, and its dripping off the b lock onto the cat.. could be oil pan leak also.

 

[Bowlesy]

My valve cover does leak a bit. Got a new gasket to throw on Thursday. It's been like that for a while though and this just started the day after I changed my oil. I'm gonna have to wait until I can actually get under the car to take a good look around. I'll probably start with the oil pan. Good thinking on that one. I may wrap the cat to see where it's coming from if I can't figure I out. Thanks for the help guys.

 

[kleenf4i]

no problem. hope you get it.

 

[Bowlesy]

Thanks. I'll get it hopefully soon. It's hard to find time to wrench. And it's not too warm here in Connecticut...

Alright it's coming from the seal between the pipe leading in to cat and the cat. Gonna take that apart over the weekend and fix it.

 

[kleenf4i]

cool. guess it was just the gasket then. thats good news.