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2G Smoking when it's cold outside

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Turbodhi

Proven Member
115
10
Oct 18, 2015
Olathe, Kansas
Hey guys I live in Kansas where it's been 20 degrees and below lately. Since it's been this cold my car has started smoking like my turbo has blown. And I'm driving on aa rebuilt 16g I'm not sure if I just need to wait longer before driving it or what. Any thoughts on what it could be? It didn't do this when it was 60°f outside.
 
I concur about the weather! I would say it is either wore valve stem seals (they will expand when they get warm) or oil rings (which also expand). Does it continue to smoke or does it go away when the car warms up?
Can you tell it is oil smoke or is it maybe just condensation?
 
I concur about the weather! I would say it is either wore valve stem seals (they will expand when they get warm) or oil rings (which also expand). Does it continue to smoke or does it go away when the car warms up?
Can you tell it is oil smoke or is it maybe just condensation?
It seems to go away when it warms up. I've replaced the stem seals not too long ago so the should just be cold. The smoke lingers and smells like burning oil which I very strongly remember from my blown stock turbo. I'll let it warm up more before I drive it home from work and see what happens.
 
When it is cold like it is now, I would let her warm up and of course CHECK THE OIL LEVEL to make sure she is full. :)
Are there a lot of miles on the cars engine?
My 180k motor smoked a little but I am tearing her down and replacing everything with new parts and shouldn't have any problems for quite awhile, crossing fingers!
 
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When it is cold like it is now, I would let her warm up and of course CHECK THE OIL LEVEL to make sure she is full. :)
Are there a lot of miles on the cars engine?
My 180k motor smoked a little but I am tearing her down and replacing everything with new parts and shouldn't have any problems for quite awhile, crossing fingers!
I topped off the oil maybe 2 days ago. And she has over 200k miles. I've done my valve stem seals so those should be good but I need to redo my valve seats
 
While its cold, just let her warm up some. Hell some guys refuse to drive them until they are up to operating temp, but I give my cars a good 10 min warm up when its as cold as it has been. I'm a little warmer here in SE KS but we have both had some nasty weather in the state lately!
 
Hey guys I live in Kansas where it's been 20 degrees and below lately. Since it's been this cold my car has started smoking like my turbo has blown. And I'm driving on aa rebuilt 16g I'm not sure if I just need to wait longer before driving it or what. Any thoughts on what it could be? It didn't do this when it was 60°f outside.
Do you have a catch can on the car? I had ice in mines which creates blow by preventing the crankcase from breathing into the catch can. When I took the catch can hoses off the valve cover the smoking went away. Today it was 2 degrees here in NYC. If no catch can check or change your PCV valve.
 
Do you have a catch can on the car? I had ice in mines which creates blow by preventing the crankcase from breathing into the catch can. When I took the catch can hoses off the valve cover the smoking went away. Today it was 2 degrees here in NYC. If no catch can check or change your PCV valve.

^^^^ This is a possibility. I just had this happen to me for the first time ever yesterday. After I noticed the extra smoke I immediately opened the oil cap. A giant whoosh of air came out and the car stopped smoking. So I pulled off the catch can only to find out it was full of ice. I just routed the hoses to empty water bottles so I could get to work :( Below is the text I sent my buddy later that day... LOL
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^^^^ This is a possibility. I just had this happen to me for the first time ever yesterday. After I noticed the extra smoke I immediately opened the oil cap. A giant whoosh of air came out and the car stopped smoking. So I pulled off the catch can only to find out it was full of ice. I just routed the hoses to empty water bottles so I could get to work :( Below is the text I sent my buddy later that day... LOL
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Yep absolutely! When the temp goes below 32 degrees guess I will just remove my hoses from the catch can and let them vent till I empty out my catch can this week.The issue I believe happens when the catch can gets full and the moisture that is inside freezes up. I had that same heavy release of air experience when I took off my oil cap as well.
Was your catch can full? I have not drained mines since i installed it 2k16. E85 can leave alot of moisture gas/ethanol mixture in your catch can as well. Even just using gasoline over time depending on how your motor was built the blowby can still leave moisture buildup from combustion in your catch can.
Blowby and turbocharged engines are like family you cannot have one without the other..
A clogged PCV can be a culprit on those who are basically stock as well.
 
Yep absolutely! When the temp goes below 32 degrees guess I will just remove my hoses from the catch can and let them vent till I empty out my catch can this week.The issue I believe happens when the catch can gets full and the moisture that is inside freezes up. I had that same heavy release of air experience when I took off my oil cap as well.
Was your catch can full? I have not drained mines since i installed it 2k16. E85 can leave alot of moisture gas/ethanol mixture in your catch can as well. Even just using gasoline over time depending on how your motor was built the blowby can still leave moisture buildup from combustion in your catch can.
Blowby and turbocharged engines are like family you cannot have one without the other..
A clogged PCV can be a culprit on those who are basically stock as well.

I’ve made the mistake of not emptying the can and the results were the same. But this time it was empty. I drove the car the night before so it probably had condensation in the little filter that’s in this particular can. Here is a picture:

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This was the only thing frozen. I don’t run a PCV anymore so everything is free flowing.
 
I let the car warm up before driving the past few times and it seems like it's fine. So I guess it just doesn't like the cold. And no I don't have a catch can yet.
 
I’ve made the mistake of not emptying the can and the results were the same. But this time it was empty. I drove the car the night before so it probably had condensation in the little filter that’s in this particular can. Here is a picture:

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This was the only thing frozen. I don’t run a PCV anymore so everything is free flowing.
Interesting! Is that a mishimoto catch can? I have a mishimoto which has a cone shaped mesh filter like that and I wonder if that is what is going on with mines? Well I will find out toda

Short vid and pic of mines
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.
I took off the filter and intake pipe last night and it was full of oil at the entrance of the turbo and in the intake pipe not far from the vacuum source. My filter in the catchcan I’m sure is frozen up. The oil could also be coming from the turbo return line due to the crankcase pressure. Will definitely see what the hell is going on because the car does not smoke at all. Today temps in NYC should be above freezing and in the 40s.
 
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Interesting! Is that a mishimoto catch can? I have a mishimoto which has a cone shaped mesh filter like that and I wonder if that is what is going on with mines? Well I will find out toda


I took off the filter and intake pipe last night and it was full of oil at the entrance of the turbo and in the intake pipe not far from the vacuum source. My filter in the catchcan I’m sure is frozen up. The oil could also be coming from the turbo return line due to the crankcase pressure. Will definitely see what the hell is going on because the car does not smoke at all. Today temps in NYC should be above freezing and in the 40s.
Yes it is a MISHI can. We both have the same bronze filter media but it’s just a different style. I’m looking into other options as I don’t need this happening anymore and I feel the can isn’t effective enough at stopping blow by getting into my intake pipe anyway. Even if the filter is partially frozen it’s still going cause negative effects although it may not be noticeable. So now that I know condensation freezes there it makes me not want to use it anymore no matter what season.
I let the car warm up before driving the past few times and it seems like it's fine. So I guess it just doesn't like the cold. And no I don't have a catch can yet.

If that’s the case then you should check your PCV and make sure the lines are fully clear. If you haven’t already done so, pull the turbo intake pipe and take a look. With no catch can, it’s most likely dirty.
 
Yes it is a MISHI can. We both have the same bronze filter media but it’s just a different style. I’m looking into other options as I don’t need this happening anymore and I feel the can isn’t effective enough at stopping blow by getting into my intake pipe anyway. Even if the filter is partially frozen it’s still going cause negative effects although it may not be noticeable. So now that I know condensation freezes there it makes me not want to use it anymore no matter what season.


If that’s the case then you should check your PCV and make sure the lines are fully clear. If you haven’t already done so, pull the turbo intake pipe and take a look. With no catch can, it’s most likely dirty.
FROZEN
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but no oil just pure ethanol and water and the can was full.

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I can either take the filter out till it gets warmer outside or just vent the hoses to a filter temporarily till the climate changes. I dont deive the car much in the winter anyway. But I understand what you are saying. The filter is effective though in venting the crankcase obviously but has to be maintained. Firat time dumping the fluid in 3 years of owning this catchcan. But Ethanol users especially in the water have dump the catch can often or use it without the filter.
Thia happens to the Calan baffled catch can as well so I dont know any other viable solution other than to run a non filtered catch can or just vent the hoses and make them long enough to go under the car like a friend 9f mine a does. He hates catch cans.
 
One of the things that concerns me also with this catch can is that the nut that holds the baffle secure is rusting because of the moisture combo ethanol. Bad job ! Going to call Mishimoto on Monday.
 
And yes there was oil on my intake and on the compressor side of the turbo.
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That's really interesting. I don't have a can of my car yet so mine are dumping to the ground for now. I did take off my intake and found oil in it. I'm wondering if something similar happened.
 
That's really interesting. I don't have a can of my car yet so mine are dumping to the ground for now. I did take off my intake and found oil in it. I'm wondering if something similar happened.
If it's running under the car it should give some relief but they say it would be more effective with a vacuum source.

I started my car yesterday with the lines unattached to the CC and she did not smoke at all. Temp was 33 degree last night.

I think the can is effective above freezing bit it definitely needs to be dumped regularly when using ethanol. And works great with a vacuum source.

Keltalon mentioned to me today this jaws to happen to his car till he got the Mishimoto catch can and added the vacuum source to it. He runs 42psi E85 and mentioned how he has no oil anymore on the compressor side.

As a side note this would happen to any filtered baffled catchcan.
I would advice either removing the filter or removing the lines from it in below freezing weather. Especially when running ethanol.
 
I know I'm a little late chiming in here, but thought I should give my take on this subject. So I as well have the same catch can, the 3 port one, 2in and 1out. I became a little suspect of the bronze filter myself. Mainly because the catch can wasn't collecting any oil period. And the previous can I had on, did catch a reasonable amount, it was basically an empty can. Which i had recirculated, just like the mishimoto 3 port. Anyway I decided to perform a few tests with a vacuum pump, and compressed air. What I found was the bronze filter most certainly was creating a restriction. Obviously it's there for a reason, and in theory it makes sense. But what good is it doing if doesn't let the blow-by out freely. Anyway I decided to go with a happy medium, and drilled 6 small holes in the bronze filter, I believe 3/16.?. Since I did this small modification, it's seems to be doing it's job well. In 3000 miles it had less than 1oz of fluid, and my freshly rebuilt 6 bolt is now using much less oil. Hopefully this was some help.
 
I know I'm a little late chiming in here, but thought I should give my take on this subject. So I as well have the same catch can, the 3 port one, 2in and 1out. I became a little suspect of the bronze filter myself. Mainly because the catch can wasn't collecting any oil period. And the previous can I had on, did catch a reasonable amount, it was basically an empty can. Which i had recirculated, just like the mishimoto 3 port. Anyway I decided to perform a few tests with a vacuum pump, and compressed air. What I found was the bronze filter most certainly was creating a restriction. Obviously it's there for a reason, and in theory it makes sense. But what good is it doing if doesn't let the blow-by out freely. Anyway I decided to go with a happy medium, and drilled 6 small holes in the bronze filter, I believe 3/16.?. Since I did this small modification, it's seems to be doing it's job well. In 3000 miles it had less than 1oz of fluid, and my freshly rebuilt 6 bolt is now using much less oil. Hopefully this was some help.
If you put the holes in that filter which is the outlet side ,wont it allow oil to get in to your intake pipe? The turbo under boost creates alot of suction and should pull the air right through that filter.
 
If you put the holes in that filter which is the outlet side ,wont it allow oil to get in to your intake pipe? The turbo under boost creates alot of suction and should pull the air right through that filter.
Yeah I imagine a little more, but I haven't noticed any in my intake pipe. My bronze filter proved to be very restrictive, defeating the purpose of the catch can all together. I tried running it without the filter for a week or so. Then decided to go with the happy medium approach, and have been glad I did. I figured worst case scenario, I had to buy a new filter. Only a few bucks. My car's oil consumption has been cut in half by doing so. Just my take on this subject, take it with a grain of salt.
 
Yeah I imagine a little more, but I haven't noticed any in my intake pipe. My bronze filter proved to be very restrictive, defeating the purpose of the catch can all together. I tried running it without the filter for a week or so. Then decided to go with the happy medium approach, and have been glad I did. I figured worst case scenario, I had to buy a new filter. Only a few bucks. My car's oil consumption has been cut in half by doing so. Just my take on this subject, take it with a grain of salt.
I bought the compact can like you have to add to the big universal one I have. Going to put another fitting in my turbo intake pipe to vacuum the compact one. Will post results!
 
Compact can way way way too small. I returned it and just received the large mishimo universal baffled filtered can like I have for cheap. So now I have e two. Hope to install today.
 
Yeah you'll probably be much happier with that option. Also one thing you can do if your still running pcv, is add an aluminum check valve in line. Our PCV always leaks, which just adds crank case pressure. I've tried both with and without the the PCV, and I get less oil consumption with it in place. Adding one these in place, I've tested mine to 40psi. With no leaks...

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