White/Blue smoke when coming to a stop

[tsunari]

So I just completed my 6-bolt swap a few days ago, did the whole 'break-in' thing and am on roughly 200 miles right now. Strange thing is, the car puffs out a big cloud of white/blue smoke when I put it in neutral and come to a stop, and maybe again when I first get her rolling. Afterwords, I dont really notice anything and neither have friends driving behind me.

The smoke smells like burning oil and the long block is brand new. I've searched different forums for what it may be and I've come up with:

-The rings are still seating
-Blown turbo seals
-Bad Valve guide seals

Etc . . . Any insight?

 

[DSMcrazy3]

If you've got a brand new long block, it shouldn't be the rings. My first guess would be that it is the valve seals. After the car sits over night or for a few hours, and you turn it on does another puff come out, or any smoke at all for that matter?

 

[tsunari]

If you've got a brand new long block, it shouldn't be the rings. My first guess would be that it is the valve seals. After the car sits over night or for a few hours, and you turn it on does another puff come out, or any smoke at all for that matter?

She's been sittin overnight, so I just went out and cranked it . . . no smoke what-so-ever. If it means anything, I did a compression test after I 'seated' the rings (first 20-30 miles) and I got 170,185,170,180.

Pretty much everything in the head should be new too . . . well . . . new valves, guides, stem seals, and lifters

 

[ddavisaf]

Then the obvious problem would be the turbo

Pull the LICP off and watch for oil. And by watch I do mean back up because there will be oil. Time to replace the turbo to compliment that new block

 

[tsunari]

Then the obvious problem would be the turbo

Pull the LICP off and watch for oil. And by watch I do mean back up because there will be oil. Time to replace the turbo to compliment that new block

*grrrr* I'll check that today . . . kinda hope it is the problem, but then kind of don't . . . when my 7-bolt walked 3 months ago, the T-25 went with it so I bought another one just for the break-in (didn't want to risk killing a brand new turbo). Paid a bit much for this one, but I really needed it and was kind of under a time crunch . . . the person that sold it to me will definitely get a bad review if that's the problem . . .

Thanks for the quick responses and I'll post results later today

 

[tsunari]

Alright . . . pulled off the LICP and there really wasn't anything in there to speak of. Maybe a LITTLE bit of oil in the stock tube before it got to the SMIC, but I'm thinking that was from when the old turbo died.

Talked to the guys that did the motor (Polk Performance) and they said they coat their pistons with some really slick shit that may take the rings a bit longer to seat. Does this sound plausible?

 

[ddavisaf]

Yeah, but it means you have to baby the car for a little while

 

[tsunari]

Just an update . . . have a little over 500 miles on the motor now and there doesn't seem to be anymore smoke at all- Thanks for all of the replys!

 

[tsunari]

Alright - hate do dig this up from the grave . . . but now I'm REALLY smoking !
But I do believe DDavisaf is right- I checked my intake pipe yesterday and there was oil in it (not pouring out tho ) checked radial shaft play . . ehhh . . not bad . . . thrust play OMFG!
All I can say is it's ugly. Take a look @ the underside of the turbo, and there's this nice black gunk cooked onto the housing (oil leaking into the exhaust housing no doubt).

So . . . What kind of damage could this do to the rest of the motor? Guess it could blow pieces of the bearing into the pan . . . but I would think the combination of magnetic drain plug & oil screen would keep em out of the oil pickup. . . . but I guess perhaps the oil pump might sustain some damage since it sees all of the unfiltered oil?

 

[prophecy7115]

My turbo took a complete sh*t!!! on me, my seals were so bad! i got at least 2 quarts of oil in my intercooler when i pulled the lower ic pipe, took the turbo out and shook it and the compressor wheel shook in there like a quarter in a small bottle, really bad, but what i dont understand is i realized my turbo going even before the smoke and extreme shaftplay, i realized it because my turbo obviously spooled the 15 psi but didn't feel like the 15 psi, the car was so much slower and got slower and slower until the turbo did what it did recently. Now if your turbo is obviously is going bad, people should realize the power loss right?

 

[oldman]

1. What happen to the last motor?

2. How are pcv and breather valve routed?

 

[tsunari]

1. What happen to the last motor?

2. How are pcv and breather valve routed?

Last motor . . . thrust bearing failure (crank walk).

The PCV valve has been replaced with a straight fitting and both it and the breather are routed to a catch-can. There is a hose from the catch-can that routes to the intake pipe (where the original breather hose attaches to.

This should work- right? I know I dont have the vacuum anymore since I'm not on the motor side of the TB anymore, but I'd think this setup should still work. If you'd like pix- lemme know and I'll get some posted.

 

[oldman]

The PCV valve has been replaced with a straight fitting and both it and the breather are routed to a catch-can. There is a hose from the catch-can that routes to the intake pipe (where the original breather hose attaches to.

Yes this should be fine. Many neglects to replace the pcv with a straight fitting when re-routing to a catch can resulting a dramatic decrease in crankcase venting capacity, just making sure it isn't the case here.

 

[tsunari]

Yes this should be fine. Many neglects to replace the pcv with a straight fitting when re-routing to a catch can resulting a dramatic decrease in crankcase venting capacity, just making sure it isn't the case here.

*nods* Yeah . . . the thought had crossed my mind as well, but had seen other people do it with success (RRE, etc . . ) So was hoping my setup might even work a little better since I actually have a tube runing from the can to the intake pipe instead of just venting to ATM with a breather filter. Was thinking the intake pipe might help pull air out of the catch can.

 

[oldman]

Was thinking the intake pipe might help pull air out of the catch can.

Yes it will but only under boost. The best setup is still the stock locations where you will get a pull from the intake pipe when under boost and from intake manifold when under vacuum.

 

[tsunari]

Yes it will but only under boost. The best setup is still the stock locations where you will get a pull from the intake pipe when under boost and from intake manifold when under vacuum.

Hmmm . . . so i guess the ideal setup would be to actually run 2 catch cans . . . ?

 

[oldman]

Hmmm . . . so i guess the ideal setup would be to actually run 2 catch cans . . . ?

Yes you can but the trick is mounting of the catch can and pcv valve. Another danger with catch cans is that you must make sure they're never full. Sometimes I wonder if keeping your intake tract clear of blow by is worth all these extra added risks.

 

[tsunari]

Yes you can but the trick is mounting of the catch can and pcv valve. Another danger with catch cans is that you must make sure they're never full. Sometimes I wonder if keeping your intake tract clear of blow by is worth all these extra added risks.

true- definitely would need a functioning PCV . . . the catch can i'm using is the old-style GReddy mounted to the side of my tranny so there's plenty of volume . . . but to find enough room to mount a second can?! hmmmm