White Smoke / Car Is Smoking White [Merged 7-9]

[Apeximprt2nr]

Alright guys, well I just finished my 14B install in my 95 GSX. All is well besides some minor oil leaks on the return line and the SS feed line at the filter housing. There was also a VERY minor coolant leak from the front banjo bolt on the turbo. I tightened it a tad and I think i went away. Now the turbo is spooling really late because I think there may be a leak before the turbo.
Now on to the problems.

1. The turbo does not smoke at all besides at WOT sometimes it blows out whiteish grey smoke. I'm trying to think of where it could be burning coolant. It never did this before the turbo install.

2. There was some white smoke the past 2 days at the manifold. I'm thinking its the shitload of PB Blaster that I sprayed all over the car but I'm not sure.

3. There's a smell coming from my engine that I can smell if I pop my hood and it becomes more noticeable when I'm driving and really get on it. It smells like burning plastic sort of, with a mix of burning rubber. The lower heat shield is not on the car because it's a pain to get on and I haven't put it back on because I haven't had time. Nothing is touching anything hot so I 'm confused...The only possible thing is maybe I pout on a new 4 ply exhaust mani. gasket as well as antiseize on most of the bolts and the turbo-mani. bolts.

Any help? Thanks.

 

[Demon33]

You should be able to identify a leaking injector just by pulling the fuel rail with the injectors still attached out of the head slightly and turning the ignition on. With no duty signal from the ECU, the injectors shouldn't spray. If you see one dripping, you have your diagnosis.

The last time I worked on a car with a leaky injector, it was simple to identify- once the fuel rail was pulled, the tip of the bad injector was wet and appeared ready to drip in comparison to the other three.

Good one, I like this. But, I have a question. When you say 'turn the ignition on.. and ...no duty signal from the ECU' do you mean to simply turn the key to the ON position in order to turn on the fuel pump to pressurize the fuel rail? If so, the fuel pump will not turn on simply by turning the key to the ON position. You have to turn the key to the START position for the pump to turn on. Of course you could apply +12V to the fuel pump test terminal to activate it while checking for leaking injectors.

 

[lowandsleekDSM]

Ok heres what i did: I went to Shell and put some 93 gas in of course and filled it to the top then i put in a whole bottle of STP fuel injector cleaner. And also my dad did say he smelled nothing but gas on the 4th cylinder spark plug and told me to drive around for a couple of days for the cleaner to work itself in the system and then just take it easy while driving the car. Good plan? The coolant temp. didnt change and i think im pretty sure ive ruled out the head gasket due to the fact theres not bubbles in the overflow tank nor the temps are not changing like i said. The valves are all good (retested the 4th cylinder like i said). The compression is good across the board. No oil was in the coolant or vise versa. So to me im leaning towards the injectors a little more and more as i go. Im going to drive the car tomorrow (which its suppose to rain tomorrow....boo ), so we`ll see what happens.

 

[kahl23]

Also, if you do have a warped head that's causing headgasket sealing issues, on the T-28 you would probably be fine running an OEM composite with ARP's without having to resurface the head, as long as it wasn't too warped.

 

[lowandsleekDSM]

I really dont think its the head gasket at all, but that doesnt mean im still thinking about it. Im taking a look at the coolant and keeping my eye on the temp gauge as im driving just to be safe of course. I will in deed keep the idea of putting a composite head gasket in if any problems with my current one comes up. Thanks for the tip

 

[JusMX141]

Ok heres what i did: I went to Shell and put some 93 gas in of course and filled it to the top then i put in a whole bottle of STP fuel injector cleaner.

I would've opted for 1/2 tank of premium and two bottles of Seafoam in the gas tank. At least you know what to do if the STP doesn't work.

Also, BE SURE TO CHANGE YOUR OIL after this is all said and done. If you had one cylinder dumping fuel, I'll guarantee 70% of it is now mixed with your oil.

 

[UGOT8UP]

Using fuel additive's is like pissing in your gas tank, it does nothing but make your wallet lighter, you can look it up if ya don't belive me. When I worked for GM/Nissan we had a on car fuel injector cleaner wich worked pretty good, it was just a tad pricey though $100+ for the service.

 

[lowandsleekDSM]

Well i am on a little bit of a budget due to the fact i want to pay my car off a few month early. But if i need to, ill either do the fuel injection cleaning at a shop, or just buy new injectors if in fact that one injector is bad.

 

[lowandsleekDSM]

Ok, just a little update. I have been running STP fuel injector cleaner now for a few days and the smoking is not stopping and in fact i think its a little bit worse now. I STILL thinking its the head gasket. To me, the exhaust fumes smell sorta sweet. And all my compression tests and leak down tests tested ok and theres no oil in my coolant or vise versa and the car is not over heating at all. Everyone here has been saying its a possible leaky or bad injector but my gas mileage hasnt been that bad in my opinion (although my speedo isnt working so im not sure). So im just thinking about replacing the head gasket with an OEM gasket and just rule that out of the equation. What do you guys think about this?

 

[JusMX141]

I'd change the head gasket and install new valve seals while the head's off. That'll get you starting with a clean slate, and it's a great time to install ARP studs that will allow you up up the boost drasically when you get some fuel mods down the road.

 

[lowandsleekDSM]

Well ive got the ARPs already (love them by the way) and i got all my timing stuff done along with the water pump and i had the head rebuilt already so ill just try the oem head gasket and go from there. Just tired of dealing with this, the car would be A LOT more fun to drive not dealing with this and all the other problems im having too.

 

[UGOT8UP]

let us know what you find out, you got me scratching my head on this one...Have you tried swapping that #4 injector to another cylinder?

 

[someguy1984]

So, i just bought the car like a week ago and now it just started smoking out the tailpipe...It never did this when i bought it and the oil doesn't have bubbles in it...

The car is stock except for a Thermal research and development full exhaust. (95 Eclipse GST)

The only reason why i noticed it was smoking, is because it has a turbo timer on it. When i walked away from my car, i could see a little white smoke coming out. Then, i noticed the tailpipe has a little liquid in it...So, maybe this is oil? Who knows...It isn't smoking bad, but you can notice it. Not much smoke comes out in the morning, but usually if the car has been running for a while...The weather is also a little cooler, so maybe this has something to do with it?

Honestly, it's not that bad right now and I'm just thinking about selling it...

 

[Bud92gsx]

Got this from Vfaq..


My car blows white smoke! Is there a fix?
From an October 10, 1998 post by David Gawlowski:

"[This is] ...caused by water evaporating in the exhaust stream. Occasional puffs [are] usually from condensation in the exhaust pipes (especially in humid areas) or a water balloon up your stove-pipe. Continual white smoke [is usually due to] a warped head/head gasket and coolant entering your combustion chambers. If you're really unlucky, might be from a cracked head."

Some great reading too on Vfaq. Heres the link. If you click on the newbie FAQ, and search, you will find lots of useful information..

Visual Frequently Answered Questions - Home Page

Some people have reported that high boost levels may promote white smoke, for some reason. Turning the boost down some cures the problem. This might be related to worn out seals on the turbo, which can leak oil into the exhaust. A bad brake booster can potentially let brake fluid into the vacuum line, which also produces white smoke.

 

[dan catalyst]

if it is burning antifreeze then it will show up on the plugs.it wont smaoke when its cold, because there isnt any pressure in the cooling system untill the antifreeze heats up and expands.the pressure causes itto leak into the combustion chamber and be burned.let it idle and fully heat up,then pull the plugs quickly and check for a plug with green stuff on it.you can allso pressure test the cooling system ,kinda like a boost leak test but with a coolant leak tester.check your local parts store and see if they rent them.ebay prob has one for $30 or so and the pressure test is your best bet.

 

[dan catalyst]

also white smoke isnt oil, but its hard to tell exactly what color the smoke is at times.white is water,gray is oil and black is too much fuel.just check theplugs,that will tell you what it is.

 

[lowandsleekDSM]

I havent tried that yet, although i should try it. When the weather clears up here in Tampa, i`ll see if i can check that out. Im certainly scratching my head on this one as well. Now, ive been driving the car with no problems other then the smoking problem and the gas mileage hasnt been too bad actually (although like i said, my speedo hasnt been working so thats just a guess) and the car has not been over heating or anything. Tomorrow i`ll recheck the coolant and everything else.

 

[Bud92gsx]

You can also smell the exhaust. If it's sweet smelling it's antifreeze. Everyone knows what burning oil smells like so I'm not going to go there..

 

[lowandsleekDSM]

Another update for everyone. I tried to switch my injectors out and the problem is still happening. Still getting the smoking and its very annoying now. The car is still driveable and the car is not over heating at all while sitting in traffic or anything. I checked the coolant bottle out and i drained the coolant into some cups and i put the last of the coolant in a seperate cup and i showed my dad and it had sediment in it at the bottom of the bottle. Like something seemed like it was broken up inside of it or something and it all sank to the bottom. My dad told me that all that sediment is normal (all i could think was "huh?" ) since its a cast iron block its just the little shavings and stuff working into the coolant itself from all the water jackets in the block. I still dont believe him. I did in fact oder a new OEM head gasket from Maperformance.com last week so that should be here any time now i guess. I still dont know what it could be though. But here are a couple of questons, is it possible that the MLS head gasket failed? And could i just put some of that head gasket fix it stuff in a bottle and may use that as a test to see if the head gasket is bad? (im guessing thats a no on that question but im just double checking) Any more thoughts ?

 

[autogsx]

i have a 92 gsx withe a 13g. a little while ago i noticed that the header was patched then
the car sarted to blow a white smoke from the exhaust and header with a burning metal smell. i think it might be the turbo since i know it has shaft play, and sounded strange when spooling. thanks

 

[gsxMike]

Check for any oil in the turbo near the turbine and check if your shaft play got any worse.

 

[autogsx]

i havent been ables to chcek but i have notied oil were the turbo connects to the header.

 

[gsxMike]

Could be the gasket or a seal inside the turbo, hows the shaftplay? How many miles on the turbo.

 

[gsxMike]

I have a feeling that turbo is just about gone i had the same symptons and my turbo died while i was driving, turbo was shrap metal everywhere.

 

[xdsmlaser93x]

I put a 1g throttle body on my eclipse this evening. when i started it up and added the coolant that i spewed out when changed the TB, the car started idleing poorly, still had 20 inches of vaccume, and it was pouring white smoke out.... WTF happend? it ran ok when i pulled it into the shop is there any way the coolant that runs through the TB could get into the intake?

 

[ilco187]

RREs  Eclipse 2G Turbo 1G Throttle Body Swap

maybe can give an idea^