WTF, New 7 bolt engine and lots of smoke & shut off problems

[97ClipseDSM]

I just recently bought a new engine, well its not completely new, its from a 99GST with 25k Miles on it. There is a lot of smoke at times, when idling. The car runs fine, oil pressure seems to be perfect, the car idles pretty good, there were times it would be a little higher than usual, and times it would drop a tad bit low that the car wanted to stall at a stop (this only happened once)...but the car didnt stall. Checked the oil numerous times and it seems healthy & fresh. Everything seems to be doing its job. We checked, and it seems the smoke is coming around the intake/manifold area, exhaust, and left and right of the car, not all at the same time though. I do have a bad exhaust leak though. Most people i talked to tell me to give it a few days because the car needs some driving & the engine i bought was from a junkyard in Wisconsin and who knows how long its been sitting there, or whether the previous owner had dumped oil in certain places, or anything could be the factor. I noticed last night that the car at one time shut off on me, after alot of throttle, but it started right back up. My Coolant temperature after that went all the way up to High, and no matter how long we let the engine cool down (even though it wasnt even that hot at all), the gauage still read High to the point where yud think its impossible to be that High when all looks good and seems good. I dont know whether the gauge messed up or what, the mechanic did throw in a new thermostat during the Engine installation. Well those are the symptoms...any suggestions or info will greatly be appreciated.

Problems:
Lots of whitish/greyish smoke
Car shut off on me in the middle of driving once after some throttle
Coolant temp gauge now Reads High to the full, when you turn the key to the point where all the lights in the dash come on, the coolant temp Sky rockets to H
Car idles just a tad bit funny at times, nothing too major

 

[44pirate]

For gods sake do a compression check.
HG

 

[97ClipseDSM]

For gods sake do a compression check.
HG

I would, seems like the shitty ass mechanics will never do a compression check. At this time i cant do a compression check cause i dont know anyone who can do it for me. Other than a compressions check, what other problems/errors could be wrong. The Engine seems like its doing everything it should, just that smoke that irritates me even though everyone has told me its normal for it to do that right now.

 

[huafist]

Head Gasket's shot. Don't keep running the thing or you're going to overheat it bad, then you'll be in the market for a new head because you warped the bejeezus out of this one.

 

[97ClipseDSM]

Head Gasket's shot. Don't keep running the thing or you're going to overheat it bad, then you'll be in the market for a new head because you warped the bejeezus out of this one.

Actually the head gasket is not blown from what weve checked. Everything looks good head gasket wise. Im thinking it might just be the oil burning in the exhaust from the last engine that went kaboom, the throttle body needs cleaning, and since its a used 25k mile engine, who knows how long its been sitting there, how dirty it is, where unnecessary oil might be spilled. It also might need some tuning, pcv valve, etc. But these are all just predictions, my friend Dee (mechanic) is gonna check out whats wrong today.

 

[44pirate]

Actually the head gasket is not blown from what weve checked. Everything looks good head gasket wise. Im thinking it might just be the oil burning in the exhaust from the last engine that went kaboom, the throttle body needs cleaning, and since its a used 25k mile engine, who knows how long its been sitting there, how dirty it is, where unnecessary oil might be spilled. It also might need some tuning, pcv valve, etc. But these are all just predictions, my friend Dee (mechanic) is gonna check out whats wrong today.

If you've checked the HG, how bout telling us how you checked it?

 

[huafist]

Oil doesn't burn white/grey smoke. It has a bluish tint to it. White/Grey smoke indicates a blown HG (coolant entering combustion chamber via a compromised passage).

 

[blue92laser]

Haha, does this mechanic work in a shop not dedicated to DSM's? Hes in for it now. I hope your not a mechanic, tellin us that its oil in the exhaust when the smoke is white/greyish color.

 

[97ClipseDSM]

Haha, does this mechanic work in a shop not dedicated to DSM's? Hes in for it now. I hope your not a mechanic, tellin us that its oil in the exhaust when the smoke is white/greyish color.

No im not a mechanic. When my turbo seals broke and oil leaked all over months back, it was the same color smoke im seeing now. So obviously the oil is burning. But to answer you question, unfortunately the mechanic doesnt work in a shop dedicated to DSM's. I was in a rush cause i was going out of town so this was the only mechanic at the time who could do the work..unfortunately he didnt do it in time after wasting nearly 5 weeks of my time with stupid BS about employees being limited. Well im gonna find out whats wrong today..thats if something else doesnt go wrong in the meantime..

 

[huafist]

Compression Test
Leakdown Test

Your questions will be answered by those.
But, ALL of your symptoms point to a blown HG.

 

[97ClipseDSM]

Compression Test
Leakdown Test

Your questions will be answered by those.
But, ALL of your symptoms point to a blown HG.

Huafit, i got a few questions for you. First, ive driven the car for over 100 miles now ever since the first signs of these problems occured. Ive checked the oil numerous times for Antifreeze in it, nothing. I checked the coolant temp level, seems fine. Now my question is, what other signs can point out a blown head gasket. Because the way the car is running and the amount of miles already put on since these signs occured, and the things that i checked for, it doesnt seem like a head gasket problem. Car also starts up perfect every single time, though idles a bit funny very occasionally and that i believe is because of the major exhaust leaks i have that make the exhaust have almost no back pressure at all. If you know of any other possibilities, let me know.

 

[zxdude]

Headgasket.........

 

[44pirate]

What are the compression #'S?
http://www.dsmgrrrl.com/FAQs/compression.htm

It's the same for a 2G as well.

 

[97ClipseDSM]

ok checked this morning that it is indeed blueish tinted smoke coming from the exhaust and where the exhaust leaks are. Right now, i dont have anybody to do a compression test for me. I guess you can say im on my own for right now, and taking it to a mechanic is the last thing i want to do. Could it be that the reason why it idles a little low is because of the crucial exhaust leaks, because the exhaust is getting almost no back pressure at all. But the major thing is the smoke is blue.

 

[ArticNemesis]

wow... you don't take advice very well.... So how again did you check the headgasket.?

If you keep driving it, you are bound to f*** something up. Don't mention the exhaust having no backpressure b/c well... yea.

Why not just fix your exhaust leaks, because it's going to hurt turbo spool. How have you checked for the coolant in the oil.? Did you actually drain the oil and look, or are you checking on the dipstick.?

Why was the donor car that you got the motor out of in the junkyard.?

 

[97ClipseDSM]

wow... you don't take advice very well.... So how again did you check the headgasket.?

If you keep driving it, you are bound to f*** something up. Don't mention the exhaust having no backpressure b/c well... yea.

Why not just fix your exhaust leaks, because it's going to hurt turbo spool. How have you checked for the coolant in the oil.? Did you actually drain the oil and look, or are you checking on the dipstick.?

Why was the donor car that you got the motor out of in the junkyard.?

wow easy there, i appreciate your input on this but lets get some stuff str8. First, i have a 3" downpipe and 3" catback exhaust that i have sitting in my trunk (replacement to my exhaust leaks) and i have been trying to get someone to put it on, including some mechanic shops, but as of right now no luck. Money cant buy time. Second, i drove to Va from MD yesterday to meet up with the DSM mechanic Dee and he told me id be fine to drive the car as long as i turn the heat all the way up. We didnt really get to take a good look at it cause it was so dark last night and he thought it was better to look at it in the day light. When i said i didnt find any coolant in the oil, i was talking about the dipstick..so forgive me. I havnt really dug deep to check the problems just yet , cause im waiting on my DSM'ers to help me out. I will not take it back to a mechanic due to the reasons that ive had bad luck with them. I didnt drive the car today, all i did was start it and checked for smoke, and it was blueish. While i agree with you that it may very well be the headgasket, im not gonan go around saying it is untill i know for sure. Im gonan try and see if i can get my friend Dee to look at it and tell me whats going on. Untill then im not driving it around.

 

[huafist]

Overheating, white smoke, oil in coolant, coolant in oil, missing, rough idle, no power - those are the main signs of a blown HG.
If the oil is bluish then it's oil - you're either getting blow-by from the piston rings or your turbo is burning it. You *HAVE* to run a compression test at this point to determine a course of action.

 

[johnk]

Just go to any autoparts store and get a compression gauge it is like 40 dollars. Someone already posted the link for vfaq on how to do the test. It was the very first test I learned how to do on my DSM and I'm no mechanic. It's almost as easy as changing spark plugs.

 

[ArticNemesis]

Drain the oil from the car into a pan and check it out there.. Chances are, you won't see it on the dipstick.

And pardon me for being so.... whatever it is I was. It's just that this entire thread has told you to do a compression test b/c it's pretty much looking like a headgasket.

With a few handtools and some pb plaster, you should be able to knock out the exhaust in 3 hours or less.

 

[97ClipseDSM]

Looks like the turbo is the one that is shot. It smokes although i see no visibile signs of turbo leaking oil (has leaked before and was fixed with new seals) Plus the turbo screams but doesnt get anywhere past 4k rpms, seems like the turbo needs a rebuild. I believe the smoke is coming due to the busted seal inside the turbo. So i guess that solves this mystery, the turbo is the problem. My mechanic that installed the engine said it today, that he believes its the turbo causing all the smoke. 16G here i come

Well tommorow i guess i will find out every bit of what may be the issue here. I scheduled an appointment with the mechanic to work on my car tommorow so untill than i wont be messing with anything. Today i tried to get the car checked and so far weve fixed the Idle problem, the spring needed to be sprayed with WD 40 because it didnt come all the way to the back, and now it is perfect. Thats brings it down to the smoking problem. Whatever the outcome is, whether a blown headgasket, or blown turbo, ill find out.

 

[TurboDSM86]

pardon me but did i miss something? how did you say its the turbo w/o doing a leakdown/compression check w/the head gasket? just curious on that one. what do you mean the turbo smokes? how many miles are on the turbo? mine made it to 113K , its still going kind of

 

[TurboDSM86]

oh by the way where did you get your motor in WI? i might be able to give you some insight, im from WI and work at a dealer. if you need any help w/that let me know, i might be close

 

[97ClipseDSM]

oh by the way where did you get your motor in WI? i might be able to give you some insight, im from WI and work at a dealer. if you need any help w/that let me know, i might be close

Hey, the turbo has 113k on it. For some reason the deutch bag didnt send me the turbo along with the motor like promised. You are very close to the place i bought the motor from. Its called Mid City Auto Salvage..its located in Milwaukee Wisconsin.