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Blowing White Smoke

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Fresno
#1
Getting frustrated here. Car was driving good until a turbo seal or bearing went out. This is when it started smoking. It would smoke after making boost and then idling a couple mins. Doesn't appear to smoke while driving and wouldn't smoke if driving with no boost. PCV lines had oil around the connections, catch can had accumulated a couple ounces within a thousand miles or so, had oil in intake, and oil on vband of turbo. Also had higher than usual oil temps while driving.

Turbo was rebuilt and oil lines were replaced. After a couple drives the smoke disappeared but it stated leaking quite a bit of oil. Found it was leaking at the oil drain gasket to the turbo. Replaced the gasket and got a good seal. Oil stopped leaking but the car is smoking again. I'm getting extremely frustrated. Anybody have any advice?
 


OP
S
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Fresno
Thread Starter #3
Doesn't seem to be an exhaust leak. I can't feel any leaking.
 


jeffreylyon

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#4
White smoke could be turbo seal or rings. More blow-by pushing out the PCV (and, subsequently, more oil) could be rings. Oil in the intake could be turbo seal or rings (more gas coming through PCV and some not being caught by the OCC).

Time for a compression test?
 


OP
S
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Fresno
Thread Starter #5
The oil in the intake track and occ are from when the turbo let loose. That's been fixed now. I don't think it's rings since it didn't smoke when the oil drain pipe was leaking. Of course, I could be wrong.

Is there a PCV to check on these cars? Or should I try removing the occ for testing? Possibly oil cap breather?
 


jeffreylyon

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#6
If there's some sort of obstruction on your drain pipe that could have blown out the previous seal and could be causing the current seal to leak, but oil pressure doesn't increase under boost, it increases with revs., so that wouldn't explain why you smoke under boost.

What would explain smoke under boost is a ring problem which is blowing gas (and oil) out of the PCV and overwhelming the OCC. You said that the turbo seal failure caused the OCC to fill up... why? The PCV circuit never directly sees turbo pressure. You said that the intake is oily, too. That would be from PCV, not from the turbo.

Too many variables - get a $30 compression gauge (or rent one) and check compression to eliminate a ring issue.
 


OP
S
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Thread Starter #7
Definitely have compression test on the list of to do.

My thinking so far which isn't worth much, if it wasn't smoking when it was leaking oil at all it seems to be a pressure issue. And since it was leaking pretty good at the drain line, the blockage would be downstream of that. Perhaps the CCV blocked and that pressure is pushed out the exhaust? I've also been hearing a rattle that's more than the usual DI tick when cold. I could just be paranoid at this point.

I've had ring lands go before and it smoked all the time and with rpm. This is only after a boosted run, not during and no other time. Possible boost leak? I know my diesel would smoke like a freight train when the intercooler pipe popped off.
 


jeffreylyon

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#8
Definitely have compression test on the list of to do.

My thinking so far which isn't worth much, if it wasn't smoking when it was leaking oil at all it seems to be a pressure issue. And since it was leaking pretty good at the drain line, the blockage would be downstream of that. Perhaps the CCV blocked and that pressure is pushed out the exhaust? I've also been hearing a rattle that's more than the usual DI tick when cold. I could just be paranoid at this point.
There isn't a path from the PCV to the exhaust - it's from the top (?) of the engine, through the OCC, and into the intake upstream of the turbo. The oil leak could be through your turbo - what happens when you hit high revs. without boosting? If it doesn't smoke then it's not a oil seal leak, or at least not one that is caused by oil pressure. Try disconnecting the PCV at the intake.

I've had ring lands go before and it smoked all the time and with rpm. This is only after a boosted run, not during and no other time. Possible boost leak? I know my diesel would smoke like a freight train when the intercooler pipe popped off.
I'm guessing that the increased blow-by is pushing lots of oil mist into your intake through the PCV. It's not a boost leak with white smoke. Your diesel smoked (black) because it was running way too rich. Petrol cars won't fire at all when they're that rich.
 


OP
S
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Location
Fresno
Thread Starter #9
Update. Compression test is 165 +/-2 across the board. No coolant loss. Very little oil in PCV to intake. Disconnected meth injection and switched to necessary tune and still smoking. Did some low rpm (4k) boost tests and still smokes. Starting to look like the turbo is still the issue. Any other ideas?
 


Messages
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0
Location
Fort Pierce
#10
Whats the exhaust manifold look like? Like right beneith the heat shield. Mine was cracked somehow but running without issue.
 


Hijinx

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#11
Update. Compression test is 165 +/-2 across the board. No coolant loss. Very little oil in PCV to intake. Disconnected meth injection and switched to necessary tune and still smoking. Did some low rpm (4k) boost tests and still smokes. Starting to look like the turbo is still the issue. Any other ideas?
How did your plugs look? Can you do a leak down test?
 


Messages
43
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2
Location
Pembroke Pines
#12
Sub It sounds like I'm having same issues just did my turbo about 3 weeks ago cars runs fine but at idle white smoke from the exhaust
 


Messages
43
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2
Location
Pembroke Pines
#13
[video]https://youtu.be/ZwxnmnwvntI[/video]
Getting frustrated here. Car was driving good until a turbo seal or bearing went out. This is when it started smoking. It would smoke after making boost and then idling a couple mins. Doesn't appear to smoke while driving and wouldn't smoke if driving with no boost. PCV lines had oil around the connections, catch can had accumulated a couple ounces within a thousand miles or so, had oil in intake, and oil on vband of turbo. Also had higher than usual oil temps while driving.

Turbo was rebuilt and oil lines were replaced. After a couple drives the smoke disappeared but it stated leaking quite a bit of oil. Found it was leaking at the oil drain gasket to the turbo. Replaced the gasket and got a good seal. Oil stopped leaking but the car is smoking again. I'm getting extremely frustrated. Anybody have any advice?

Is it like this lol check the video link that's my car it started doing that a few days ago I did my tubro swap about a mouth ago
 


OP
S
Messages
76
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10
Location
Fresno
Thread Starter #14
That's exactly what mine looks like but only after driving and making boost. No boost = no smoke. Don't idle in the garage even with the door open, just saying.

By the way, plugs are perfect. I'm going to be putting a stock turbo back in to make sure that's the issue soon.
 


Messages
43
Likes
2
Location
Pembroke Pines
#15
Getting frustrated here. Car was driving good until a turbo seal or bearing went out. This is when it started smoking. It would smoke after making boost and then idling a couple mins. Doesn't appear to smoke while driving and wouldn't smoke if driving with no boost. PCV lines had oil around the connections, catch can had accumulated a couple ounces within a thousand miles or so, had oil in intake, and oil on vband of turbo. Also had higher than usual oil temps while driving.



Turbo was rebuilt and oil lines were replaced. After a couple drives the smoke disappeared but it stated leaking quite a bit of oil. Found it was leaking at the oil drain gasket to the turbo. Replaced the gasket and got a good seal. Oil stopped leaking but the car is smoking again. I'm getting extremely frustrated. Anybody have any advice?






So figured it out it's a seal on my x47 turbo exhaust side I need to contact puma and have them get me replacement the turbo has been in the car for about a 3 weeks and I'm just pissed it start smoking about a few days coming and going finally got to take a look at a it a day ago
 


Messages
312
Likes
124
Location
Toronto
#16
If your turbo was dumping oil into your exhaust (was there a lot of oil in your DP?) you will burn that off over a few hundred miles... and it will smoke when it gets hot.
 


Messages
266
Likes
36
Location
East Bay
#17
My car is also blowing whitish blue smoke after my C39 install. :(

Still trying to figure my issue out.
 




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