Problems

[starlybruiser]

Well since ive relocated work ive not been using my starlet for work as i now work in a shit hole and dont want to use it for work as its gunna get wrecked, so i only use it some weeknight ( rarely ) and on the weekends.

So tonight i took her out let her warm up first then drove her steady for around 15 miles, I then came to an area with giant speed humps and i had to drive very slow in either first or second gear on and off for a good while, as i came to the last hump i could smell fuely oily smell and looked behind and there was a big cloud of whitey blue smoke? so i stopped straight away and turned it off, left it for around 3-5mins and then started it, it still smoked but not as much as before then it died off to a very very slight wisp of smoke? so I drove her home for the 15 miles and kept a good eye on her, then i just thought f**k it and gave her some beans, shes still boosting to 0.7 bar fine and drives fine, doesnt smoke on boost or on overun, so when i got home i could hardly see any smoke, if any at all, left it idle for a few mins and it started again, very slight wisp of whitey blue smoke, any ideas what this could be?

Ive recently taken out the idle control valve to clean it and inside the inlet manifold i noticed theres a good deal of oil in there, but theres no oil in my intercooler pipes, could it be where i was going really slow for a good while the oil in there got very hot and maybe run into the engine? i hardly ever drive slow like that, so its just an idea, cheers guys any help greatlye appriciated, just when shes almost finished she goes and shits herself

[Guest Enzo]

sorry i cant shed any light on the situation but whiteblue smoke is not good at all.

is it still doing it now?

[starlybruiser]

Very lightly yes, its so annoying just as i was beginin to finish her, might just get shot now , dont use it enough now anyway

[Sparky]

Try running the engine and take the dipstick out if smoke comes out then thats rings/piston wear.

Doesnt sound like turbo issues to be honest?

[Guest Enzo]

agreed,

also the pcv valve could be at fault also dude

[starlybruiser]

Just replaced the pcv valve with a new toyota one, so its prob not that, but thats what sprung to mind first though. a guy on tgtt said it could be the oil im using, i use 5w30 fully synthetic , he said go to 10w40, but ive never had issues before using this oil?

[Guest Enzo]

there is a possebility the pcv valve you put in might be faulty dude,

10w40 is what i use, i dont know how the viscocity of the oil would matter though

[Sparky]

Oil shouldnt make that much difference mate.

As said was it doing it before you changed the valve??

Dont know how you can check if the valve is working

[Newbe]

I maybe very very wrong but i think idress's brother had a problem with his valve stem seals and this caused it to smoke on idle, - only a thought.

Matt

[starlybruiser]

Theres 2 things ive changed on the car recently,

1. fitted a new pcv valve as i broke mine taking it out to clean up the rocker

2. fitted an oil catch tank, just got a pipe coming off the breather port to the can then a hose off the can running dwn to a small filter towards the bottom of the car

It wasnt smoking or anything before?

[Guest Enzo]

no you could be totaly right newbie just trying to figure out how the plumes of smoke came to when he was touring over those speed bumps that is confusing me.

did you put too much oil in?

[starlybruiser]

no you could be totaly right newbie just trying to figure out how the plumes of smoke came to when he was touring over those speed bumps that is confusing me.

did you put too much oil in?

nope i always have it just below full, its weird how it was a huge ploom of smoke then it cleared to just a thin wisp? When i saw it i thought, there goes my turbo seals but its cleared??

[starlybruiser]

nope i always have it just below full, its weird how it was a huge ploom of smoke then it cleared to just a thin wisp? When i saw it i thought, there goes my turbo seals but its cleared??

how can i check if its the valve stem seals?

[starlybruiser]

Right started the car up today once i got home, and i got the usual condensation then once warm it went. Now it wasnt smoking so i took it for a spin and on boost its fine but if i park up and rev her to say 3.5-4k once i let off i get a puff of blue smoke? now yesterday it was more of a white with a hint of blue to it, but now its defo blue, any ideas what this could be? ive talked to a few guys from work and they have all said it sounds like my head gasket is on its way out?

[keirz]

sounds to me like it could be turbo,

my turbo went just recently, it smoked on and off, some days lots, some days not at all. it smoked on idle and at pulling off speeds but didnt smoke on boost at all. i was loosing no oil at all, it only takes the smallest spec of oil to cause lots of smoke. i had no loss in boost or performance.

took the turbo off and there was slight shaftplay.

im not saying it is turbo 100% but its a very strong possibility.

are you loosing coolent?

first off check all your breathers.

and about the oil viscosity effecting the smoke, if there is a slight gap in the turbo piston ring a thinner oil would seep through when maybe a thicker oil would not. have you changed to the thinner oil recently?

[Guest Enzo]

i see your point but the turbos only done a few hundred miles

with a filter and only boosting to .7 how could the turbo go?

ive asked him to check his decat and cooler inlet. the cooler inlet is bone dry

did you prime the turbo when fitting it starlybruser?

[keirz]

if the turbo has very slight play mate only the turbine side could leak. mine leaked nothing into the compressor or intercooler pipes at all. could lick them they was that clean. and also there was hardly any oil turbine side, im talking a drop of oil can cause a hell of a lot of smoke.

mate a turbo can die in seconds, the biggest killer of turbos is oil. oil starvation, oil contamination, incorrect oil viscosity, not being correctly primed, switching the engine off before its cooled down, boosting before the oil is at the correct temp and viscosity to fully lube the bearings, ect. its all about the oil and lubrication of the bearings

[starlybruiser]

Yeah i primed the turbo, with the oil return off i cranked it until the oil began to run out of the return pipe. Ive always run 5w30 fully synthetic oil since ive had it, as for loosing coolant, i notice every month or so i have to add a little to the expansion tank, the exhaust fumes also smell rather sweet too, but its always smelt like that even before it started to smoke.

[keirz]

i would still say turbo really just because of they way its smoking and the blueness. sounds exactly like mine when it went a few weeks back.

try a different turbo on there to rule it out

[starlybruiser]

another thing i have noticed is i have allot of oil in the inlet manifold, but not in the intercooler pipes, so i took off the pcv valve hose off that i fitted new last week and theres quite a bit of oil in there too? could this be either head gasket or rings? thing is though i havent lost any power.

Also when i first got the turbo there was slight shaft play, but arent turbos surposed to have a little play in them anyway? i always let it cool for 3-4 mins after i take it out for a spin and i never rev it over 2.5k until its at operating temperature? also when i primed the turbo it came straight to the turbo in seconds and ran out the return line fast so i dont think theres any starvation.

Ive recently fitted a catch tank and new pcv could these do anything?

[keirz]

look at the breathers first. what can happen is when the breathers are blocked the engine has to use the turbo as a breather. leave your breather open, disconect from catch tank. and if poss get a different pcv. try that and see how that goes.

most turbos have very slightplay when new due to the lack of oil and oil pressure. thats quite normal.

i always really look after my turbo too but mine still died, ive not really researched why mine died yet but will do a report when i get chance.

hows it performing?

engine damage is usually much worse on boost due to the pressure so i dont think you need worry too much yet. the inlet could be oily due to past problems. does the oil look new?

[Guest Enzo]

i mind checking your turbo before sending it out, the play your on about gets taken up by the oil, there was no side to side shaft movement.

the oil in the inlet manifold / pcv valve sounds like the route of the problem,

how long did you change your pcv to the smoke apearing?

[starlybruiser]

Shes performing fine, boosts strong and holds it. The oil in the inlet is reasonably clean

As for changing the pcv valve, i noticed the slight smoking and changed it about a month or so after, but the hose i put on was new, but now theres oil in there???

[keirz]

i dont think you have major engine problems

the turbo can still smoke and perform excatly the same as it did before, so still possible its that.

to rule out the pcv i blocked off the inlet mani port and left the pcv venting to atmosphere. how safe it is to run the car like this for long periods i dont know but i cant see it doing any damage as your just using the pcv as a second breather. this way nothing from the pcv can enter the inlet.

so it smoked on this turbo before you canged pcv?

[starlybruiser]

Yeah before I changed it I noticed it was blue smoking occasionally when pulling off but never on idle, but that one big plume of whitey blue smoke i had while driving slow has worried me, I could hardly see out the back window? but it hasnt done that since?? you recon it could be head gasket?