Hey guys,
I've got a 1991 TR Magna, done nearly 280,000 kms. The car drives very well and i am happy with it. Theres just one problem, everytime i start the car it blows a sh!tload of blue smoke. Over the last couple of months it's been very little, but the last week it's gotten alot worse. I just had a hi-flow muffler put on and someone said that could cause it but i dunno how :nuts: . Anyway i've heard it could be the valve stem seals so i'm just curious how much people charge to get this done. Was also looking at a reco in the next couple of months, does anyone know how much one of these is worth and whether or not that includes the valve stem seals. Thanks.

Let the muffler bed in for a while...see what it is like in a few more weeks IMO.

If the smoke is only there when u start and after while idling for a long time. itd just be the valve seals. Im not sure how much itd cost to get them replaced. but alot of people said its an easy job so i cant imagine idt be more than 200ish.

Also I highly doubt the smoke is blue, take a closer look mabye one day, it would just be grey-white. I have the exact same issue im just oo lazy to do anything about it right now.

And it has nothing to do with ur muffler.

it actually could be his muffler......when a metal hasnt settled in yet when it gets hot it can get a bit smokey....but im talkin VERY HOT so its pretty unlikely....
Yeh if its blue smoke...your car is running too rich.....too much Fuel - not enuf air.....if its started doing this since u put your CAI in u should wonder whether its actually working properly or restricting air flow causing the car to run rich.

White smoke/grey smoke will be oil burning...like gerard said could be valve stem seals..im gonna have a go at changing mine next weekend......

i wouldnt say replacing the valve stem seals is easy, it is fiddly and u have to be carefull, if u have the right tools and time then it can be done at home, no need to remove the head the rocker cover and then the rocker gear,

i havent done them on a magna but have on a 4cyl mazda 626, u have to pressurise the chamber, then compress the spring and then remove the collets that retain the spring (that is the fiddly part be sure not to drop the collets or u could be in a bit of a dilema, best use a sharp flat headed screwdriver and magnet 2 people is ideal as one compress's the spring and the other removes the collet and spring,

Dude,

The smoke is from wear and tear after 280,000 km.

If you know a cheap mechanic, I suggest changing the piston rings and running some Stop Engine Smoke through the oil and flog the car off in the trading post.

Even if you change the valve stems, its still only a band aid fix. Your best bet is a reco engine but that aint cheap.

Charles

Thanks for the replies guys!
I'll see how the muffler goes. The smoke started before i put the CAI on so it cant be that. It only got worse after i put the hi-flow on and disconnected the ecu for awhile. The engine is performing fine, it just blows smoke on startup (but not all the time) :nuts: . Also been getting some carbon build up at the end of the muffler and now a little patch on my back bumper :(. It wipes away easily, but hopefully it stops soon.

Dude,

The smoke is from wear and tear after 280,000 km.

If you know a cheap mechanic, I suggest changing the piston rings and running some Stop Engine Smoke through the oil and flog the car off in the trading post.

Even if you change the valve stems, its still only a band aid fix. Your best bet is a reco engine but that aint cheap.

Charles

Why bother changing rings if its the valve stem seals that are the problem :nuts:
Ok my engines blowing a little smoke after its been sitting overnight, I know I'll rebuild the whole engine! Dont be ridiculous!

Dude,

The smoke is from wear and tear after 280,000 km.

If you know a cheap mechanic, I suggest changing the piston rings and running some Stop Engine Smoke through the oil and flog the car off in the trading post.

Even if you change the valve stems, its still only a band aid fix. Your best bet is a reco engine but that aint cheap.

Charles

I think you are probably wrong there, most cars need to have their valve stem seals replaced at some point in their lifetime, and thats when they smoke, replacing them is going to stop the smoke, its not a bandaid fix at all, and because of that, theres no need to sell the car at all.

And as Samurai said, check to make sure the engine is getting enough air because it could be running rich, i doubt it would have anything to do with the muffler.

Rich is Black smoke. Blue's oil, and white is steam.

I dunno whether to believe you or not Gav, you and your car dont seem to be getting on to well these days, someting is obviously wrong :P

White is oil.......i know as mine fills the street with it on start up....

Steam is Steam.......if u cant tell steam from smoke there's something wrong with u....

White is oil.......i know as mine fills the street with it on start up....

Steam is Steam.......if u cant tell steam from smoke there's something wrong with u....

This is incorrect,
Aussiefella got it right, Black is fuel, white is water, white with a BLUE tinge is oil.

Aussiefella got it right

Theres a first time for ****ing everything :P Dont act so shocked :bowrofl:

could the same thing be happening to mine? its been using more oil than usual and the last time that i changed the plugs the two end ones (first and fourth i think) had oil around the white part of the plugs.... or could it just be that the rocket cover gasget is stuffed(it looks like there is a bit of oil around the outside)

White is oil.......i know as mine fills the street with it on start up....

Steam is Steam.......if u cant tell steam from smoke there's something wrong with u....
Yeah, you've given me the slip a few times with your handy smoke screen! ;)

lol :bowrofl:

yeh in true Astron II fashion.......

Yeh mines been going through a fair bit of oil too. I'll go outside now and see what colour the smoke is. Only smokes on startup, hang on i'll just check....
....Ok it's definatly a very pale blue, you could almost call it white, its definatly smoke. I'll see how it goes over the next couple of weeks and if it still does it i'll get the engine checked out, and if it turns out to be sometihng like the valve stem seals i'll let you guys know how i go.

Gav is 100% correct, except he missed one sort of smoke, white smoke is fuel is when it is completely unburnt, IE: your timing is way off. Rich mixtures = black smoke, watch a turbo car boot it when the ecu juices the mixtures. Blue smoke is burnt oil, from say rings/valve stem seals.

Matthius

Should have seen the smoke when I tried Redex to decoke my AstronII.

Can't say what colour it was 'cos hell, couldn't even tell what colour the CAR was from 5 feet away.

Smoked out the whole suburb....! :badgrin:

hmmm

white or bluish smoke is definately oil,
Now if it smokes only on startup and after its been idling (say stopped at traffic lights) then it is your valve stem seals.
But if it continues to blow smoke constantly while driving it will most likely be the piston rings. A simple compression test will usually confirm this.

Black/brown smoke is fuel most efi cars (especially turbo's) deliberately run rich fuel mixes at high rpm to protect the engine from leaning out. not something u need to be too worried about

Plain white steam u all know what steam looks like i hope, if not boil a kettle :nuts:
Can be harmless i.e. middle of winter first thing in the morning when car is cold or can be a sign of water getting into combustion chamber by different means.

alright....

Compression tests check if you need rings.. its RARE that you have good compression rings and a stuffed oil ring.. so if ur blowing smoke, have a compression test done to see if your still within specs for the motor.

Valve stem seals cause smoke, only after the engine has been at idle for a moment because the top of the valve is in pressure while the bottom is under vacuum so it draws oil past the seals if they are worn.

Fixing the valve stem seals isn't a "band aid fix" just like if your idler bearing goes you dont rebuild the motor. in theory if you were going to recondition anything it would be the head because the head realy has nothing to do with the rate of wear of the bottom end.

hey dude you r blue smoke is from wear there is no doubt after 280 000 ks your valve stem seals are leaking and your r probably worn to buggary. its a mixture of oil and fuel being dumped into the cyl head at start up which is y it goes away slightly after start up. when u put your foot down youll see it there to either an engine recondition if you want to keep it or do the seals and rings your self, i see this all the time at work and have spent countless hours repairing peoples engines due to this reason

Should have seen the smoke when I tried Redex to decoke my AstronII.

Can't say what colour it was 'cos hell, couldn't even tell what colour the CAR was from 5 feet away.

Smoked out the whole suburb....! :badgrin:

I hear what you're saying!!!


As far as the colour of the smoke...
Blue = Oil
Black = Fuel misture (rich)
White = Steam

Note:- White smoke (not steam) can also be caused when tranny oil is sucked into the inlet manifold and then goes through the engine. LOTS of white smoke. I had this happen to me whem the pwr cntrl valve ruptured.
And then for some reason the tranny starts acting weird as well. :shock: Of course it may have had something to do with the fact that it no longer had any oil in it!!!

its the valve seals. I had the same problem and ten replaced the seals and the smoke was gone. MY uncle did it and made it look easy but it is very fiddley!

Well why dosent someone offer to do it for him ?