Smoke At Idle

[migti 0]

hi all

 

205 with xm turbo conversion, drives fine boost ok. take her out at run then stop let her idle for say 30sec and it starts to smoke from exh loads. take it out a run and it clears out, stop again idle for min and it starts.no smoke under driving conditions im sure. id say its kind of white smoke but then smells funny,its not really blue in colour but its hard to tell

 

Any advice app

Cheers.

[JERAM 0]

TURBO

[migti 0]

would tubro smoke be as white as mine? thought turbo was oil blue ect?

 

Cheers!

[JERAM 0]

water and oil cooled

 

turbo's as reliable as a arse with the runs

[migti 0]

c*nt! just built the fooking thing 2! Was wondering cause i thought it was the headgasket but no overheating ect so who knows!!

 

Any got a gd tubro?? lol

 

Cheers

[e30m3 0]

if the turbo had gone would it not smoke more when the car was being driven and the turbo was spinning?

 

I remeber when mine went on my renault 5, you couldn't see a thing behind the car in was like driving through a cloude!

[nickpug309tt 0]

you asked me this question via pm and you never replied to what I said.

Check the spark plugs. When the car smokes turn it off and look at the

spark plugs. If one is wet and others are not then its your head-gasket.

To have smoke something has to be burn something. So if it is water getting into

the cyclinders then the sparkers will tell you. A failing turbo is known to smoke at

idle. This is when the oil seals do not seal on idle. Then when you pull away they

seal. If its the turbo it is usually the hot manifold burning the oil or water so sparkers will

be clean.

[Guest andy309goodwood]

if you are running the std manifold and xm turbo if it is k/o'd i have one im going to be selling that has done 37k , i got the hole engine but im using a turbo tec manifold and gt28r turbo so dont require the std turbo it has been sat in a grg for a couple of years i belive but i stripped it of last week and it seems ok there is no movement in and out or side to side on the spindel shaft and looks in very good nick how ever i havent tested it let me know via pm if your interested and well sort some thing out

andy

[V1 RDE 0]

This is exactly what mine was doing. Used to smoke badly at idle, to the point where I couldnt see the car behind me and then it just stopped boosting. The car was slower than std 1.9....wank! New engine or turbo I'm afraid mate.

 

Does give me a good excuse to add another 8 valves and a bigger turbine to the old engine I guess

[jacobs53 0]

cheers for replying about the shell aswell

 

but yeap turbo-failure

[Guest richardincov]

Before you go buying a new turbo it is definitely worth checking for faults with your breather system etc.

 

If you have higher crank case pressure than normal, (worn rings etc) you may be pressuring the oil return from the turbo causing the oil in the turbo to go past the mechanical seal, (very similar to a piston ring) and directly into the exhaust causing the smoke. Try idling it with the oil filler cap off and see if its any better.

 

Sump oil level can also have an effect if its too high or engine inclination has changed from that originally intended.

 

Is the breather system as originally intended, particularly the part load breather or has it been modified.

 

Larger than average exahust systems also makes this problem worse as they create a bigger pressure differential between the turbo centre housing and exhaust.

 

Also check that your oil pressure feed to the turbo is correct, many require a restricted oil feed.

 

All of the above things are essentially free to check and could save you a lot of money and the severe annoyance of buying a new turbo and finding it still smokes.

[saveloy 8]

It is most likely a worn thrust bearing. As you may be aware,there is no seal between the exhaust system and the turbo turbine. Boost pressure alone keeps the seal tight.

What is most likely happening, is that the oil is seeping from the oil gallery and straight into the exhaust. Personally I would gauge the severity of your problem on the level of oil consumption. If it is excessive and you have trouble seeing what you have just overtaken, then have the turbo reconditioned. And with a 360 degree thrust bearing.

[inferno 1]

Before you go buying a new turbo it is definitely worth checking for faults with your breather system etc.

 

If you have higher crank case pressure than normal, (worn rings etc) you may be pressuring the oil return from the turbo causing the oil in the turbo to go past the mechanical seal, (very similar to a piston ring) and directly into the exhaust causing the smoke. Try idling it with the oil filler cap off and see if its any better.

 

Sump oil level can also have an effect if its too high or engine inclination has changed from that originally intended.

 

Is the breather system as originally intended, particularly the part load breather or has it been modified.

 

Larger than average exahust systems also makes this problem worse as they create a bigger pressure differential between the turbo centre housing and exhaust.

 

Also check that your oil pressure feed to the turbo is correct, many require a restricted oil feed.

 

All of the above things are essentially free to check and could save you a lot of money and the severe annoyance of buying a new turbo and finding it still smokes.

 

Ill agree with this guy.

My zx turbo is doing exactly the same mate... and it started after fitting a 2 1/4 straight through pipe.

However i have noticed the bottom breather is a bit sqaushed up so ill replace that, the smoke does clear slightly when the filler cap is off.

 

The only thing i can think of to describe the smell is the taste of crispy burnt chicken skin!!!

 

Its also been suggested that the xm turbo housings have a nasty habit of cracking, so ive got another engine lined up just incase, but apparently the later engines dont have this problem... although i cant see it being this causing the smoke.