Under Plenum Work done but...

[pabs324]

I finally finished the work under the plenum but now there's white smoke from the exhaust along with a weird smell. When we first started the car after putting it back together ,it started up fine and no smoke. there was some gas coming from the first injector on the passenger side. We took the injector out and put it back in and the gas stopped coming through.

We drove it for about 20 minutes after it had warmed and it drove wonderfully.Got back, shut the car off washed my hands and was back in the car to get it started and it wouldn't start.

it would turn over but nothing. then after about the 10th time it started but not like it should. then that's when the smoke and smell started coming and is idling rough once again.

Anybody have any suggestions as to what it might be....

[jimbyjimb]

Sounds like you could have hooked up a coolant line to the intake, or at least got some into the engine somehow. Check your oil level, if its foamy and gray it has coolant in it. Also check you coolant level. Coolant smokes white from the tail pipes and makes it run crappy. Burned coolant has a distinct odor,

[elwesso]

So you did injectors? I would doubel check that you didnt pinch an O ring. Did it reek of gas out the exhaust?

[pabs324]

If there was a pinched O Ring would gas be coming out of the the injector where the ring is pinched. the first time we started the car the first injector on the passenger side was leaking gas. We took out the injector and the rings were fine we then put it back and no gas came out and all the other injectors are dry as well

[pabs324]

Doesn't white smoke mean coolant. It smelled like gas a bit but then a different smell kind of sweet I would say

[qsiguy]

Coolant does have a sweet smell to it.

[pabs324]

I checked the oil and coolant and both were fine.

I took it to the dealer and cylinder 3, 5 and 7 are down but don't know why. injectors work as well as the harness and ignitors.

there's to much gas going through the exhaust

They just don't know why it's doing this.

[pabs324]

anybody ever seen this?

[qship96]

sounds like a blown headgasket with 3 dead cylinders in a row, coolant and gas dumped into exhaust

[elwesso]

I still think its an injector issue.. Have you since taken the rail off and make sure that no gas is leaking from the tip?

[pabs324]

I haven't removed the injector rail off. the dealer has it. I'll suggest that to the tech.

What is the head gasket? Are those the rings that go under the plenum?

[pabs324]

And it does reek of gas. Its a big cloud of smoke that smells like pure gas and running really rough.

[goody90q45]

I checked the oil and coolant and both were fine. I took it to the dealer and cylinder 3, 5 and 7 are down but don't know why. There's to much gas going through the exhaust. They just don't know why it's doing this.

I still think its an injector issue.. Have you since taken the rail off and make sure that no gas is leaking from the tip?

Listen to the master (Wes).....you have a leaky lower fuel injector o-ring. Unless you've had an overheating event you didn't tell us about there's nothing wrong with your head gasket. The leak you described in FI # 1 was from the upper o-ring and if that's the case I would start by replacing both o-rings on #1 (been inserted twice now), slathering it up with vaseline, and popping it back in. If you're lucky it fixes the leak and you don't have to remove the plenum.

Your mechanics are clueless. Fuel coming out of the exhaust pipe should have at least put leaky injectors on their short list of things to check. Get your Q home quick and do the work yourself. Good luck.

[pabs324]

The one that was inserted twice is fine. Its the 3 on the other side. The one that was removed twice was #2. The cylinders that are down are 1 3 and 5 not 3 5 and 7 like I stated previously. I agree with you on listening to Wes him being a master and all.

Are those symptoms of leaky injectors the rough idling and smoke out of the exhaust smelling like gas.

The mechanic at Infiniti did seem kind of clueless.

It seems to hydra lock sometimes too so I wanna get this done soon before it becomes more expensive

[pabs324]

I forgot to mention that when he removed a spark plug it had fuel on it.

[goody90q45]

Are those symptoms of leaky injectors the rough idling and smoke out of the exhaust smelling like gas.

You have all the symptoms- rough idle (suprised it stay running), all cylinders filling up with fuel, billowing white smoke out of the exhaust, raw fuel pouring out the exhaust pipe or muffler, and eventually hydrolock if the leak gets too bad. Don't drive too far.

Are you using new o-rings on the injectors? Are the mating surfaces on the fuel rail cups free of residue or nicks? At 45 psi, a nick in an o-ring or a fuel rail raised surface doesn't have to be very big to cause major leaks. A nick that small may not even be visible to the naked eye. My employer has lost hundreds of millions of $$ on test stands and launch pads over the years due to under-inspected o-rings.

Take a chance and start over with #1 injector. It's the easiest to get to and you've got a 1 out of 4 chance it's the problem o-ring. Clean the rail cup with a good penetrant (PB Blaster) and a rag, install and lube up new o-rings, and try again. Good luck.

[pabs324]

Yes all the O rings were new and installed by deastchwerks .

would all 3 injector O rings be pinched since 3 cylinders are down?

I'm probably going to go to the dealer in the morning before work and tell him what's wrong.

[goody90q45]

One leaky o-ring will flood all 4 cylinders in that bank very quickly. Q45Tech did a post on it a couple months back and it took less than 5 seconds for the pressurized fuel to back up through the valves and flood all four cylinders.

[pabs324]

thanks for the info.

I'm debating whether to let them do the work or take it home and do it myself because I don't wanna drive it to far, cause more problems and I don't know when I will have time.

I'd much rather do it myself but thats probably not the most beneficial for my car.

[maxnix]

Personally, I would call Deatschwerks up and detail what occurred.

Did you mention you were a NICOnaut when you sent them in?

[pabs324]

No, I didn't.

Quick update though, I went to the dealer this morning to tell him about the possibility of the pinched O Rings and he told me that that might be half the problem but I'm getting no spark.

[maxnix]

he told me that that might be half the problem but I'm getting no spark.

If on one bank, that would be the igniter for that bank.

[Q451990]

Aren't there a couple of connectors that can be hooked up to each other reversed over near the injector subharness?

Heath

[pabs324]

Around 10 this morning they got back to me and told me it was the O Rings.(thanks Wes) I think they should've payed Wes for diagnosing the problem. I just got new O rings so I'm ready to work. I will update when it's done. Don't know when I will have the time.

[Q45denver]

Always a good idea to double check o-rings before installing in car. Too easy for some minimum wage flunky to screw up. Also pressure check fuel rail before bolting to intake manifolds. Hopefully no bent rods.

[pabs324]

The tech didn't mention that there were any bent rods. he just said that the O rings needed to be replaced.

[pabs324]

Finally finished! Now there's a ticking noise from the front of the engine near cylinder one. There was gas in the oil so I changed the oil.

Don't know what to do now?

Any suggestions

[maxnix]

Add BG Quick Clean for carnacase 15 minutes before changing oil and let it idle. Don't dhut it off until it is in the bay then drain immediately.

Recommend BG MOA on the refill. Report back.

[goody90q45]

Finally finished! Now there's a ticking noise from the front of the engine near cylinder one. There was gas in the oil so I changed the oil.

I'm just repeating what I've read but don't the hydraulic lifters take a while to refill with oil if they've been drained (or the oil thinned)? Maybe the fuel in the crankcase thinned the oil enough to drain one of the HLA's.

If you think you have a sticky lifter I had good success on my 94Q with Marvel Mystery Oil (MMO). It's only about $5/bottle and also involves draining the oil after a day of driving. It quieted the lifter within a few minutes of adding it to the oil.

[pabs324]

Do you add the MMO directly to the oil?