Intermittent smoking problem w/ KAT

[rco8786]

Ive had this problem ever since ive been turbo(~9 months) but i havent really had to drive much so it never bothered me..until now.

To start off I am running 370cc injectors, custom equal length mani, t3/t04e, safc2, walbro pump. The car idles very jumpy and will often stall when coming to a stop.

Basically it smokes intermittently, like the subject says. Especially when i have to compression brake for a while(which is often b/c the car dies if i put it in neutral) and then hit the gas again it will give a puff. And also every once in a while i will be sitting at a stoplight and it will just start to pour.

Im thinking one of two things but i want someone elses opinion on it.

1) turbo seals are bad or i just need a restrictor.2) I was sort of forced to use the old injector o-rings when i installed the 370s and never changed them out, im thinking this could be causing both problems.

Thanks for any help

Oh and the smoke is most definitely white...no blue tint whatsoever.
Modified by rco8786 at 7:05 PM 7/8/2005

[Import_Ant]

what color is the smoke? that would help alot in determining the problem. is the smoke coming from the engine bay or out of the exhaust?

[rco8786]

the smoke is white(you must have just missed my edit) and it's coming out the exhaust

[Import_Ant]

seems like burning oil then. leaky injector rings won't cause that they'll just cause fuel to leak out over your intake manifold and pose a fire hazard among other things.

As far as your idling problems go have you run a boost leak test on your IC piping? in the "read here first" sticky there's a cheap DIY tester you can build and pressurize with a standard air compressor. it seems like the car may have a leak and thereby would be stumbling and have difficulty at idle. you might check your timing too while you're at it.

As far as the smoke goes i think you have blown rings or you have blown the seals on your turbo and it's burning oil. you can pull a spark plug and have a look at it. if it's black you've probably got blown rings and the engine is burning oil, if the plugs are fine it would be safe to suspect that oil is making it past the seals on the center cartridge.

These are just my opinions though, Definitely check further before you go replacing or buying anything. Good luck getting the prob fixed.

-Aaron

[TheOne]

sounds more like your head gasket is gone, white smoke = coolant.

do leakdown test, also check coolant for oil or check oil for coolant.

[Import_Ant]

if it was a coolant issue he'd be able to smell it... when coolant burns through the motor the smoke smells kind of sweet. burning oil will also cause white smoke.

[nab911]

this is rco8786...at a friend's house.

there is no coolant in the oil or vice versa. I have a feeling it is the turbo seals b/c it happened as soon as i got the turbo going before i even drove it..maybe a resistor would help?

i don't think i have intake leaks b/c this is my second intercooler/piping setup and the problem was identical w/ both setups however it wouldnt hurt to test.

Also the reason i thought it was the injector rings is b/c i heard that if you are burning a lot of gas it would be white instead of black...could be wrong tho.

Thanks for all the help keep the suggestions coming

[Import_Ant]

the reason i thought it was the injector rings is b/c i heard that if you are burning a lot of gas it would be white instead of black...could be wrong tho.

Thanks for all the help keep the suggestions coming

well the injector rings only seal the injector to the fuel rail, and the tip of the injector in the intake plenum.

if the o rings are leaking between the injector and the fuel rail you will leak fuel granted, but not INTO the intake plenum. it'll just go everywhere around the injector. if the ring between the injector tip and the plenum were to leak, it would only leak air from the plenum. it could be a source of a boost leak per se but in that aspect it could cause the motor to run rich. you would also only see this problem while the motor had positive pressure (boost).

regardless I'd say pull a spark plug or two. visually inspect it and smell it. That'll get you a step further at least in trying to find your problem.



hopefully that will help you out too.

[KATwo40]

well the injector rings only seal the injector to the fuel rail, and the tip of the injector in the intake plenum.

if the o rings are leaking between the injector and the fuel rail you will leak fuel granted, but not INTO the intake plenum. it'll just go everywhere around the injector. if the ring between the injector tip and the plenum were to leak, it would only leak air from the plenum. it could be a source of a boost leak per se but in that aspect it could cause the motor to run rich. you would also only see this problem while the motor had positive pressure (boost).

regardless I'd say pull a spark plug or two. visually inspect it and smell it. That'll get you a step further at least in trying to find your problem.



hopefully that will help you out too.

This untrue.

I had torn some injector O-rings when installing my 370's and the car ran fine for about 10mi. After that, it began chugging, backfiring, stumbling, puffing white smoke, etc. I pulled the injectors, replaced the O-rings, lubed them properly with axle grease and have had no problems since. And there was not a single drop of fuel outside the rail.

If you're not running an oil restrictor, you're going to damage your turbo seals. I did the same thing, but the damage was already done when I put the restrictor in. It helped, but I still get a few puffs here and there.

[C-Kwik]

KAtwo40: sounds like you are describing a leak in the seal at the tip of the injector. This seal seals the injector to the intake runners. If this leaks fuel, it would simply leak past the seals into the intake runners. A leak in the upper(larger) seal would cause a leak of fuel outside the fuel system and potentially all over the motor.

As far as the smoke is concerned, I'd suspect the turbo seals. You'll have to determine the casue of this. If it was an issue with too much oil pressure, you'll likely see the problem at higher RPM's. If you see it each time you take off from a light, it is probably a bad seal. Negative pressure seen in the intake can draw oil past the seals and allow it to pool. When you take off, the oil is drawn into the cylder where it is burned up and spit out the exhaust, which is why you might be seeing the smoke when taking off from a stop. Keep in mind that valve stem seals also have similar symptoms, but are likely more rare in the KA. The valve stem seals are pretty durable in the KA.

[KATwo40]

Yes, the lower seals were toast.

I think the turbo seals are damaged, but at the same time, ifhe's not running a restrictor, the same will occur every time. That's what blew my seals.

[C-Kwik]

What kind of line is he running? Running a small enough line will automatically act as a restrictor.

[214kka-et240sx]

white smoke= transmission oil (automatic transmission only) and coolantblueish grey smoke =motor oilblack smoke = running rich

[KATwo40]

white smoke= transmission oil (automatic transmission only) and coolantblueish grey smoke =motor oilblack smoke = running rich

You're partially correct.

Sometimes a ton of excess fuel can come out blue/white. Especially when it's fairly cool outside.

[nissanfanatic]

Do a cylinder drop test and see if the engien clears up at all. Whichever cylinder that is dropped and causes teh engien to run better is the problem cylinder. It is prolly leaky O rings. I've had three incidents with leaky O rings. All easy fixes. Takes five minutes to reaplace one.

The lower O ring being faulty will cause fuel to dump straight into the intake runner~combustion chamber. A lot of fuel can cause what appears to be a puff of white smoke.

[C-Kwik]

white smoke= transmission oil (automatic transmission only) and coolantblueish grey smoke =motor oilblack smoke = running rich

Considering I've had 3 turbo seal/bearing failures and each emitted a very white smoke, you are mislead. Not to say your post is wrong, but oil can easily emit a white smoke. This is from personal experience, not from what I read in a book or on the internet.

[BillKlineVT]

Make sure to check your oil return line. Mine would smoke like a chimney at stoplights once the oil pressure dropped down at idle... and this was all due to a kinked oil return line. Definitely worth a check before you go replacing stuff.

[jdzumwalt]

Check your compression. Sounds like the ring lands. I toasted mine after one week on my first motor. Also put a wideband on it!!

[Import_Ant]

This untrue.

I had torn some injector O-rings when installing my 370's and the car ran fine for about 10mi. After that, it began chugging, backfiring, stumbling, puffing white smoke, etc. I pulled the injectors, replaced the O-rings, lubed them properly with axle grease and have had no problems since. And there was not a single drop of fuel outside the rail.

that is because you had a pressure leak, caused by the bad o-ring. Exactly like I said. the leaky ring wouldn't cause your injector to magically increase the duty cycle by itself. rather your computer had adjusted your fuel trim to compensate for air that didn't make it to the engine or, at vacuum, hadn't compensated for air that was making it into the engine.
Modified by Import_Ant at 12:07 AM 7/12/2005