soot coming from the exhaust pipe

[dhen]

Hi everyone,

I swapped a used CA18DET that I bought from eBay into my car. I've put about 600 miles on it since then. Every time when I start it up and idle it, black soot comes out the back. In 600 miles, it's used more than a quart of oil. I'm running about 10 psi of boost.

I don't know if this is relevant, but my injectors weren't working properly and the car would buck occasionally. Switching to a higher grade of gas fixed the problem.

The engine is running fine, but is this normal?

Thanks,

Darian

[Cams]

I believe they use 98 octane gasoline in Japan, so I only use 95 oct which is the higher I can find here.

As for the oil being burnt you should check your Intercooler piping for oil which would mean a busted turbo. I personally have a leak on my turbo feed oil line, and Ive read that a kinked turbo return line can make the oil go thru the turbo seals. It could also be engine related like rings or valves not sealing properly, so a compression test would be something to try too.

[trevr]

In addition to oil in the intercooler piping, make sure the oil return line from the turbo isn't kinked. If oil doesn't flow through freely, it can also back up into the turbo and be blown thru the intercooler piping.

[dhen]

Thanks, that gives me a few ideas. The compression test was fine, and the turbo is new. Is there any danger if I keep driving it this way?

Darian

[dhen]

I just wanted to bump this one up to see if anyone else has any ideas about this. If you were me, would you keep driving it? I don't mind adding the oil, but I just want to make sure that I'm not damaging something else...

Thanks,

Darian

[ca18detgabby]

this isnt a rotary..... it isnt supposed to be burning oil. clearly something is wrong.

time to play doctor.

I wouldnt be driving it, but thats me...... Ive spent far too much time and energy to risk killing anything else or having bigger issues to deal with later.

PS what kind of oil are u using? maybe you need a heavier weight? how is the coolant looking? is their oil in your coolant?

[dhen]

Thanks Gabby,

I'm using 20/50 weight oil. I haven't noticed any in the coolant, which is a little rusty looking though it's been flushed many times, including a chemical flush once.

Sorry if this is a stupid question, but if it's just a kinked turbo line or a bad gasket, what's the risk? Could this be related to the fact that my engine runs at 220 degrees? I'm going to be adding an oil cooler, would this help?

Thanks,

Darian

[Nali]

Bump from the past.I didnt feel like starting a new thread.

Ive got the exact same problem, my car has black soot on the exhaust pipe. And it builds up pretty quickly, and can dirty up the rear bumper in no time.

Also during acceleration i get smoke(Grey) which on some occasions will actually hamper power and cause the car to sputter and bog. This almost always happens as i approach 4000rpm i.e 3000k+. Right after the 4k mark the car drives normally, and boosts very happily.

At first i though piston rings, but when a car has shot piston rings doesnt it smoke all the time not just at a set rpm?Well i did a Comp test anyway: All good.

One of the Euro tuners near where i live told me that its most likely my car running rich because my timing is bad and the plugs are firing too early causing Incomplete combustion. And that the black soot is unburnt fuel.Anyone else ever had this problem?

Any advice or troubleshoot ideas?

[ca18detgabby]

sounds like you are rich.

either a vac leak, timing..... would be my guess.

[dhen]

In my case the soot went away after the car warmed up, so it may have been too rich, but unless during start up.

Darian

[mydato]

Do you have a atmo BOV? If so your AFM will give the ecu a incorrect reading and inject more fuel than what the engine really needs. Hence the soot and bogging down. This is a very common issue with Nissan AFM fitted ECUs. The remedy is to use a plumb back BOV.