Hmmm something bad seems to have happened with the replacement engine I got fitted

 

There didn't appear to be any problem when I picked the car up.

 

The engine sounds OK and it seems to run OK however when I drove it back yesterday my friend who was following me said it was smoking a lot just from the near side exhaust but I didn't notice as the car felt like it was running fine

 

This seems to have gotten worse today when ticking over the nearside ehxaust is 'splutterring' a bit like there is an intermittent misfire on that side and when you rev it you get copious amounts of white smoke from that exhaust - and I mean plenty of it!!

 

I popped to the garage across the road and they had a look and revved it quite a bit and said they thought it was a turbo but could not explain the splutterring so then they said it could be 'just about anything' which wasn't very helpful

 

I parked up outside the house for 15 mins and then asked the missus to rev the car so i could put some video up here and now it seems to be smoking a lot from both exhausts like it just got worse in those 15 mins

 

The guy from next door came out (who also runs a garage) and claimed it is both turbos because if you compress the intercooler pipes with your fingers then rev the engine it should force the pipes back out again against your fingers. You do feel a little pressure 'kick' when holding the intercooler pipes compressed and revving but he says it is not enough

 

I'm not sure this guy knows what he is talking about or not but I must admit when you rev the engine the guage on the boost controller does not go positive it goes from -70 to about 0. I would have to run the car on the road and watch the guage to be certain

 

Any suggestions please, no doubt when I take the car the few miles to Trentham on Sunday (so it can sit there looking pretty even if it is turned off so it don't smoke) I will have 19 more opinions as to what is wrong with my car now :huh: so I may as well ask here first

 

I'll upload the video if I can remember my youtube login lol

 

Rich

Edited June 14, 201312 yr by dicky96

what about existing oil left in the exhaust system from your last engine that gave way

 

 

yep mine took days to burn off..

OK I had a look this morning

 

The water looks clean and it hasn't lost any

 

The oil looks clean when i took the filler cap off

 

But the oil has gone very low (like it's not registering on my dipstick this morning but there is obviously oil in the engine) and I've only done about 60 miles since picking the car up :huh:

 

I better go get a can (in the van!)

 

Rich

OK I had a look this morning

 

The water looks clean and it hasn't lost any

 

The oil looks clean when i took the filler cap off

 

But the oil has gone very low (like it's not registering on my dipstick this morning but there is obviously oil in the engine) and I've only done about 60 miles since picking the car up :huh:

 

I better go get a can (in the van!)

 

Rich

 

That doesnt sound positive im afraid to say, however mine did that because i drained the oil cooler and didnt refil it manually so it soaked up the volume, after id topped it up once it was fine. Did you put up a video? Didn't zedworld fit the block? May be worth having a chat and seeing if they noticed anything during transplant. let us know how you get on this sucks balls.

Yeah Zedworld did fit it, gonna chat with Jeff in a bit

 

Compression was within spec on all cylinders and conzult registered no errors. I don't have a compression tester to check it myself now.

 

It took about half a litre to get the oil up about 1/4 above the minumum on the dipstick so it wasn't dangerously low. The oil in the engine (on the dipstick) is very clean like it's still brand new, if that gives any clues.

 

Rich

 

 

Rich

You can purchase a compression tester from Halfords for cheap,

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_199553_langId_-1_categoryId_255216

ive got that one, and so does my mate who uses it or porches, a lot wont fit due to the length of the hose supplied. At least then you can say the cylinder hasn't collapsed, which would be worse case scenario.

You can purchase a compression tester from Halfords for cheap,

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_199553_langId_-1_categoryId_255216

ive got that one, and so does my mate who uses it or porches, a lot wont fit due to the length of the hose supplied.

 

OK I'll have to get one (unless someone coming the Trentham show tomorrow happens to have one handy :wink: )

 

 

At least then you can say the cylinder hasn't collapsed, which would be worse case scenario.

 

I'm no mechanic but wouldn't that tend to cause it to only run on five cylinders?

 

I think the problem may be with the middle cylinder on the near side as it did start to run on five cylinders, and when I extracted that spark plug it was very black and sooty looking on the end. I popped one in from my old engine and I have all six firing again. Does that tell us anything?

 

It still smokes though.

 

Rich

OK I'll have to get one (unless someone coming the Trentham show tomorrow happens to have one handy :wink: )

 

 

 

 

I'm no mechanic but wouldn't that tend to cause it to only run on five cylinders?

 

I think the problem may be with the middle cylinder on the near side as it did start to run on five cylinders, and when I extracted that spark plug it was very black and sooty looking on the end. I popped one in from my old engine and I have all six firing again. Does that tell us anything?

 

It still smokes though.

 

Rich

 

Your not looking for firing Rich just compression, the turnover of the engine will cycle each cylinder as normal and you can plug and unplug the tester on each one without casuing any issues (as long as all other cylinders are connected as normal)

 

Hope the issues arn't to serious, what history do you have on the engine before you put it in?

The engine came out of 'kenztwinturbo' old car, The car was scrapped because it was rotten, I am pretty sure he said the engine was running fine

 

The car was bought from Ken by Noz who then stripped it and sold the engine on to me

 

Noz tells me the engine was running fine

 

Jeff at Zedworld swapped out my old one for the new one, had the sump off and says the bottom end bearings looked like they had been replaced not so long ago, tells me the compression is within spec on all cylinders, and the conzult shows no errors

 

I don't think Jeff actually ran the car on the road

 

Apparently the smoking started pretty much straight away but I couldn't see it and the car felt very smooth. I only found out as my mate who was following up in the van (with my old engine) told me

 

Car ran 60 miles and oil was about 1/4 litre below the bottom of the dipstick, assuming it was on full to start with but I didnt' check at the time.

 

Had the problem yesterday with the misfire on the centre cylinder nearside (is that number 3?) Checked coil packs first, then swapped the plug as it was all blackened with sooty deposit. It was still smoking when it was running on 5 cylinders though, not sure if that is relevant?

 

Topped up the oil this morning, took it out for 4 miles or so - looked like the James Bond car with a smoke screen lol

 

Got it valetted, brought it back home, for some reason there was much less smoke on the run back.

 

Been standing outside the house all day - fired it up and it's smoking plenty even on tick over, just from the nearside exhaust

 

Checked my oil, was on full this morning, now visibly lower on the dipstick by a few mm

 

That's about as much as I know really, can't figure why this all seems to have gone so badly wrong

 

Rich

Edited June 15, 201312 yr by dicky96
added more info

Try taking of the intercooler pipe work. If there is oil in there its a good sign of the turbo oil seals.

 

Someone correct me if i'm wrong.

OK I'll have to get one (unless someone coming the Trentham show tomorrow happens to have one handy :wink: )

 

 

 

 

I'm no mechanic but wouldn't that tend to cause it to only run on five cylinders?

 

I think the problem may be with the middle cylinder on the near side as it did start to run on five cylinders, and when I extracted that spark plug it was very black and sooty looking on the end. I popped one in from my old engine and I have all six firing again. Does that tell us anything?

 

It still smokes though.

 

Rich

 

When I say collapsed, I mean its lost compression, rings failed etc. I may still continue to run with a lower compression, continuing to fire whilst consuming oil/water. Was the plug wet? you say sotty, was it jet black, you can tell a lot by the plug condition actually. heres a helpful guide.

http://www.mazdaforum.com/forum/mazda-mx-3-mazda-mx-6-25/94-mx-6-engine-hissitation-31499/page2/

what about existing oil left in the exhaust system from your last engine that gave way

 

That's what I was thinking also.....

 

......give it a fair few miles of driving; then if the smoke does not cease your replacement engine could be suspect. Also, are you sure you are losing oil? The oil takes a long time to drain back into the sump on these cars - and after an oil change, the oil looks clean for ever it would seem. Which makes it difficult to actually read the dipstick...

 

Richard:yinyang:

...And following on from my post above, maybe you have now over-filled the sump with oil!

 

Jeff knoes these cars inside out - and would have filled it with exactly the right amount of oil needed. So if you have over-filled it, that would cause smoke mate....

 

Richard:yinyang:

Yeah I hear what you are saying Rich but the dip stick registered nothing this morning

 

After about half a litre it registered 1/3 the way between low and high and yes I agree the oil is very 'clear' as it is new, but I can see where it comes up to

 

I know Jeff knows what he is doing with these cars he has done enough jobs for me before for me to be confident in that

 

@z32bolt

I probably don't describe thngs well -the spark plug that I changed when it was running on 5 cylinders (took one of my old engine) was jet black if that makes a difference

 

I have it in the boot, will show some of the guys at the show tomorrow and see what they say. Out of all the pics on your link I would say it is pic number 1

 

No doubt then we will get a better description of the problems after tomorrow

 

As I said before, I believe this engine had a good enough provinance (though Noz would have to confirm that if he will post here) and I have no doubt of Jeffs abilities, just for some reason things seem to have gone somewhat pear shaped just when I thought I was doing things 'by the book'

 

Rich

Edited June 15, 201312 yr by dicky96

Yeah I hear what your saying dicky, this is the risk of second hand parts. As you say jeff does a Stirling job and noel seems pretty trustworthy, however shit does happen, hopefully its resolvable. Im sure by the close of play tomorrow you will now more about the why.

OK a little more on this

 

After various members looking at the car today the main suggestions seem to be it's not a piston or rings or anything really major like that, as the engine runs far too smooth and quiet.

 

The split opinion seems to be somewhere between valve stem oil seals or a faulty turbo

 

One suggestion is I take out all the plugs on the nearside and see if they are all blackened up, or just the middle one, this is something I can try tomorrow.

 

On the way home I had a little 'play'

 

The car has dropped back to running on five cylinders again. I got the car up 50mph, kicking out a lot of smoke in the process, then let it coast as the road was slightly downhill

 

On coasting at 50, most of the smoke stops. Put the power on and back it comes. After trying that a few times I tried to accelerate hard (which obviously it doesn't on five cylinders)

 

Actually the car felt very sluggish

 

As well as smoke a-plenty my boost guages (I have three, the one on the dash, one on the pillar pods and one on the HKS boost controller) only go to +12 or +13. I used to get +75 or more, now it's topping out 12/13

 

 

So does that say it is a turbo (or both)?

 

Rich

Sounds like turbo then doesn't it, however what confuses me is the same cylinder dropping out. There has to be a reason for this. So do this, check the 4 boost hoses and the inside of the plenum for oil deposit's there will be some blackening but it shouldn't be pooling. Warm the block up, whilst warming take a screwdriver and put the tip on each injector, listen down the shaft you should hear a distint pulsing or ticking. When warm, carefully remove the now warm plugs, while your there ohm the injectors. Check the colours and conditions of the plugs, compression test the block. Reassemble the engine bay and do a boost leak check. By doing this process you will establish the following, Fueling is occurring t at least a basic degree, compression is arriving, and the system is not being mislead by boost leaks etc. My guess is one of those turbos has front end damage, and oil is being sucked up and combusted.

Sounds like turbo then doesn't it, however what confuses me is the same cylinder dropping out.

 

Actually I can't say that is a true (yet) just that it dropped back to five on the way home but I didn't check which ones. Will confirm in the morning and make your other checks then hopefully we will know something

 

Wish you lived nearer m8 we could have this diagnosed in no time

 

Rich

Actually I can't say that is a true (yet) just that it dropped back to five on the way home but I didn't check which ones. Will confirm in the morning and make your other checks then hopefully we will know something

 

Wish you lived nearer m8 we could have this diagnosed in no time

 

Rich

 

I'm no expert mate! However all you can do you is start with the obvious and the testable, once you elimated in the worst case scenarios its all uphill, or conversely you get a stand out answer. No matter what car it is, the basic principal applies, Do you have compression? Do you have spark? Do you have fuel? if the answer to that is yes is it happening at the right time?

Your car IS consuming and burning/vapourising oil, so a seal whether its a turbo, a piston ring whatever is allowing oil to be sucked into the combustion cycle. Anyways good luck.

You certainly sound like an expert bolty! :yes:

Right then: I didn't do all the tests yet, but it is now the front cyinder nearside that is not firing. I'm not sure how the cyinders are numbered, is that number one? I didn't remove the plug yet but I will bet it is blacked up.

 

Got a pic of the plug I swapped out of the middle cylinder neaside (number 3?) on Friday So here it is

 

Took off the intercooler pipe nearside (the smoky side) and got some pics. It looks pretty clean in there to be honest.

 

Uploading the video now, taken Friday night (the day after I brought the car back from zedworld. It had done about 60 miles at that point.

 

Please no one laugh at the video :slap:

http://s1313.photobucket.com/user/dicky96pics/library/300zx%20problem?sort=3&page=1

 

 

 

Rich

Forgot the pics lol

Blimey Rich the smoke is well bad, how weird when you was in the workshop whilst we did the conzult how nice it was running etc?

sometimes used engines bought semi-unknown do not always work out despite evrthing, have you spoken to where you got the engine from yet?

 

Jeff TT

Good to hear from you Jeff, given all the various info from my posts on this thread can you suggest what has gone wrong?

 

Yes I am asking about the engine from before I had it.

 

The engine wasn't that bad at first, it took a run up to Stoke first. But it was smoking white from the nearside exhaust as soon as I pulled of the estate so my m8 tells me. I can't figure why my m8 in the van behind didn't call me on my mobile as I would have turned back tbh. Once we reached the top of the toll, the M6 was busy and I lost him as I got into the inside lane and must have made a couple of mailes on him so didn't find out till I got home

 

I was getting boost on the motorway, but come to think of it yesterday my boost controller is only showing +13 at best, and I wasn't hearing my dump valves at all, which are plenty loud enough as you will recall.

 

Just checked - oil on dipstick now at 50%. Was at 100% 10-12 miles ago, before Trentham

 

One of the guys looking at the car yesterday says the oil has a bit of a dark colour when you rub some between your fingers, not what he would expect for new oil

 

Rich

are there any oil leaks at all, becuase that a HELL of alot of oil to burn in such a short period of time.

do a boost leak check

 

How do I perform this test? Cheers