mark taylor 0 Posted September 10, 2004 Report Share Posted September 10, 2004 Help-my car has started to smoke intermitantly-its grey oil smoke and the car is using about 1l of oil every 500 miles.The car doesn't smoke on startup,tickover or when thrashed,only when pulling away from a junction or accelerating from low speed and then only about once every 20 miles or more.I recently removed the cat and it has seemed to have started since. ?! The isv , throttle body and breathers have all been cleaned the car has covered 120k and the engine is sweet (no funny noises) and the car is well looked after with regular oil changes,although last change i used a different brand of oil,not the normal synta silver.A mate has suggested i change the oil and filter,so ill be doing that in the morning.Any ideas anyone !!!!!!!!!!!!!! &| Link to post Share on other sites
VR6Steve 0 Posted September 10, 2004 Report Share Posted September 10, 2004 Was the oil the correct thickness? Would certainly change the oil back to Synta and then see what happens. Link to post Share on other sites
tommy 0 Posted September 10, 2004 Report Share Posted September 10, 2004 Are you using a thinner oil as this could cause the problem......vr's IMO should run 10-40 semi syn.......any thinner and they piss it out the back!.............other than it could be plain old engine wear i'm afraid Link to post Share on other sites
mark taylor 0 Posted September 10, 2004 Author Report Share Posted September 10, 2004 The oil is 10-40 semi synth,but maybe its just crap and it needs changing sooner than 5k.If the engine was worn wouldn't it smoke all the time???? Link to post Share on other sites
tommy 0 Posted September 10, 2004 Report Share Posted September 10, 2004 The oil is 10-40 semi synth' date='but maybe its just crap and it needs changing sooner than 5k.If the engine was worn wouldn't it smoke all the time????[/quote']You could change up to a thicker oil for starters mine need's topping up every 5000miles if driven hard or on motorway, I use 10-40 magnetic.......the oil is changed every 10000 miles....as for signs of smoke........I can only go on my old 8v........it started needing to be toped up every 1000 miles then the smoke started to appear when warm on occasion if driven hard on ....I know the 8v's used to suffer with the valve guides and stem seals...so a head rebuild may take care of it You could start by taking each spark plug out to see which one's are getting oiled up in some cases.......this could also give you an indication on the engines health.....btw the 8v was on 180000 [ Edited Fri Sep 10 2004, 11:58PM ] Link to post Share on other sites
mark taylor 0 Posted September 16, 2004 Author Report Share Posted September 16, 2004 WORKED OUT THAT THE CAR ONLY SMOKES ON GENTLE ACCELERATION AFTR RUNNING ON A TRAILING THROTTLE FOR ABOUT 10 SECS.I THINK ITS THE VALVE STEM SEALS SO GOING TO GET THAT DONE PLUS NEW TAPPETS---ANYONE KNOW HOW MUCH OR HAS ANYONE DONE IT THEMSELVES ? Link to post Share on other sites
mark taylor 0 Posted October 3, 2004 Author Report Share Posted October 3, 2004 Update,car went to autotechnik for a check over.leak down test very good only -3psi on one cyl.bore scope revealed nice clean valves little wear in bores but some slight glazing.The next step is to have the valve stem seals done as theyre bound to be hard at 120k and to hopr that this cures the smoking ~ Link to post Share on other sites
acf8181 0 Posted October 3, 2004 Report Share Posted October 3, 2004 mines down on cylinder 3...prob same prob, but i'm not using hardly any oil. Link to post Share on other sites
Eat this 2 Posted October 3, 2004 Report Share Posted October 3, 2004 i use 5-40 full synthetic oil its done 69k and uses around 1/2 - 2/3 litre of oil in 3k which is when oil and filter get changed Link to post Share on other sites
mark taylor 0 Posted October 4, 2004 Author Report Share Posted October 4, 2004 I only started to notice the smoke after i replaced the cat with a supersprint de-cat pipe.Alan at autotechnik says that cats tend to burn the smoke before it exits the exhaust.He also says that a drop of 3 psi on one cyl is no problem and that they dont worry until its a 20 psi drop. Link to post Share on other sites
mark taylor 0 Posted October 22, 2004 Author Report Share Posted October 22, 2004 Thats it,just had valve stem seals, new chains ,tensioners, clutch and thermostat housing,£857 and car still f***in smokes,i think im gonna get rid of it for a civic type r ~ Link to post Share on other sites
VR6Pete 1,455 Posted October 22, 2004 Report Share Posted October 22, 2004 abit OTT, why not just get it diagnosed properly ?as most of the parts you've listed wont solve the problem anyway.. Link to post Share on other sites
mark taylor 0 Posted October 23, 2004 Author Report Share Posted October 23, 2004 The car was diagnosed properly with a leak down test and inspection of the bores with a bore scope,both tests finding no problems.The only thing was to start at the cheapest option the valve stem seals as at 120k miles they were likely to be dodgy.Unfortunately during the top strip they found 2 of the tensioner rails were broken and with the box out i may as well have a clutch.So this is where the £857 came from and now with the car back it still smokes on a trailing throttle so next thing has to be rings.Anyone know if its a difficult job as i have access to a pit and may have a go to try and save money as the car is only worth a couple of grand i cant justify spending much more on it. &| Link to post Share on other sites
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