car is smoking bad

KimmiKim · Post by **KimmiKim** » April 26th, 2005, 6:29 pm

My car has been smoking A LOT the past two weeks. Most of the smoke is coming from under the hood, but there is white smoke in my exhaust as well.

I tried to change the valve cover gaskets, and a good chunk of the actual valve cover broke off w/the front gasket! I called up the dealership to see how much it costs to get new covers, they told me $300 each. I said HELL NO and went on eBay, grabbed some Probe covers.

Now this is my biggest fear. I bet I need to replace my head gaskets. I've been saving up for my KLZE, new clutch, and lightened flywheel for a while now. I don't want to have this crappy smoke for the next few months until I start the swap.

If I change the covers and gaskets, and there is still some smoking, how harmful would it be to my engine if I kept on driving w/it for a few months? Also is it possible that my alternator might short out, because it's covered in oil?

vozaday2000 · Post by **vozaday2000** » April 26th, 2005, 7:43 pm

if it is white smoke than it sounds like antifreeze is getting into the engine. That could be from the gaskets or it could mean a crack in the block. It would be harmful to the engine and you would likely be adding antifreeze to your engine like crazy but if you are doing the swap then just watch your levels and don't let your engine overheat. If it is the head gaskets that are gone then just replace them. also the alternator does have a good chance of shorting out with the oil on it. Mine did before i did the swap. I built a guard over it with tin so that it didn't short out again before the swap was complete. Good luck

georgechicken · Post by **georgechicken** » April 26th, 2005, 9:21 pm

Wow, that's freakin wierd... I just completed a 2.5l KL swap on a purple special edition just like yours, and I found out afterwards that there was a break in the rear valve cover, causing a MAJOR oil leak... The smoke is likely coming from the oil dropping on the exhause. In my case, it was the rear bank, so the oil was dropping straight down on the exhaust flex joint in the collector, and burning as soon as it hit, if it was warm enough. If yours is also leaking from the same spot, then you can expect to get underneath and see a mess of oil sprayed ALL along the underside of the car from the motor back. It also runs along the shift linkage and drips all along the exhaust, causing more and more smoke from the burnoff. If you are leaking on the flex joint, then dont expect the smoke to end for at least 1-2 hours worth of high temperature driving, maybe more. It took us about 3 days of periodic driving to burn off all of the oil accumulated by and soaked into the flex joint. So, before you go condemning the head gasket, get underneath, spray off what oil you can with brake parts cleaner (wear safety glasses, and dont spray into the wind, or while the car is hot), and then just drive and drive and drive until the smoking stops. Do watch your temp gauge, and check your oil for signs of coolant mixture just in case you do have a head gasket issue. Good luck!

Daniel

hgallegos915 · Post by **hgallegos915** » April 26th, 2005, 9:32 pm

have you done a compression test?

KimmiKim · Post by **KimmiKim** » April 26th, 2005, 9:38 pm

georgechicken wrote:Wow, that's freakin wierd... I just completed a 2.5l KL swap on a purple special edition just like yours, and I found out afterwards that there was a break in the rear valve cover, causing a MAJOR oil leak... The smoke is likely coming from the oil dropping on the exhause. In my case, it was the rear bank, so the oil was dropping straight down on the exhaust flex joint in the collector, and burning as soon as it hit, if it was warm enough. If yours is also leaking from the same spot, then you can expect to get underneath and see a mess of oil sprayed ALL along the underside of the car from the motor back. It also runs along the shift linkage and drips all along the exhaust, causing more and more smoke from the burnoff. If you are leaking on the flex joint, then dont expect the smoke to end for at least 1-2 hours worth of high temperature driving, maybe more. It took us about 3 days of periodic driving to burn off all of the oil accumulated by and soaked into the flex joint. So, before you go condemning the head gasket, get underneath, spray off what oil you can with brake parts cleaner (wear safety glasses, and dont spray into the wind, or while the car is hot), and then just drive and drive and drive until the smoking stops. Do watch your temp gauge, and check your oil for signs of coolant mixture just in case you do have a head gasket issue. Good luck!

Daniel

Yeah thats what I'm thinking. From what I can tell, the front valve cover is s---, and theres smoke rising from underneath the intake manifold where the rear cover is, so theres a high chance of that being busted too. But like you said, theres burnoff all the way back to the flex joint, so that might be it as well. After driving only 10 minutes or so, I lift my hood up and everything is oily. It's pissing oil really fast, every time i drive i dump in a quart, which is about 3 times a week. You should see the ground when I move my car, it's f---in tragic.

I have not done a compression test. I'm hoping just to make my engine survive a few more months, and not look ridiculous at red lights (people stare like WTF??). I'm driving a purple car in a white cloud. Tomorrow I'll do my valve covers and gaskets and let you guys know. Thanks for the advice.

georgechicken · Post by **georgechicken** » April 27th, 2005, 1:11 pm

I'm guessing that you know that the rear valve cover can be a royal pain in the a--, right? When you have the intake manifold off, go ahead and replace those small coolant hoses that run to the head, throttle body, intake, and EGR. And when you do that, dont cut them to the same length. Cut them about a foot longer so that next time the intake has to come off, then you'll have some slack there for easier working. Same with the fuel hoses if you decide to pull them. I'll have to assume that you dont know much about this stuff (just to be safe... but if you do, then my apologies

), so for good reference, proper torque specs (VERY IMPORTANT... no.... VITAL for the valve covers), torque patterns, etc. can all be found in the online shop manual here at http://www.mx-3.com.... Here's a link to the page with the torque specs and torque pattern for the bolts, but there is info for the rest of the top half of the motor on following pages.

http://www.mx-3.com/95manual/page.cfm?S ... PageNo=106

good luck!

Daniel

KimmiKim · Post by **KimmiKim** » April 27th, 2005, 2:25 pm

georgechicken wrote:I'm guessing that you know that the rear valve cover can be a royal pain in the a--, right? When you have the intake manifold off, go ahead and replace those small coolant hoses that run to the head, throttle body, intake, and EGR. And when you do that, dont cut them to the same length. Cut them about a foot longer so that next time the intake has to come off, then you'll have some slack there for easier working. Same with the fuel hoses if you decide to pull them. I'll have to assume that you dont know much about this stuff (just to be safe... but if you do, then my apologies ), so for good reference, proper torque specs (VERY IMPORTANT... no.... VITAL for the valve covers), torque patterns, etc. can all be found in the online shop manual here at http://www.mx-3.com.... Here's a link to the page with the torque specs and torque pattern for the bolts, but there is info for the rest of the top half of the motor on following pages.

http://www.mx-3.com/95manual/page.cfm?S ... PageNo=106

good luck!

Daniel

now why would you assume i don't know much? because i'm female?