what the hell is wrong with my car?

[Inodoro Pereyra]

I agree with most everybody here: it's probably coolant.

It may be the head gasket that has a very little leak, or one (or more) head bolts not torqued down correctly. You'd be surprised how little coolant is needed in the cylinder to make a huge cloud of smoke. I have replaced heads in several different engines, and always dried the inside of the cylinders with paper towels, and ALWAYS get a cloud of white smoke when I start them the first time.

I'd just replace the head gasket and bolts, and torque them to specs.

[myfirstmazda]

cleared all codes, drove it to get my plugs and wires, drove back home and changed them:



then started it, runs fine, shut it down again and re-checked the codes: ALL CLEAR, there are no codes now. we'll run it for a few days and see how it's doing.

[Dark_Rider2k3]

woohoo congrats!

[myfirstmazda]

yeah, hopefully it doesn't keep fogging me out in the mornings, but if it does, i guess I'll do the head gakset... Just not really looking forward to it. That's where my oil leak is coming from, so it does need to be done sooner or later anyway.

[wytbishop]

o2 sensor's brand new, I'm gonna disconnect the battery to clear the codes and try it again. the coolant thermosensor's reading right, I must have had the meter on the wrong setting.

-edit- there's only the one o2 sensor, right? right there in the exhaust manifold?

Not to belabor the point but people make the mistake of thinking that because a component is new it cannot be at fault. It can and often is. That sensor may have been on the shelf in the store where you bought it or the warehouse for years. tossed around, dropped, etc. Electrical and electronic components are particularly prone to this. Just something to think about.

[myfirstmazda]

this morning's cloud:



looking at it, there is a bit of blue after all, but it's not like the whole thing is oil. I'm going to do the head gasket this weekend anyway and hope everyone's right about it, but I honestly don't think it's that. still smells (mostly) like excess fuel to me. as for the new sensor being bad, I get it completely. but it would have put up a code again, I would think. I have no codes at the moment. on a positive note, it's running pretty good now that I did the plugs and wires. so, when I do the head gasket I was thinking about trying to undo all the wiring and stuff to the intake and just leave the manifolds on the head when I pull it off. or is that more of a pain in the @$$ than it's worth? also, are there valve guides or seals or something like that I can replace while I'm at it?

[Inodoro Pereyra]

I'd say there's a LOT of blue in that smoke, not a little. That's definitely not coolant.
However, being that it stops smoking when it gets hot, I still think it's the head gasket.

You can, once you get the head off, take it to a machine shop. They will hot tank it, deck it, check the guides and replace the valve seals, among other stuff. I don't know how much they charge where you live, but here in Miami, they normally rebuild your heads for about $40 each, plus the gaskets.

[wytbishop]

Wow...I'm moving to Miami!!!

In Edmonton a head with new valve stem seals and reassembled valves would be in the neighborhood of $300.

[Ryan]

Around here, Its around $10/valve just to look at it

[Inodoro Pereyra]

Wow...I'm moving to Miami!!!

In Edmonton a head with new valve stem seals and reassembled valves would be in the neighborhood of $300.

WOW!!! 300?
But that's to SELL you a head, or to rebuild yours?

[wytbishop]

To take a 16 valve head apart, hot tank it, inspect the seats and guides, replace the valve stem seals and reassemble. 4 hours minium. $300 would be a major steal.

[Inodoro Pereyra]

Well, in that case, I guess you'll have to move to Miami...
I don't know if everybody charges the same, but the machine shop that does my heads charges $40-50 per head, and their work is top notch.
I've sent them several heads, from a Mustang V6 to a Mitsu Mirage i4. The Mustang heads were $200, including a $100 gasket set, and the Mirage was $50 (I had the gaskets already).

I guess sometimes it pays to live in a poor city...

[myfirstmazda]

wow. yeah, I called around today, and it sounds like about 270 or so. since I only have the weekend to get this done, I'm just going to do the gasket and hope for the best. so can I take both manifolds with the head or is that a bad idea? also, what do I torque the head to?

[Inodoro Pereyra]

I never tried to take both head and IM together, so I can't tell you. Sorry.

The torque specs are:

Head bolts: 56 to 60 ft/Lbs
Intake manifold bolts: 14 to 19 ft/Lbs
exhaust manifold bolts/nuts: B6: 12 to 17 ft/Lbs, BP: 28 to 34 ft/Lbs
Valve cover bolts:

B6 SOHC: 43 to 78 in/Lbs (<- be careful!)
B6 DOHC: not a clue.

BP:
2 bolts at end of VC: 69 to 95 in/Lbs
screws on top of VC: 43 to 78 in/Lbs

Remember: 1 ft/Lb= 12 in/Lbs. Be careful with the VC bolts.

[myfirstmazda]

ok thanks. I'll get started friday morning. here's hoping!