fabes21

I went on a long ride (3 hours, had to go to another city for business) and when I arrived back in my home town, stopped at a light I noticed a feint smoke slightly seeping out from the body line of the fender and hood ( I only seen it right when i stopped then it did not continue to come out). I started to watch my gauges to see if oil pressure and temp were all good and continued to do so all the way home.

When I got home and parked in the garage I let the car run a couple mins to cool down then I opened my door and I could see the feint smoke again so I popped the hood, when I opened the hood some smoke was released and it cleared out, but I did not see anything in particular that was making smoke or any smoke comming from a specific area. I turned the car off and let it cool for about 5 mins and checked oil (good and full), Coolant levels (normal). I have not drove the car since. Idle was a little rogue but thats how it has been since I have owned it. The oil is clean I just changed it 400 miles ago. I dunno what else it could be but im pretty worried any help?

rynberg

Color? Location? Usually underhood smoke is caused by coolant or oil leaking or spraying on something hot.

And don't let you car run a couple of minutes at idle to "cool down". Just the opposite happens!

KaiFD3S

iTrader: (37)

What did it smell like?

fabes21

the color was like a white/light gray, Since the smoke did not continue i could not pin point a location but seemed more like the driver side of the bay. I checked under the car to see if anything was leaking and i did not see anything. Oh and my friend told me that you need to let your car run for a bit before you shut it off so the turbos can cool down


I dont have a lot of experience with smells but it just smelled like a hot running engine. kinda oil'ish i think?

Second thought I changed the sparkplugs recently and when i removed the boots on the existing sparkplugs i felt oil on the ceramics of the plugs, not sure where or how they got there. I may have spilled when i was filling my oil.

alexdimen

iTrader: (13)

Common myth. With water-cooled turbos it isn't necessary.

Did the smoke smell sweet?

KaiFD3S

iTrader: (37)

you must have had a bit of oil that spilled on a hot surface, as far as cooling down the turbos, the best way of doing it is when you are close to your destination do not boost and just drive slow and your done, by running the engine while parked you are just heatsoaking everything

fabes21

I do appreciate the replies thank you...

The smoke i doubt i can describe as sweet, just smelled like hot metal i dunno its really hard for me to describe the smell i am not familiar with it.

Thanks KaiFD3S thats a good tip, my freinds car tho has a turbo timer that shuts his car off automatically after a time limit so his (single turbo) can cool... he should not do that?

Back to my original problem, i have seen the smoke twice and it was brief both times and dissapated so not too sure. I will try to drive it friday when its not raining and post more info if i can.

rynberg

Check the underside of the junction between the plastic intake elbow and the throttle body, see if the oil is leaking from there.

bikojohn

alex water cooled turbo???

trickshot

I had something like this happen. If it's like what happened to me, it's nothing too serious.

Look at the rubber Y-pipe coupler above the turbos. See if a mixture of condensation and oil residue is leaking down from it. When this hits hot metal it causes the puffs of smoke you describe.

The rubber coupler may be split somewhere, or even if it's not, the boost can cause it to rise up off its mounting. You'll need to remove the Y-pipe coupler, examine it for any splits or leaks, re-seat it, and tighten the clamps.

dhahlen

iTrader: (5)

Yes... stockers are oil and water cooled..... hence disconnecting the coolant lines when taking them apart =P

fabes21

first pic shows where i did some inspection and seen some kind of fluid not too sure if its relevant or what it is.

Second pic is where i think you wanted me to look, i did it was clean from oil but was dirty.


third pic is highlighted in white where i seen some more fluid but cant really tell from the pic ill try to get better pictures if needed.

fourth pic is.... what is it?

dhahlen

iTrader: (5)

Hah, that 4th pic is osmeone being a cheapass... it's basically a pressure/vac nipple on the UIM that they capped using a piece of hose and bolt, no biggie. Use a rubber cap to clean it up.

Rub your finger along that first picture.. is it oil? or does it smell sweet like coolant? If you look above it you'll see where the oil pedestal is for the filter. There are these orange crush washers, you can see them in various places, they are known to leak quite often. On the other hand, a coolant seal could be leaking as well. Need to determine the fluid type first.

The second pic... take that coupler off and sweep your finger inside, see if its oil or coolant, it's only going to be one of the two.

Snap some better pics if you can, grab a flashlight =)

fabes21

Is this the Y-pipe you speak of, i am pointing to it with a ratchet end? if so where is the coupler exactly

dhahlen

iTrader: (5)

Hold on i get u pics

dhahlen

iTrader: (5)

look below

dhahlen

iTrader: (5)

This pic is so old school.... this has the efini y-pipe so it's aluminum rather than plastic.. you want to check the coupler where i pointed.

dhahlen

iTrader: (5)

fabes21

oh thanks, and here is some more pics

first one is a better pic of the original one that was dark and highlighted with white

second is the place i was asked to wipe with my finger and smell it.. it did not smell sweet probably old oil or somthing.

third pic is the hose removed from the intake pipe and there was a small puddle of oil where i dipped my finger you can see the spot it left.

fourth is some hoses under my powersteering fill that looks like its been leaking.

dhahlen

iTrader: (5)

dhahlen

iTrader: (5)

Yes your PS is leaking, probably causing that pool down there on the housing.

That oil in your pipes = no good. Time to replace the twins. They shouldn't be blowing like that. It's typical when they get high miles, they start blowing more and more oil. Just replace them with a new or rebuilt set and you should be fine. Or even a decent used set. How many miles are on them by chance?

dhahlen

iTrader: (5)

if you got AIM or Yahoo send me a msg, same user name.

I'd talk to you on the phone, but wife is sleeping.

fabes21

here are some pics of the y pipe and coupler disassembled there is some fluid but it does not drip or puddled its just kinda wet.

** Also i found out that the couplers were fairly loose, i can wiggle them easily with my hand, not sure if they are suppose to be that loose. and one was leaking around the base. **

fabes21

added you to yahoo. thanks

trickshot

Yeah, that's it. If it's loose and you say it's wet, that could be your problem. It was mine.

It doesn't happen all the time. Usually you have to drive car more than a half hour or so and get on the boost up to redline several times. The high pressure seems to force air, and liquid along with it, out from the coupler. This residue then drips down onto hot metal causing a puff of smoke.

Examine the coupler thoroughly for leaks......they may not be readily apparent. Replace if necessary. Then make sure to tighten the clamps (but not so much they cut into the rubber.) Also clean off the coupler and the mounting surface before reassembling to make sure they're dry.