Lately my 10th AE has been having trouble starting. Today when it started there was a ****-load of white smoke billowing from the mufflers, and after a while smoke started coming from the turbo area.

Since the car runs very rich (dunno why, always has. Dealership said was because im using no EGR valve cause its a J-SPEC motor), i changed the spark plugs, the old ones were CHARRED black (spark chambers clogged, layers of carbon built up on the top) And the trailing plugs were slightly wet. Couldnt tell if it was coolant or gas.

Also did the "pull off the radiator cap while cranking the motor" test, and there were no coolant bubbles.

Any ideas why what could be causing my hard start?

Thanks
MIKE

 

take the cap off the goose neck while the car is running, if you see bubbles than its probly the coolant seals. from what your saying it sounds like their going

 

Checked just now, no bubbles. Coolant does not smell of gas either...

ALso noticed tons of smoke coming from the turbo side of the motor during cranking. Odd, because the motor was cold at the time... when i inspected the area after getting the car started (being extremely hard BTW) it burned my eyes to get close and reaked of gasoline.

Maybe bad turbo crush gasket?? Could that cause my starting dilemma?

 

Bump

 

check your pulsation damper, if that is leaking than your car could catch fire. not only that but it would cause a strong gas smell in the engine bay.

 

Something tells me its not the damper... how do i check it to be sure? It still has the screw in the side.

Because it was letting out smoke ONLY while cranking and after it started, and the car was cold!

 

well if you smell gas at any time in a fc under the hood ALWAYS check the PD. unless you want your car to burn down....

 

How do i check it? Is a visual inspection enough?

Even so, theres no heat to make the fuel burn? What could be smoking?

 

sounds like you're just running way too rich. The smoke from your turbo could be just a gasket..

 

Just checked in daylight, it was very hard to start and let out plumes of blue-ish smoke upon start up. Stayed smoking while running. Blue smoke is...... oil?

 

Starting to look like your turbo might have bit the dust...

Do you know how to check the shaft play?

 

There is barely any play on the impeller side of the turbo, the fan is not touching the housing at all. I had the wastegate ported about 5000 miles ago and had the turbo apart, everything seemed in order.. although when i put it back together i used the old crush gasket which had a small crack in it because i couldnt find a place to get a new one.

 

Bump