Well recently Ive had the timing a bit advanced using the crank angle sensor. During idle i've been hearing a noise which sounded like detenation coming from the exhaust manifold side of the motor. I wasn't sure if it was or not because my exhaust is pretty rusty and backfires pretty often. Im still not too sure. Well I set the timing back on monday. It was set forward for about 10 days though. Well monday and tuesday were very hot days here in South CA and this morning when I started up the car a whole bunch of white smoke came out of the exhaust pipes which gradually decreased. The car started up like usual though, didnt take longer and idled fine, just white smoke was coming out of the exhaust piping. I didnt notice it smoke any other time in the day. Im thinking if the detenation might have caused heavy wear and tear on the o-rings then this was the effects of coolant slowly leaking into the combustion chamber over night?? Im guessing if this is the case it should gradually worsen and I should easily notice my coolant levels drop. Does that sound like it makes sense or has anyone else blown a motor playing with the timing? btw the cars an 87 GXL. Thanks

 

The symptoms sound just about right: white smoke, a bit difficult start in the morning, and you should see your coolant level drop after 3-4 days. If this is the case, start saving

As for the cause, advancing too much (how many degrees ?) should simply reduce the efficieny of the engine. Detonation can occur only from a) very flamable mixture (i.e too much oxygen -> too much boost), and b) from very high temperatures. Those two are some times connected, but they can occur independently. But from advancing ? cannt tell you for sure....at some point in time my timing was way advanced, and the only thing I noticed was very poor performance, gas smell (of course) and shitty mileage. Maybe someone with the same experience can help you out, and give some pointers....

 

Well this problem was wens morning and mon and tues here it was really hot, maybe into the 90's but I dont remember really pushing the car at all. With the timing I pretty much tried setting it up by ear. I had it so it idled a bit high (1500RPM) but power was amazing and gas mileage was in the 250miles on a full tank. It wasn't really difficult to start but the white smoke was there. oh yea, I did go racing on Sat night with M5150 but the temp. was really low that night and I dont think my coolant needle went above 15% that night. Damn, I knew this was a pretty common problem with the FDs but not the NA FC's. That sucks. I guess I should start saving up. Anyone have any other ideas on what it could be??? oh yea, I dont think this has anything to do with it but just in case, I poured a half quart of oil in the night before lol. And if my motor is gone, anyone have any ideas on where to pick up a new one, and should I stick NA or is going turbo too much hassle? Thanks again

 

****, now that I think about it the temp gauge did kinda rise on me when I first had the motor running after the ports had been cleaned. It reached about 35% of the way up. I also run the overflow tank empty pretty much.

 

Running the overflow empty is a bad idea. If the system sucks in air, your coolant can boil.

The guages on 7s suck (I had a cart where the guage would drop to zero when it overheated)

This would be a more likly cause for water seal damage than advancing the timing.

 

Funny how everyone on this forum says that the stock gauges suck, when every single gauge in my Rex reads almost perfect. The boost gauge is very accurate, the temp gauge actually goes 1 degree up or down as temperatures rise and fall according to whether the thermostat is open or not, the oil pressure is very good as well.

Only gauge that seems to "malfunction" is the fuel gauge, which NEVER EVER goes to the top, even if I have gas spilling out of the gas tank , but I think this has something to do with the floater sensor in the gas tank, and not the gauge itself....

Anyways, yeah I agree, running the car with completely empty overflow tank is pretty dangerous and stupid, because the minute the engine sucks coolant back in, you get air instead of liquid, and....

 

I didnt even think twice about dumping it. Well im gonna start the car up right now and HOPE it doesnt smoke again. I think it will but im gonna pretend it wont. I'll let you guys know what happens.

 

wow, it didnt smoke up like yesterday morning!! There was a small amount of white smoke. I guess the seals are already damaged though huh? Well my overflow tanks running full now at least

 

Yea its giving off a steady stream of white smoke. Guess the motor has a death sentence on it now. I cant believe what a idiot I was to keep the overflow empty. Anyone know where I can go to pick up another motor? How much can I expect to have mine rebuilt and street ported?? Thanks

 

that sucks

 

Yea it does. I guess im just gonna work more over the summer. I think im gonna stay NA. Hey btw does anyone know the name of the song that plays during the menu selection for Initial D (3rd stage DVD)?? That or anymore info on the car would help a lot, thanks

 

^

 

the white smoke sounds alot like what was with peacekeeper's Rex. all we did was play doctor w/ her ie. starting w/ new plugs. then new plug wire and bam, the smoking stopped untill redline, then it started smoking again. never got it completely fixed... but it helped alot

just my $.02
T

 

yea my smoking seems to only car on start up. The smoke this morning wasn't too bad but I think thats cause the car didnt sit as long as it did on wens. But tomorrow morning I should find out exactly how bad it is and if its really the leaking o-rings. The car hasn't been moved since about 6 so thats about the same as tues night. Im kinda keeping my fingers crossed but if its damged im guessing its gonna continue to get worse and worse.

 

Take the filler cap off and let the car warm up to normal operating temp. If the coolant gushes out or if you see a nice stream of bubbles coming out, you have bad coolant seals. If not then your problem is somewhere else.