Penguin Racecar

iTrader: (1)

For those of you not interested in reading the background info, just scroll to the bottom.

Background information:

The car is a 91 S5 TII (JDM)

Last year in October I parked the car in my garage - put it on jackstands, put fuel stabilizer in the gas tank (mostly full), and sprayed fogging oil into the combustion chambers through the spark plug holes. At this point I did not change the coolant yet, and the oil was fairly new still.

It sat like this over the winter, and I took the turbo off to port the wastegate early spring. I also changed the oil and coolant at this point. I also removed the ACV/cat/etc at the same time, and when I tried to start it it wouldn't run. After trying the unflooding procedure a few times (once with ATF, although frowned upon) it finally started, but wouldn't idle. Then, it sat for another few months as I was sent away for work. When I returned recently I decided to get cracking on it again. I removed the intake piping/turbo and resealed the ACV blockoff plate, which seemed to have a vacuum leak. Also, there was a leak on the coolant turbo supply line, which leaked into the downpipe as it wasn't sealing properly. This caused white smoke.

The issue:

Now it starts up just fine, with a low low idle. At idle it blows a tiny bit of smoke, only visible up close (nothing like when it was leaking coolant into the downpipe). However, when driving I can see greyish smoke behind me. This was after letting it idle for about 10 minutes. I drove around the block for 3 minutes or so only to park it as I was afraid something might be wrong.
While idling and driving around I also noticed the radiator light was on. I'm not sure if this is the JDM equivalent of the coolant light. The coolant level in the reservoir is above "High", so it's definitely not low on coolant. Additionally, the engine temperature never went above normal, and I have good oil pressure.

The question(s):

Is it common for the car to smoke from the fogging oil, ATF, etc, and possible coolant in the downpipe after sitting for a long time? Should I drive around to see if the smoking decreases?

Is the radiator light coming on caused by air bubbles when the reservoir is above full? What else might cause this?

Thanks!

Penguin Racecar

iTrader: (1)

Upon further research I found a thread from someone who thought he'd blown a seal. Looks like pouring ATF in causes smoke and it takes a long time to go away.

As for the radiator light - any suggestions?

misterstyx69

iTrader: (142)

PISTONS?..what the FARK are yos smoking Lad?..and the car will smoke abit after storage.at least Mine did and the compression is in the "eights" (mazda Comp Check).some gas will settle on top of the Rotor during storage,and it will take a bit to burn out of the Exhaust.although Common From storage you really shouldn't see smoke Out of the back of the car on heavy acceleration,and if you do,that is a Sign that your Oild control rings are Going..or your Air Fuel is out of whack(rich or lean..not sure.so I won't say!)..ALSO ,try to get the Air out of your cooling system,If you are getting air it will cause the buzzer or light to go off..Now it 'also" may be a sign of Cooling system getting air from a bad Coolant seal...You have a 1991 JDM engine..so Chances are you may need a rebuild.The Odds of that are HIGH,and you should get the cooling system Pressure tested.anyhow,my .02..Good luck.(nobody listens to me anyways..I just like to Type!)

Penguin Racecar

iTrader: (1)

The engine has 105,000 km on it now and had no problem last year. I'll get the air out of the cooling system and try to find the connector for the radiator sensor and drive it around a bit.

Thanks

mattEG

Compression test just to be safe, you never know what those pistons might be doing to your jiggawatts.

micah

Ignore that tweaker.. he's trolling...

Sounds like you figured out the smoking... If you have cats still, all of that oil you tried in the unflooding CAN take a long time to burn off... gets stuck in the cats and slowly burns out.

As for the coolant/radiator sensor.. make sure you have all of the air out of the system and that all of your thermosensors are plugged in. You probably disconnected one or two things when you pulled the turbo out; no? Just double check everything.

Penguin Racecar

iTrader: (1)

I imagine the radiator sensor is just something I forgot to plug in again. I don't have cats anymore, so hopefully it clears up with half an hour of driving.

Thanks again guys. I'll post back here when everything's figured out.

Aaron Cake

iTrader: (1)

It can take a long time for things like ATF to burn off. It gums up the inside of the manifold and downpipe and may take an hour or more to stop smoking.

Generally don't use ATF for things like flooding. Just use regular motor oil.

The coolant problem may be a disconnected sensor (sensor on top of rad) or air bubbles.

mattEG

I hear it turns carbon buildup into goop as well.

Aaron Cake

iTrader: (1)

ATF does nothing against carbon.

Penguin Racecar

iTrader: (1)

I topped up the coolant through the filler neck and burped the coolant system. That took care of the radiator light.
I don't see smoke anymore when driving or idling, so I think that's all cleared up now too.

Thanks to everyone that helped me!

AcidAngel7477

iTrader: (16)

your welcome..lol..j/k its good to see that were good for something..

:AA: