I have an 87 TII with an engine I rebuilt not 1000 miles ago with a few mods, notably a brand new stage 4 BNR. anyway when I start the car it runs ok for a few minutes until (I think) the thermostat opens, at which point white smoke just pours out of the exhaust. I can directly control the amount of smoke with the throttle.

so unless anybody has a suggestion I'm going to assume the coolant seals are F**ked and I need to pull the engine again.

 

ill ask the obvious...are you losing coolant?

 

Yeah. White smoke (coolant burning) = FAIL

 

head gasket??? hahahahahahahaha J/K J/K.

 

Yeah, check the coolant, but also make sure the turbo isnt burning oil.

 

na, the turbo is brand new, plus the smoke is white.

also, ya it looses coolant in the overflow reservoir... although there are no bubbles in the coolant neck which is weird.

anyway, I started planning for my rebuild already :/

gonna get s5 rotors, and newish housings. And this time Ima have somebody else rebuild it that knows more than me and actually has the right tools.

 

i had the same thing happen to my 7 awhile back. white smoke everywhere. also i controlled the amount of smoke with the throttle too. but mine turned out to be a problem with the turbo. i did loose some coolant. but the smell of the smoke was definitely oil not coolant. burning coolant should have a sweet scent to it.

maybe this might help.

 

did you prime the turbo before you put it in?
you could have fried your oil seals in the turbo.

 

i would most likely agree with you.
would definitely check the turbo before you pull the engine.

 

dont plan on it yet...if you have actual antifreeze in your car then it will have a sweet smell to it and/or be putting out water/coolant from the exhaust...

 

The exhaust does have a sweet smell, and the last time i looked under the car while it was running there was coolant leaking out of the exhaust right after the down pipe.

I talked to bryan at BNR and he said the turbo coolant seals should have been fine, and that it as probly my engine

the obvious other thing to mention that I forgot is that I originally thought the turbo seals were gone and thats the main reason I replaced it. There was also almost a centimeter of in-out shaft play, so even if the seals weren't gone the turbo was dead.

 

I wouldnt call it quits on the motor yet, if it was the motor it shouldnt need to warm up, its already got coolant in it.
try to source a used turbo for testing, or remove the thermostat and see if it smokes immediatly.

 

this exactly happened to my friends car it had maybe 80 miles on the rebuild.we started it up one day everything was fine then boom white smoke we took apart the engine to find a rolled coolant seal.

 

man im having this same problem with my 86 seven right now, i just bought 2 weeks ago, **** but mine spits white smoke too but it wont even stay running unless i give it 1/2 throttle. ive been told maybe the MAFS, what you guys think? sorry to take over topic but im freaked out i just spend 2k on the car plus bout 500 on making it better since i bought it.... thanks...gl with your seven dude



BTW my seven is non turbo.....what yall think?
and if it is the coolant seals how diffacult is it to replace/fix them? for someone who hasnt rebulit a rotary before.

 

sorry to tell ya, but the only way to get at coolant seals is by completely tearing the engine apart. Getting the engine out and apart isnt very hard, bu rebuilding it properly isnt something everyone can do. I tried, but I think a rolled coolant seal is the culprit. so now I have to re-rebuild my engine. You might just save time and money and get it rebuilt by somebody else like rotary resurrection.