Have a 94 FD with 65k on the original engine and turbos that now are blowing oil. I noticed small amounts of white smoke a few weeks ago coming from the y-pipe area. Not know what it was I've left it pretty much alone until I had the time to do some dismantling.

A few days ago I ran with a few of the local 7s for a quick run, bad choice. After making a pass on a two lane highway I began to blow loads of white smoke and had to pull over. The small amount of white smoke from the ypipe has now turned to plumes. Along with oil in my intake and IC piping I noticed the white smoke being caused by oil dripping from the Ypipe connection to the rear turbo onto the downpipe.

Any suggestions as to what to look at? Taking out the turbos and checking for play and housing cracks, then possibly shipping them to BNR or Turbonetics? Or start off by checking/replacing the oil lines going to and from the turbos?

Attached is a pic of the oil on the downpipe (pictures are pretty much worthless, but I might as well include them for grins..)

 

Other turbo..

 

Below wastegate..

 

i had the same symtoms about two weeks ago, took my turbos out, and the secondary turbo was completly blown, tons of shaft play, and the shaft snapped in half that connects the intake and exhaust wheels.
good luck.

i hope you have better luck then i did

 

I was thinking about going with the BNR Stage 2 Turbos, any opinions on these?

 

I am in the same position as you. I'm in the market for some twins right now. I'm looking at all my options. There is a current thread about the BNR twins going on right now. You could no doubt gain some valuable knowledge from it.
I don't know anything anout the Turbonetics turbos. I'm currently looking at the Pettit hybrids, as well as the M2 hybrids.
My single will have to wait for now, as I don't have the funds to do exactly what I want. Actually, I'm not even sure what I want to do when it comes to the single setup.
Good luck with your turbo hunting.
Jim

 

There's also a thread on a custom twin gt35/40 being done at a shop near me. I've had some fairly bad experiences with them, but it seems every shop has at least one unhappy customer. (That and as soon as the big dollar jobs come in they change their attitudes!) Here's the thread:

https://www.rx7club.com/forum/showth...5&pagenumber=1

 

Gregg, you ever think about rebuilding those turbos? I dont know much but it would be the cheaper way to go

 

quick question my turbos arnt leaking oil like the one in the pic but when i took off the ic piping there was a conciderable amount of oil inside. is this a sign that my turbos are starting to go out?

 

If you go the rebuild route, DO NOT send your turbos to Turbonetics for rebuilds. I have gone through 2 sets in 3 months from their 'quality' rebuilds. I am going to try and get a refund towards a rebuild at a different reputable shop. Apparently, I am not the first person to have problems with Turbonetics rebuilds either.

I did some searching about this and supposedly Majestic Turbo in Waco, TX is a very reliable source for turbo rebuilds. $350/side for rebuilds ... not bad. And they will weld any serious manifold cracks (small extra cost).

 

that is alot of oil. are you sure that one of the oil drain lines or the supply line is not leaking. maybe one of the lines came loose or something. good luck

 

My FD blows out HELLA lots of white smoke when it is first started up... looks like a smokescreen... after the car warms up, smoking stops. Think this could be blow-by?

 

not white smoke. that would be coolant. or possibly condensation. check your radiator filler neck for bubbles when the car is on. that will tell you if you have coolant seal trouble... right guys? someone correct me if i am wrong.

 

The smoke does not smell like coolant tho... and I think that white is not quite accurate, it is a whitish-grey.. but VERY thick, heavy, and will not just disapate... it actually needs to be blown clear by the wind... when I first start my car, my entire complex fills with this smoky stuff... but after a few minutes (less if I warm up the car quickly/ ie. spirited driving) the smoke gets less and less, before finally going away. If I start the car later, while the engine is still warm (2-3 hours) no smoke... only after sitting all day, or overnight.
This has me totally puzzled!!! any help?

 

ANYONE???!!??!!?

 

It's your turbos. I have the same problem. The explanation that I seem to agree with is that the turbine seal is leaking oil by; allowing oil into the housing where it gets superheated and smokes. If the leak is bad enough where it starts to pool in the housing, you'll get smoke out the back. White smoke that smells like burning oil is definitely your turbos. You have two choices: new turbos or rebuild the current ones. My advice ... find a VERY reputable turbo rebuilder and get them rebuilt. Make sure you talk to the shop and find out their exact procedures for turbo rebuilds. As you can see from my previous post, I don't like Turbonetics very much.

 

OK, why would it sometimes be white and what if your blowing blue smoke?

 

Striker is right, the common misnomer in this forum is when it comes to the color of smoke... (Only in an RX-7 forum would there be confusion about different colors of smoke being good or bad ) Anyway, any smoke that smells like oil and is light colored appears bluish, whitish, and greyish but that you can still basically see through and does not dissipate quickly, is oil smoke, and normally means leaky turbos or possibly oil seals or oil injection surplus (excessive cranking). The white smoke is extremely thick, smells like coolant and will not allow you to see the back half of your car or anything else. This is normally a destroyed coolant seal and you've been having to top off your coolant many times a day and shouldn't be cranking your car at this point. Very light smoke that puffs out of the exhaust when the car is idling first thing in the morning is condensation in the exhaust mixed with very light oil injection smoke at low engine temp. Black smoke at WOT is a very rich mixture and you'll be using a lot of elbow grease to detail your rear bumper and spoiler if you have one. So I propose people should refer to oil smoke as BLUE smoke, coolant smoke as WHITE smoke and rich mixture smoke as BLACK smoke, anything that looks like steam is not smoke at all, ie condensation in exhaust.
Did anyone else find it scary to hear of someone doing a "quick warm up" with spirited driving? It's no wonder RX-7s get such bad reputations, when it's not the car's fault, but the user.

Richard

 

DO NOT DO SPIRITED DRIVIGN TO WARM UP THE CAR. what the hell is this supposed ot mean anyway...idle your car for about 2 mins then drive slowly untill its warm, which is 180+ only then u can get on boost. even when u are in 15hg your turbos are still spinning and u can hear that, at 10 vac i can hear them loud and clear i think its my hardpipes that make the noise more noticeble. but anyway, roadracign 7 is right. and most likely it is your turbos that need rebuilding. if u are goign to upgrade the twins, DONT DO IT, u are just gonna have same amoutn of heat under teh engine bay, all those stupid solenoids and same problems that are normally associated with teh twins setup. if u want more power just go get a single. if you cant afford it wait untill u can, get a used set of the stock twins or rebuild yours for now. hope that helps u. check all your oil lines to make sure it not them that are leakign aroudn teh turbines

 

I would strongly advise AGAINST using Majestic Turbo for a rebuild. I had a horrible personal experience with them. I won't take up space on this thread with the story but if anyone's interested I'd be happy to share the information.



-Andy

 

ANYONE???!!??!!?

 

...OUT OF OUR CARS IS BAD NEWS... Your coolant seals are going out... it's just a matter of time before your motor goes out. I had the same symptom.


good luck,

car 53

 

Do you think it is the coolant seals in the engine, or the turbos?