Help - white smoke, no coolant smell...
 

Ok, here's the deal. I just picked up this FD, which supposedly had the rebuild done about 19k miles ago.

It's been running fine (except for a high idle, which Steve Kan was kind enough to adjust for me), and pulled a relatively quick pass (13.3@109 - I'm a bad driver. :p: ).

However, in the last week, I've begun to notice some problems:

Add Coolant light comes on when the car is started (actually about 30 seconds after start), goes for a while (1-3min), then turns off.

Loosing coolant, no perceptible leaks. Filler hose is cracked at the top. The undertray is still on the car, so there may be a leak I'm not seeing.

White smoke POURS out of the exhaust. So much so that I seem to form my own weather system around me at stoplights. It smells like fuel as best I can tell - I know the car is running rich (I get some lovely backfire over 7,000rpm), but I don't understand the whiteness of the smoke.

CEL comes on, but only after 20+ minutes of driving in cooler weather (in Texas, that means below 80dg). Disappears on restart and does not come on unless driver a distance in cool weather again.

Clutch pedal sticks about 3/4 down after car has been running a while. I think this may be the clutch cylinder, since the clutch is disengaged when the pedal sticks, it just seems to move the whole engagement point. I have WD-40'd as much of the pedal assembly as is reachable with the dash assembled.


I have not noticed a decrease in boost - the manual controller is set to ~10psi, and that's exactly the peak boost I hit. Spool-up doesn't seem impaired, and the car seems just as fast as ever, which is to say holy-freakin-crap fast. :D


Please help me!

Forgot to add - manifold pressure at idle (which is around 1100rpm) is about -20hg.

I did do a search, but I really wanted opinions on my setup, which is:

BLOCK: 3mm Apex Seals, 15k miles

TURBOS:
Non-sequential Stock Hitachi HT-12
Spearco Frontmount Intercooler - Custom Sized, 3 row
HKS Super Sequential Blow-off Valve
Manual Boost Controller

BOLT-ONS:
Custom Intake, Greddy Pulleys, Downpipe, Midpipe, Greddy SP Exhaust

IGNITION:
10mm Plug Wires, NGK Platinum 9

FUEL:
Walbaro 255lph

DRIVETRAIN:
ACT 6-puck UNSPRUNG Clutch

Sounds like you have a couple different unrelated issues going on there. Cant help you with coolant, but you might want to bleed you clutch system, if you are still having the clutch stick may be time for a new master or slave cylinder.

Thanks - I hadn't thought to bleed it. I'll give that a shot before picking up new cylinders.

Can anyone help on the coolant, pretty please? :(

the white smoke and the add-coolant light isn't a good thing. I'd really go around and check for leaks everywhere. Are you sure the smoke doesn't smell "sweet"? the white smoke could just really be condensation if it's cold outside and early in the morning. how much coolant are you losing? Good luck, worse case could be bad 0-rings.

danny

aaaaah, that sickly-sweet smell of combusted coolant. let's hope it's not that, man...that's an ender.

...but check for cracks in your AST (air separation tank, the stock one is a little plastic thing with a radiator cap), and in the overflow reservior. spreaking of that, when the car is hot watch for air being pushed out the hose going into the overflow tank. that would be a bad sign.

I haven't seen anything come out of the AST, but I'll keep an eye out.

The smoke has recently taken on a sickly sweet smell. I think I'm going in for a rebuild. Dammit. :(