jacobcartmill

iTrader: (6)

when i bought my current fd (the second one i've owned) i noticed some light smoke when i start the car, and it lasted about 2-3 minutes... i replaced the turbos with some good condition (or so i thought?) 16k documented miles stock twins. they looked great, no cracks on the manifold or turbine inlets, very minor shaft play, awesome.

as soon as i replaced the turbos i got the same smoke on startup. my car has been like this for about a little over a year now. the turbos boost great, it runs great, but it still lightly smokes some oil smoke on startup for 2 to 3 minutes when the engine is cold. after the 2-3 minutes the smoke is totally gone, and if i turn the car off and back on, theres no smoke, even after heatsoaking for 5-10 minutes.

i have a bit of oil in my intake tract, but no big puddles. for example, if i were to disconnect the stock TB elbow from the stock IC top coupler and looked inside the coupler, i'd be able to see some oil sitting between the ribs of the coupler... but if i take my IC out and turn it over, no oil will come pouring out.

after the car is warmed up there is NO smoke at all. not in boost, not decelerating from 5k rpms, etc. it's only when the engine is cold. this is my 6th, yes sixth rx7 and the second FD i've owned, and the only time of of them smoked like this car does is when i had a leaking turbine oil seal on the T04B on my TII. it would just lightly smoke for a couple minutes when i started it cold, then it would clear up and be fine until i parked it for the night and started it again.

i ran the car for a few days tuned at 14psi. it ran a 12.09@115mph when i had my powerFC with only PFC/intake/openDP@14psi... and the amount of smoke on startup didnt change after that. this car runs so good that i really dont want to put it under the knife again.

what do you guys think?

kaisar1

cold start smoke is normal i think. It happenes to everyone else with a car no matter if its a FD or anything else.

its winter, try catching the drift here.

rexhvn

Mine smokes at start up (summer now) when very very cold for a few seconds, but in winter due to the weather it seems more heavy. Its probably just condensation.

bajaman

Come on now jacob.....you have had many, many RX-7s and surely....SURELY you have seen this in EVERY one of them, haven't you? A bit of light oil smoke is perfectly natural and to be expected at start-up due to the oil injection nature of the beast.
My FD with a new engine and VERY low mile turbos smokes like this.
The FC I had did the same thing. And if you wanna talk about smoke, THAT car had the factory glycol injection system for cold weather start assist that REALLY fogged things...lol!

I think your car is perfectly fine and 100% normal.

Old Timer

Need more information, and history of vehicle,

adam c

iTrader: (2)

I wouldn't be concerned about it.

DaveW

If you don't have any cat's, some smoking, as everyone said, will be the norm. With the cat's, particularly the precat, they will oxidize the oil vapor, and the engine can pass a fair amount of oil vapor, and you will still not see oil smoke.

Dave

jacobcartmill

iTrader: (6)

ok maybe i'm going to have to post a video of this.

and bajaman, the only rx7 i've had that smokes the way this one does is my TII that had a blown T4 turbine oil seal

also, for the last poster: it did it with a hiflow cat too

Busted7

Yep valve guides, ugh no thats honda! When your starting your car its probley adding a little more fuel and helping it to smoke until it warms up. I would be more concerned if it didnt smoke on start up, a little oil smoke means its oiling!!

bajaman

Hmmm....I would have imagined that a blown T4 turbine seal would have smoked MUCH more than what you described your FD as doing....?
I guess I was interpreting the start-up smoke you described as very minor, evidently it is not?

SaabGuy

You need to buy my t04b. $800

I have Jacob'S old t2!

ryan2153

rotarys burn a little oil by nature, thats the way there built. just as long as its not getting to be a cloud i think your alright

Brent Dalton

iTrader: (31)

I snapped the vacuum hose that went from the catch tank and the purge control and my car did the same thing you are describing until I replaced it.

dinosaur

how does your smoke compair to this FD?

http://youtube.com/watch?v=F_BJs6w2vws&feature=related

Recentlyconverted

Yeah, it's just condensation, if you put your had just where the smoke fades out (not on the tailpipe, a couple of feet away where the smoke fades), you will feel the condensation on your hand, that's all it is, just condensation burning out from the inside of the exhaust.

If you sit behind the car and watch the smoke fade and dissipate from the car, you'll notice that as the smoke stops coming out and begins to look like clear, normal exhaust gas, the tail pipes for a second or two are still wet, and very quickly dry up.

It's just moisture burning up from the exhaust. If it persists for more than 4-5 minutes though, might be a problem.

Recentlyconverted

Wait, define oil smoke. Is it blue or white?

ghost-rider

sorry for jacking the thread, my car smokes to the point where it looks like it's fog outside but blue in color. It's a huge cloud and only happens on cold start ups. I can't breathe anywhere around the car until it warm's up. The turbos seem to be fine minimal shaft play, a little of oil resedue on the couplers but nothing serious.

Could it be a leaky oil injector or something?

turbo10th

iTrader: (6)

^I have the same thing it fogs the whole street up on cold start blusih white smells like oil and gas and last for like 5min then goes away and have bluish smoke under boost i am going to try the turbos and having the engine rebuilt in feburary so i will find out for sure what it is.

nocomply24

blue smoke is fuel burning off right? i know the thick white smoke is no good. But if you smoke like that car in the video then your fine. You are just be paranoid like the rest of us always are cause of this fear instilled into rx7 owners. Just relax and enjoy the car until it really breaks.

turbo10th

iTrader: (6)

Think that bluish is a combo of gas and oil just a little bit. Mine is thick, really thick buish white smoke i would make a video but my neighbors hate me enough already. I have to let it smoke out when they arent home unless i want them to come over and knock on my door and deal with them. They said my t2 rx7 with rb cat back was too loud my fd is 3in all the way back to a fart can and boy do they love to hear it roar next to their house.

jacobcartmill

iTrader: (6)

my smoke looks very similar to that of the FD in that video. mine may be slightly thicker, but not by much. only when it's been sitting for more than a couple hours and the engine has gotten cold.

my car doesnt smoke in boost or on decel at all once its warm.

jacobcartmill

iTrader: (6)

it did it in the summer too.

(try catching the drift here)

Busted7

Man its the Christmas season stop stressing the smoke your talking about is normal! Mix a little fuel a little oil and a cold emgine and whala you have heavy fumes till it warms up enough that it vaperises to the point you dont see it. Im not making fun its normal. Oh forgot add in a little humid air!

rexhvn

Thats my FD! haha. Can't remember if thats at very cold start up or not, but if not, the only different would be lengh in regards to the exhaust pushing the smoke out further. But this is normal at cold start up.

dinosaur

It's probably okay. someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the rotary adds more oil to the mix when the engine is cold for added lubrication at "cold startup", and reduces the amount of oil in the mix when it warms up. My moded engine smokes more the the video due it being "tuned" to do that, but when it warms up there's no smoke. I autocross mine, and the guy who built my motor also competes and tells me there is no smoke at all during a run. It actually sounds like a "good thing" to me