So I have been trying to track this down forever and am turning to you guys for help finally. After replacing countless things I just cannot pin point it I have read plenty of threads on here nothing exactly what I needed so please bear with me.

To start when I bought the car the previous owner took terrible terrible care of the car and it was in poor shape. Didn't have a proper radiator cap with the spring to let coolant into the overflow as needed. Next the t-stat looked to be as old as the car so i switched that out. Also the coolant lines to the turbo were leaking so I replaced those as well. I also did the spark plugs and wires because it was hard to start and the plugs as well looked very old. So after all of this the car starts perfect every time hot or cold. It also runs amazing but here is where my problem is. First of all when starting the car it smokes for far longer then I'd expect but it really just smells like fuel maybe a hint of coolant. Once you start driving it after about 5-10 minutes it will stop smoking but the add coolant light comes on when stopped or if the car is at a low rpm. If you keep it at a high rpm the add coolant light doesn't come on I assume it's just burning coolant and slowly getting low right?

Any thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated but I am sure it's the coolant seals time to change my for sale ad to blown motor I think?

 

Get all the air out of the system to start. Use a leslie funnel to be sure you got all of it out. After that if you are still having issues, pressure test the coolant system. If it was run for long periods of time with air trapped, which with the radiator cap you described I would imagine it was, there could be damage to the water jacket seals.

The good thing is, your prepared to rebuild it if need be. Just be certain you don't overheat it. Right now your rebuild is going to be cheap. If you torch the engine and bearings...different story.

 

You need to make sure your coolant is filled all the way. Disconnect the throttle body coolant line. This will allow air to escape when you slowly add coolant. Fill the AST, then the coolant filler neck. replace the throttle body coolant line, and run the car for a few minutes. Repeat this until your filler neck remains full.

Smoke that smells like coolant is a sign that your coolant seals are bad.

 

You can get the leslie funnel at summit racing, I'm sure you know how to get there. Coolant system tester from Harbor Frieght. The test and fill using the funnel are easy I've done both.

I hope the funnel solves your issue.

 

Alright I'll give bleeding it another try tonight after I pick that up thank you guys. Never had such a hard time bleeding a car even after doing swaps lol

 

^ what they said.

..and don't follow that "champagne bubble test" BS. I thought my car had blown the coolant seals and it was just the small leak in my water neck where I drilled and tapped for a temp sensor.

 

So not getting it bled 100% correct can cause these annoying problems huh? Dang I am an idiot hah

 

It's a 'Lisle' funnel.

Here you go: Lisle 24610 Spill-Free Funnel : Amazon.com : Automotive

 

Do not drive and build boost bad thigns will happen......death to motor

 

Thank you guys I found out it's my AST tank the guy tried modifying. Should be good soon waiting on parts