Guys, I may need a rebuild sooner than I thought. I recently changed the catback to a RB Dual Tip and have notice a substantial amount of smoke when I start the car in the morning. Not that the catback and the smoke are related. I thought condensation at first but it's a shitload of smoke. It really only happens in the morning and is a whitish smoke but it doesn't smell sweet like coolant. I do smell a bit of gas every once in a while. I don't know but it's freaking me out. Good thing I got it for a good price.

Any suggestions on how I can check to see if its a coolant seal? I guess I'll search but I needed to vent a bit.

Victor

 

when it's totally cold after sitting all night have someone else start it and get behind the exhaust...if its gas you're eyes will water and you'll smell fuel obviously, if it's oil it will be bluish white in color and smell pretty bad, the coolant will be real white and smell sweet go smell some so you know what to look for.

Your car sounds fine a lot of 7s smoke a little when they are first started up but that should go away after it's warmed. If it doesnt that does not mean youre engine has a problem it could easily be the turbo oil seals or just other smoke that isn't very significant in teh shortrun.

don't freak out its a very reliable car just do what you know is right and don't try anything dumb and it will be like a normal car.

 

Thanks, I think they're terrific cars. I will do as you suggest and have someone else start it but it smokes for a few minutes after it's started. I know what coolant smells like and taste like (long story) but it'll be a good idea to smell some right before I smell the smoke tomorrow brings out the coolant smells.

Thanks for the reply

 

The only definative diagnosis of coolant seal failure is to check for hydrocarbons in the coolant at the filler neck. The next best thing is to have a friend start the engine from cold with the filler cap (next to the alternator) removed. It might help to remove the top couple inches of coolant before starting to allow for expansion, or you can cut a plastic bottle in half and stick the narrow end in the filler neck as a funnel, but some will spill from this method. Anyway, run the car at about 1500 rpm and watch for bubbles in the coolant. Big blorpy bubbles are ok, this is the turbo boiling the coolant. Small frothy bubbles are the death knell for our engine, as these are a sign of exhaust getting into the coolant.

My seals were bad, I had thick white smoke that wasn't all that different from normal condensation burn off, and it didn't smell like anything but fuel (accelerated warm up dumps fuel in at startup). The filler neck coolant level would drop about 5 inches every time I drove it, and the coolant was all going right out the top of the overflow tank in the front passenger side (from overpressure from the exhaust). Hope your outcome is different