mrjohnnnys

iTrader: (1)

i am reluctant to post this thread because even though i have spent hours reading through threads found by using the search function, i am still unable to determine my problem. The problem I am having seems to be unique, but I know it can't be... I will try to be as detailed as i possibly can.

So I have recently got this rebuilt block up and running over the last couple weeks, yet I am running into a burning coolant problem. I am pretty sure my problem lies within the stock turbos (from a JDM crate motor with between 20-50K on them, also experiencing an engine blow and an over heat). The stock twins is practically the only thing I did not replace with this rebuild. After I visually inspected them for shaft play and stuff, I figured they might be ok. So I went through the process of porting the wastegate, and removing the flappers to build a non-sequential turbo setup. After getting everything together and starting the car and getting it to idle at around 1500rpm, I see a consistent cloud of coolant burning smoke. At a cold start, there is virtually no smoke, but as the car and turbos warm up, it gradually gets worse and worse until it is practically billowing huge crazy clouds of coolant smoke when the car has reached typical operating temperature. So to determine if it was coolant leaking into the turbos, I disconnected and looped the water coolant lines going to the turbos, and pumped the left over coolant inside the lines out, until i figured it was dry. To my dismay, this did not stop the billowing of smoke. However, instead of warming up to a constant billow, now, it only billows shortly after holding the throttle to about 3000rpm for about 30 seconds. As soon as I let off, it billows like crazy for about a minute, and eventually goes away. Again my car idles and runs fine, the temperatures are very cool and adequate. Where is this billowing of smoke coming from?

On a second note, while the car runs without billowing white smoke, at an idle, it is producing a constant flow of blue smoke which is fairly minimal, but still irregular. On top of that, I have had the car running for a grand total of probably 1 hour, and when I went to check the oil, the dipstick is less than half full. So I assume I am also burning oil, and again I am assuming it is the turbos. I have read as many threads on bad twins as I could and still couldnt seem to find somebody with similar symptoms to me. Does this definately sound like bad turbos? If so, how come it still billows coolant smoke after I disconnected and looped the coolant lines running to the turbos? Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks guys

denalivailboarder

white smoke is caused by coolant/water in the combustion chamber, which means an O-ring failure. and you are burning oil and you have a leak in your turbos. also might you have a bad MOP -since the engine injects oil into the combustion chamber as a normal part of operation, it may be possible for it to fail and start pumping too much oil or leaking it into the combustion chamber. you need a new engine, or do a rebuild.

mrjohnnnys

iTrader: (1)

see thats the thing though, this is a fresh rebuild, and the engine shows no signs of weakness, it is running strong, and idles stable. but as the car warms up, progressive white smoke, with the smell of coolant. until i disconnected the coolant lines to the turbos, and then only white smoke after hitting the throttle for a little while, then returning to normal.

denalivailboarder

did you test for cooling pressure? might you depressurize some leaks - use a mechanics stethoscope. another thing is disconnecting the battery: disconnect the connectors to the starter, connect a new countermeasure harness, making sure there is now interference between brake and fuel lines...try that - no iniquity in it.

RENESISFD

iTrader: (13)

I cant help you with everything but there is some information needed to make a better diagnosis.

Who did the rebuild?
Did you remove the turbo piping an see if there is oil or coolant in them?
Also remove the intercooler and see if there is a puddle in it.
It is possible to me that the turbos are leaking oil and you have a bad coolant seal that is leaking the coolant.
There is no way that with the turbo coolant lines looped that they are leaking coolant, also when you looped the lines did you run the car hard?
It might be possible you overheated the turbos and destroyed the oil seals causing the blue smoke.


John

RENESISFD

iTrader: (13)

Huh?

dgeesaman

iTrader: (7)

You bypassed the turbo coolant lines and the smoking did not stop. To me this means you need to move on.

I would focus first on making sure the coolant seals in the engine are 100%. Depending on the nature of the leak you can get the symptoms you describe. A coolant pressure test is a great start. If the system does not hold pressure steadily, take out the plugs and crank it with the gas pedal held down to the floor and look for coolant being blown out of one of the plug holes.

Dave

mrjohnnnys

iTrader: (1)

I will check everything to see if there is oil or coolant within the turbo piping, and see what is inside my intercooler. Also, how do I do a coolant pressure test? this sounds like a good plan. I will try to find some information about a coolant pressure test on my own, but yeah, never done one before. And I totally did not understand how disconnecting the battery and interfiering with the fuel and brake lines is going to help this smoking. Thanks again, guys, I will let everyone know what happens after I check these things this afternoon

IRPerformance

iTrader: (41)

If you want to be certain, pull the turbos and install an N/A header. See if the car still smokes.

mrjohnnnys

iTrader: (1)

a N/a header for temporary use would be nice, but i don't have one. im about to pull the plugs and crank it over. but before I do this, if there was coolant that were to come out, wouldnt this cause the engine to run poorly, and eventually overheat? again the car seemingly runs fine and strong, if i were to see coolant anyways, I will let everyone know. Damn Seattle weather is no fun to work in from around now, till next spring =(

Tom93R1

iTrader: (2)

Coolant pressure tester can be rented from local car parts store, go to Checker/Kragen or Autozone and they will know what you need.

DaleClark

iTrader: (55)

First off, there is ABSOLUTELY NO WAY coolant from the turbos can get into the exhaust or anything to get burned. The coolant passages in the turbos are totally separate from the oiling or exhaust parts of the turbo.

Start the car bone cold with the radiator cap off. IF you get bubbles or coolant shooting out, you have a bad water seal. It's just that simple.

I built an engine once with the Pineapple Racing aftermarket water seals. One of them slipped out of its groove just a tiny bit when the engine was stacked - the seal was compromised and coolant got in the combustion chamber, all kinds of smoke. A rebuilt engine is not a guarantee the engine is perfect. Hell, I've been a LOT of motors before I built that water pumpin' engine. It was just a random failure.

That incident also made me like Mazda water seals better. They stay put!

I'm sorry it's not good news, but there you go.

Dale

mrjohnnnys

iTrader: (1)

hmmm, so it is looking like I got bad news or worse news. =/ thanks for all the help guys, I will let you know what I find when I complete all these tests.

alexdimen

iTrader: (13)

just to clarify... is this smoke coming from the engine bay or from the tail pipe?

mrjohnnnys

iTrader: (1)

smoke is coming thick from the tail pipe

lee_FDsunS

iTrader: (4)

It is just like daleclark says...to find out if your engine is burning coolant and having bad coolant o-ring seals...start the engine when it is cold....take off the filler cap...NOT the ast cap....if it burst up or if has alot of bubbles coming out of it...it means bad o-ring seals

dgeesaman

iTrader: (7)

,wait 5-10 minutes for the thermostat to open,

Tom93R1

iTrader: (2)

take off the filler cap before it gets hot, or even before you start it. Don't want hot water spraying everywhere from a pressurized system and burning you.