Hey all,

My 3dr has a strange smoking issue. When i bought the car there was a bit of condensation smoke at idle and it was using water, whipped out the plugs and cylinder 1 was wet. The car had a cometic head gasket and ARP studs, so before stripping it apart i tried to re torque the studs. Did so and went for a road test, all seemed well on a motorway run but about 25 mins in i was at some lights and the car started smoking like a train, like someone had a smoke machine at the exhaust. It smelt like oil. So i thought id disturbed the headgasket some more or overfilled the oil when i changed it.

I replaced the headgasket for a group A and normal bolts. Its not using coolant anymore but the smoking still happens..... Sometimes.

I can pull up to the lights and it will smoke like a train, so bad that its embarrassing, engulfs the car, but it doesnt do it all the time.

I will be driving normally pull up to the lights, it will start smoking as im idling then plumes appear, i drive off and it clears up. Next set of lights it wont happen, i can drive it home and leave it idling and nothing, rev it up on the spot and nothing comes out.

Has anyone experienced these intermittent plumes of smoke? Or any ideas what it could be? Cold start nothing, driving and under boost nothing, it only happens when its up to temp a bit or at temp.

car is quite standard with standard boost and not driven hard
group a breather that is breathing out of the block on the exhaust side and returns to the sump plug, vents to atmosphere
after market fuel pressure reg running 4 bar
Stage 1 ecu
I just changed the oil again and put about 3.25L in

 

If it smells like oil it might be turbo...Check if the shaft has too much axial and radial clearance..I quess that you have replaced valve stem seals when you did the gasket replacing.

 

I guess the turbo is the only thing that could intermittently smoke like that? The plumes are bad as well not a little bit, engulf the car.

The valve guides or seals would be pretty consistent I feel, either cold start or consistently at idle when warm. Especially if you let it idle and then rev it up on the spot. But that doesnt make any smoke.

When i took it apart the turbo did have a bit of forwards and back movement, maybe a couple of MM, but no side to side. there was also a tiny amount of oil forming on the exhaust housing at the bottom, not dripping but visible. Has anyone else had symptoms like these and it was the turbo? it was dry inside the housings that i could see when it was off.