rsguy

hi guys im currently repairing my zetec turbo which has been off the road for about 5 years.

i got the car running all ok. however theres white smoke out of exhaust.

the cars been off the road for 5 years so could this just be condensation? however i left the car running for around 25 mins yesterday and the smoke never cleared.

liam-rst

iTrader: (1)

as you prob already know mate white smoke denotes water burning, I take it you gave it an oil change before starting it?

rsguy

yes mate i replaced plugs, fuel filter, oil and oil filter.

just wondering if it might be a problem with turbo? or its just condensation however i would of thought the condensation would of cleared after 20 mins.

CrOwSoN15

Doesn't white smoke also point at oil seals in the turbo?

liam-rst

iTrader: (1)

No mate blue smoke is oil burning, id get a compression and sniff test done just to rule the head gasket out

QplateRST!

I'd drive it give it chance to clear and keep an eye on your oil and water

rsguy

ok thanks read a cheap way is to use a funnel filled with water in radiator and see if theres any bubbles.

i dont think its my turbo oil seals as as its oil cooled not water cooled. if the seals were gone it would be burning oil. hence black smoke.

rsguy

hi guys i done a video showing the white smoke.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYiNg...ature=youtu.be

when you start the car from cold no white smoke, soon as engine warms up then white smoke comes.

i checked the coolant bottle and no bubbles at all appearing indicating no Co2 gases entering a vehicles cooling system so should indicate head gasket ok.

however after 10 mins the cars overheating and the water bottle water is boiling and then i get bubbles however think the bubbles appearing are because the engine water is boiling.
anyone any ideas?

itsme

Hi mate is the petrol 5 years old? If so its prob gone off and got condensation in it. Had the same problem with my zvh drained the tank and filled up with some of shells finest and no probs.

rsguy

hi mate. there was old fuel in car but i drained it out it was a urine colour. i then put new fuel in car.

XRT_si

iTrader: (2)

White smoke and overheating nomrally indicates head gasket.

rsguy

hope not. there was no bubbles in water tank untill water started to boil. and start overflowing when boiling on the water tank so thought headgasket was ok. and its not loseing coolent. i just bought a new thermostat so im going to fit it now and see if it still overheats.

rsguy

ok just a update to this.

i replaced the thermostat.

however if i leave water reservoir cap off after 10 mins the water starts to boil and spills out the water tank the water is boiling hot.

the water temp gauge still reads normal.

is this normal?

Karlos G

iTrader: (4)

White smoke (steam) is water, black smoke is fuel and blue smoke is oil.
If your overheating, boiling up, losing water, and there's plenty of white smoke then it does point to HG.
Since changing the stat does it still overheat? Do your cooling fans kick in as they should?

QplateRST!

May have an airlock in the water system

RichieST

iTrader: (2)

Is it steam or smoke?

With the cap off the water will boil as it is not being pressurised. Water under pressure has a higher boining point which is why the cap needs to be fitted and have its pressure relief valve working properly.

IMO, drive it as normal, keep a very close eye on it and see what happens.

rsguy

hi mate my temperature gauge reads normal but the water will boil out of water tank after 10 mins if i leave the cap off so i thought it was overheating

however RichieST said that thats normal the water will boil as it is not being pressurised with cap off.

regarding head gasket i looked at the water before it boiled on water tank and i never seen any bubbles as seen in this video
i checked my oil dipstick and under oil cap too and its not milky the oil is normal

rsguy

hi RichieST

heres is what was happerning after car had warmed up after 10 mins ticking over it was boiling over, i thought it was overheating. however you said its normal if cap is left off water tank.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkuTJ...ature=youtu.be

how you can you tell if its steam or smoke?

RichieST

iTrader: (2)

The only time you should run it with the cap off is to bleed trapped air when the system has been filled, or to have a quick peer in to see if you are getting a steady stream of bubbles which could indicate HG failure. Never run it at operating temperature for long with the cap off as it WILL boil over.

Start with the system cold, start it up, pump the hoses hard with your hand to free any trapped air, make sure water level is on max then re-fit the cap. Let it get up to operating temperture so the fans are cutting in and out. If it boils over then replace the cap as the relief valve might be faulty. If it does it again then check further for HG failure. You will not always get water / oil mixing with HG failure, it depends on where the break is in the gasket.

Are the heaters blowing nice and hot?

rsguy

not checked to see if that heater gets hot. would that point to anything? i will have the check that.

theres not bubbles in water tank at all until it starts to boil. so i though maybe head gasket ok?

i think i do remember when i did have the water cap on tight the water was steaming out of the cap mate when the engine was running for about 10-15 mins.

the fan is working as it comes on after about 10 mins. when the engine gets real hot.

however my temperature gauge it reads normal in middle.

mark r

for the sake of 100 notes just change the hg for peace of mind

Cozziekid

Looking at the video, what is coming out of your exhaust is steam, you can tell because it is dissipating as it gets to air, smoke wouldnt do that.
If its been stood 5 years id be checking the vanes on the water pump hadnt rotted away. Seems to me if you think the head gasket is ok, turbo is ok, and you have changed the thermostat, then the only thing left would be an air lock, a blockage or a faulty water pump. A faulty pump would stop the water pumping round your engine and would create 'hot spots' in the cooling system, hence why your temp gauge would be reading 'normal' yet your expansion tank is boiling up.
I cant see how you have ruled out the head gasket though without having done a sniff test or even a compression test?
Is it a properly built Zetec Turbo or a pikey one done with a decompression plate?

rsguy

Hi mate it's a proper built zetec engine. With all quality parts fitted when built.

I thought head gasket maybe ok as looking at the water in the water tank there's no bubbles what so ever. As seen people check headgasket this way and uselly a way to tell is you will get air bubbles in water tank.

I don't have a compression tester. So don't know what other way to tell if ts head gasket without a major strip of engine.

There's no white smoke at all when run from cold. It's only when the engine starts to warm up it starts?

rsguy

just a update guys i bought a compression tester today and done just a dry test heres are the results

cylinder 1 - 50 psi
cylinder 2 - 50 psi
cylinder 3 - 50 psi
cylinder 4 - 55 psi

the car ticks over fine. are them figures ok or does it point to somethink else?

Karlos G

iTrader: (4)

Don't think you've done the test right mate, should be 150psi+ across all four.
Yes the water will boil over if the cap is not on, should be pressurised as said.

rsguy

i def done it right mate i have the proper zetec spark plug compression tool.

i will do a video and also do a wet test and post the results here.

Karlos G

iTrader: (4)

Was the engine up to operating temp? Did you remove all 4 plugs? Did you open the throttle fully?

rsguy

yes i made sure engine was warm. i removed all 4 plugs for the dry test.

heres a video of the test

very stange as the car ticks over perfectly? just bit of white smoke. and all cylinders near enough read the same compression readings?

Karlos G

iTrader: (4)

If all four are showing around that and it's correct then the HG has blown across at least 1&2 and 3&4?! Either that or your rings are incredibly worn or your valves are not seating properly?! I'm surprised it even runs to be honest?! lol

rsguy

the engine was rebuilt and has only done about 1000 miles so rings should still be good as new. but its been sat unused for about 6 years. what about if i start the car and use the compression tool in one of the cylinder while its running. see what the compression is would that help?

Cozziekid

Its not smoke mate, its steam! And to me thats a perfectly acceptable level of steam for the cold weather were having, my Mondeo puts out more than that! It would probably clear up if you had a chance to run the car for more than 5-10 mins at a time before it overheats. Get the overheating sorted and give it a proper run. As i said, my guess would be on the water pump.

rsguy

yeah thanks mate. im going to start it up again shortly to see if it overheats again.


and do a wet test. but this dry test figure have got me worried they do seem a little low. indicating somethinks not right.

i know when i built it the compression rate is 7.4:1 so not sure what the compression psi should be for that rate.

studabear

what make compression tester are you using? I got a cheap amtech tester off ebay, that read really low, its now in the bin.

rsguy

i got this one mate. Laser 2516



wet test results

cylinder 1 - 75 psi
cylinder 2 - 70 psi
cylinder 3 - 70 psi
cylinder 4 - 70 psi

luke19790_3

Which pistons and rods did you use?

rsguy

aftermarket rods and pistons.

Cozziekid

You should be seeing around 100-110psi on that compression ratio or 6.5-7.5 bar.
Something wrong there. Which head gasket did you use when you built it?

Karlos G

iTrader: (4)

White 'smoke' when a HG has blown is steam mate, but I agree 100% that looks perfectly fine to me and unless it's actually overheating wouldn't worry at all about it.

The low compression test results however are very odd?!
Doing the test with it running will not make any difference no.
As it's running fine and I can't see any reason to think the HG has failed after seeing that video I would suspect the readings are just incorrect.

rsguy

focus steel gasket if i recall.

im pretty sure its not the valves as surely one or two cylinders would read significantly different from the others.

wish i could do a leak down test but i dont have a compressor so thats out the question.

all the cylinders read pretty much the same 50-55psi dry and wet test all the cylinders read pretty much the same 70-75psi .

it must be either head gasket or rings but as the compression readings are the same for all cylinders i would guess maybe headgasket but im no expert.

rsguy

however its def chucking out white smoke which equals water being burnt. so i think its not a oil problem.

did do a check on the turbo inlet side of turbo on the compressor wheel for turbo shaft play by removing the air pipe and
waggle the shaft between thumb and forefinger, slight side to side play which is ok. theres no push and pull play at all.
exhaust side of turbo. also checked the exhaust side and theres black soot which is normal.. but no wet oil whatsoever on the hot side leaking into the exhaust so oil seals on turbo seems fine.


the low compresion was due to the zetec compression extension bar which was the trouble. i removed the inner valve core as the compression tester hose already had one in it.

then the gauge worked correctly.

heres the test results

dry test

cylinder 1 -
cylinder 2 -
cylinder 3 - 125 psi
cylinder 4 - 125 psi

wet test

cylinder 1 - 135 psi
cylinder 2 - 140 psi
cylinder 3 - 135 psi
cylinder 4 - 140 psi

on the dry test cylinder 1 - 2 i forgot to put foot on floor until i remembered so i could not read them for dry test as i already applied oil to chambers for wet test.


what do you think of these readings for a CR of 7.4:1..... engine ok?