blue smoke when engine is cold
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blue smoke when engine is cold
I just purchased a 2006 C6 - Magnuson 112 running 6 psi - comp SC2 cam and kook headers - A6 paddle trans
Most of the time it runs really great but in the morning when I start it up it blows lots of blue smoke and there is a noticeable gas smell - sometimes it is real bad (smoke and smell) and others not so much
Also, a few times it acts like the engine is going to die out - sort of like a vapor lock but it has been real hot here so I thought maybe that might be the problem on that
The car was tuned by Livernois in Detroit - unfortunatley, that is 5 or 6 hours away so that is not going to be much help
Any ideas? - Not expecting someone to solve my problem but hoping to get some ideas or at least assurance that the car is not going to self destruct on me
Most of the time it runs really great but in the morning when I start it up it blows lots of blue smoke and there is a noticeable gas smell - sometimes it is real bad (smoke and smell) and others not so much
Also, a few times it acts like the engine is going to die out - sort of like a vapor lock but it has been real hot here so I thought maybe that might be the problem on that
The car was tuned by Livernois in Detroit - unfortunatley, that is 5 or 6 hours away so that is not going to be much help
Any ideas? - Not expecting someone to solve my problem but hoping to get some ideas or at least assurance that the car is not going to self destruct on me
Moderator emeritus
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From: Jacksonville Florida BWO Dayton, Cincinnati, Bloomsbury NJ, Cincinnati
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Do a compression check on the engine. You might have some rings giving up the ghost from the use of Maggie.
Blue is oil getting into the cylinders.
Elmer
Blue is oil getting into the cylinders.
Elmer
Melting Slicks
Joined: Mar 2007
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From: Santa Barbara CA
Since you have a cam, I'm thinking valve guide seal problem. Cold start is typically when they show up. A relatively easy fix, if so.
Might be a good idea to do compassion and leakdown tests as well.
Might be a good idea to do compassion and leakdown tests as well.
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Well I like valve guide seal a lot better than rings for sure - car only has 11,000 miles on it and supposedly about 9,000 of that is after the install of the supercharger etc. I am pretty sure the car was never raced but I can't speak to how hard it was street driven
Would either rings or valve seals cause the gas smell - it is pretty pronounced on start up (sometimes more than others)- plus there is a lot of black on the exhaust tips - so do I have another set of issues for that?
Would either rings or valve seals cause the gas smell - it is pretty pronounced on start up (sometimes more than others)- plus there is a lot of black on the exhaust tips - so do I have another set of issues for that?
Melting Slicks
Joined: Mar 2007
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From: Santa Barbara CA
Does the car have headers? If so, it has high flow cats or no cats at all. Combined with a cam, it's going to smell like an old muscle car - especially when cold. My car puts out some race car fumes when it's cold, but after the cats warm up it's not bad. My tips also get black pretty quickly.
But yeah, I'd buy a set of new viton seals. Maybe a few aren't seated right or something. It's a cheap and fairly easy fix if you have the tools.
But yeah, I'd buy a set of new viton seals. Maybe a few aren't seated right or something. It's a cheap and fairly easy fix if you have the tools.
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As always thanks to the great forum members who take the time to help us all out
One more question on the valve seals - out of curiosity more than anything
Is there anything inherent in my set-up with the blower, cam, headers, etc that would cause the seals to go bad after only 11,000 miles or would the logical assumption be that something was done wrong or at least less than perfect when the cam was installed - so if I fix this my chances of a reoccurrence are slim - I would use the viton seals as suggested by Streetk14
One more question on the valve seals - out of curiosity more than anything
Is there anything inherent in my set-up with the blower, cam, headers, etc that would cause the seals to go bad after only 11,000 miles or would the logical assumption be that something was done wrong or at least less than perfect when the cam was installed - so if I fix this my chances of a reoccurrence are slim - I would use the viton seals as suggested by Streetk14
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I think I really missed the boat on my last posting about my smoke problem- now that things are really getting bad, I have to say tha tthe smoke is not blue - it is white and it is accompanied by a VERy bad smell of fuel. Also, my check engine light is on - was blinking, now just on
From what I have read, white smoke would seem to be antifreeze getting into the combustion chamber - but does that also explain the gas smell?
I think I might have bought a car with either a blown head gasket or some similiar problem-hope nothing worse than that
From what I have read, white smoke would seem to be antifreeze getting into the combustion chamber - but does that also explain the gas smell?
I think I might have bought a car with either a blown head gasket or some similiar problem-hope nothing worse than that
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From: Jacksonville Florida BWO Dayton, Cincinnati, Bloomsbury NJ, Cincinnati
2015 C7 of the Year Finalist
Sounds like it has fully let go and you will need to get into the engine to cure the issue. Leaking oil past the valves is one thing, what you just described is sounding terminal.
Elmer
Elmer
Burning Brakes
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From: Concord NC
St. Jude Donor '10
I think I really missed the boat on my last posting about my smoke problem- now that things are really getting bad, I have to say tha tthe smoke is not blue - it is white and it is accompanied by a VERy bad smell of fuel. Also, my check engine light is on - was blinking, now just on
From what I have read, white smoke would seem to be antifreeze getting into the combustion chamber - but does that also explain the gas smell?
I think I might have bought a car with either a blown head gasket or some similiar problem-hope nothing worse than that
From what I have read, white smoke would seem to be antifreeze getting into the combustion chamber - but does that also explain the gas smell?
I think I might have bought a car with either a blown head gasket or some similiar problem-hope nothing worse than that
Go to Napa and ask for a "Block Tester" -- that's your best/quickest/most definitive way to check for sure. Compression tests can often hide the truth and most people don't have the tool to do a leakdown test readily accessible. ~$35 and testing will take you 2 minutes, drive the car there and you can do it in the parking lot.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Mar 2007
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From: Santa Barbara CA
The check engine light will flash when a misfire is detected and present. Could be a lot of things causing it. I've seen cold-start misfires caused by a bad injector, sticking lifter and others.
I would start with the basics- what fault codes are stored? Is it a particular cylinder that has a problem, or random misfires? If you don't already have a inexpensive scan tool (I have a $50 Matco code reader), it would be a great idea if you are planning to troubleshoot this yourself.
Poor combustion can cause white/gray smoke. You could also be getting coolant in a cylinder or 2 from a cracked head or gasket problem. Just gotta go after it systematically.
I would start with the basics- what fault codes are stored? Is it a particular cylinder that has a problem, or random misfires? If you don't already have a inexpensive scan tool (I have a $50 Matco code reader), it would be a great idea if you are planning to troubleshoot this yourself.
Poor combustion can cause white/gray smoke. You could also be getting coolant in a cylinder or 2 from a cracked head or gasket problem. Just gotta go after it systematically.
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Was never able to locate a block tester - local NAPA store jacked me around - had one didn't had one
Was able to check the error codes though P0201 injector circuit open cylinder 1 and
P0131 bank 1 sensor 1 sensor circuit circiut low volts
I am encouraged - probably just go to dealer now - orignal hesitation was becuase of all the mods
Thanks for the responses
Was able to check the error codes though P0201 injector circuit open cylinder 1 and
P0131 bank 1 sensor 1 sensor circuit circiut low volts
I am encouraged - probably just go to dealer now - orignal hesitation was becuase of all the mods
Thanks for the responses
Melting Slicks
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 2,391
Likes: 23
From: Santa Barbara CA
Was never able to locate a block tester - local NAPA store jacked me around - had one didn't had one
Was able to check the error codes though P0201 injector circuit open cylinder 1 and
P0131 bank 1 sensor 1 sensor circuit circiut low volts
I am encouraged - probably just go to dealer now - orignal hesitation was becuase of all the mods
Thanks for the responses
Was able to check the error codes though P0201 injector circuit open cylinder 1 and
P0131 bank 1 sensor 1 sensor circuit circiut low volts
I am encouraged - probably just go to dealer now - orignal hesitation was becuase of all the mods
Thanks for the responses
My honest opinion is that you'll waste time and money taking it to a dealership with your modifications. I know, I'm a Bimmer tech. Most dealership guys don't have a clue when it comes to performance mods. Just an FYI.
Might be a bad injector like I thought was possible. Looks like an O2 sensor issue or maybe even something with the tune. Find yourself a good LSx shop to go to. Where you located?
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I live in a community called the Quad Cities - Moline Il and Davenport on the Iowa side are the the 2 biggest cities - I always thought I would have to go to Chicago area if I needed a tune - about 180 miles - not sure how the car would drive that far the way it is right now - I know what you are saying about dealerships - I do have a good relationship with the one I go to but it is easy for them to start blaming the mods and not want to get too involved if anything gets hairy
Melting Slicks
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 2,391
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From: Santa Barbara CA
I live in a community called the Quad Cities - Moline Il and Davenport on the Iowa side are the the 2 biggest cities - I always thought I would have to go to Chicago area if I needed a tune - about 180 miles - not sure how the car would drive that far the way it is right now - I know what you are saying about dealerships - I do have a good relationship with the one I go to but it is easy for them to start blaming the mods and not want to get too involved if anything gets hairy
The dealership will be limited in what they can do. If it's a bad oxygen sensor, no big deal. You have aftermarket injectors, so I'm not sure how they'd source that if needed. Do you know if your car has wiring harness adapters for the fuel injectors? That open-circuit code for cylinder 1 injector makes me think some kind of connection or contact problem could exist.
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I wondered about the sourcing of the new injector if that happens - maybe I could provide?
There are a lot of old houses in Moline - I remember somethng called the victorian mansion but not exactly sure where its at, but unfortunatley like you say if its old it probably isn't in the best part of town anymore
Do you thik it might be worth my while to try and check on the connections? - the problem I was having did seem to be somewhat intermittant
There are a lot of old houses in Moline - I remember somethng called the victorian mansion but not exactly sure where its at, but unfortunatley like you say if its old it probably isn't in the best part of town anymore
Do you thik it might be worth my while to try and check on the connections? - the problem I was having did seem to be somewhat intermittant
Melting Slicks
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 2,391
Likes: 23
From: Santa Barbara CA
I wondered about the sourcing of the new injector if that happens - maybe I could provide?
There are a lot of old houses in Moline - I remember somethng called the victorian mansion but not exactly sure where its at, but unfortunatley like you say if its old it probably isn't in the best part of town anymore
Do you thik it might be worth my while to try and check on the connections? - the problem I was having did seem to be somewhat intermittant
There are a lot of old houses in Moline - I remember somethng called the victorian mansion but not exactly sure where its at, but unfortunatley like you say if its old it probably isn't in the best part of town anymore
Do you thik it might be worth my while to try and check on the connections? - the problem I was having did seem to be somewhat intermittant
I'd check out the connections at that injector for sure. The older Magnuson systems used those adaptors. Poor connections can cause strange intermittent problems. If you have a bad injector itself, it's probably an OEM part for another vehicle. Magnuson should be able to help you with that.
You got me thinking about that house. It was sold by my family a few years ago, and it looks like the new owners are fixing it up: http://qctimes.com/lifestyles/home-a...cc4c03286.html
Too bad it's basically right under the freeway on 6th street
