Thought this would of passed by now but since having an SS de-cat DP fitted, to make a fully de-catted system, I'm still experiencing the puff of blue smoke during idle. Quite embarressing as other drivers tend to give you the "your car's f**ked" look.
This happend when I was first running the new DP in, then subsided, with only the odd hint of smoke now and again. Today (with the hot weather) it seems to be back .
Sorry to the bloke in the BMW behind me that got a lung full when I pulled away from the lights this morning!

Can anyone give me any advice on this or do I just live with it??


Cheers,

Scottdg

 

What MY is your car Scott?

 

could be the turbo seals, oil getting past them and burning in the turbine housing?

just a thought

ian

p.s. high milage?

 

knackered valve guides/oil stem seals normally give out smoke on idle.

 

Iain,

It's an MY00

The car was serviced 3500mls ago and has been fine until the DP was fitted. Surely I shouldn't be experiencing these probs in a car barely 2 yrs old.

Currently has 57K mls on the clock - mostly motorway!



[Edited by scottdg - 5/17/2002 1:21:58 PM]

 

Hi Scott,

It's a difficult one really.

You will be more likely to get oil blow by the turbo seals with a de-cat, because of the different back pressure etc

If your turbo seals were shot then i would have thought you would get smoke on full throttle (see if you can get someone to follow to check). You can give full throttle lift off, full again and check for smoke (do this in say third gear at about 50mph), this would give the seals a testing.

You can remove the intercooler pipework off the turbo and check for excess oil build-up there and in the intercooler. Misting of oil is OK, puddles is not.

Valve stem seals appear to be very strong on these cars, and also because of the engine design and age it would be unlikely unless it has been thrashed from cold / heavily tracked etc...

I had the same problem on mine when i changed from Mobil 1 15w50 to Motul 15w50. But now (after 400mls) all *appears* to be well. I was told that this can happen as the cleaning agents in the old oil would shift some deposits etc (don't know how much truth is in that).

You *should* be able to chuck it back to your dealer as a warranty issue

Sorry to sound so vauge, but i'm only governed by what i was told by Subaru Tech Services when i asked them about mine.

Hope you get to the bottom of this one Scott. Keep me posted


Iain

[Edited by iain atkins - 5/17/2002 2:00:29 PM]

 

Will do Iain,

Heading off on a 500mile drive this weekend so that should give the car plenty of mileage to clear any cr@p etc, etc.

If it's still happening next week - she's going into the garage - pronto.

I hate things like this - you always get the niggling feeling something could be seriously wrong, even if it isn't (hopeful thinking).

I'll post you my findings sometime next week. Until then, enjoy the weekend.

Cheers,

Scottdg

 

I am having exactly the same problem with my car This is the second time it's happened and the first time was about 15,000 miles ago . It would chuck out shed loads of smoke, for a couple of days, and on taking it to a dealer for investigation would not perform! They said to just keep a check on the oil levels, and see if this drops noticeably, which it didn't.

Then all of a sudden this week, it's started to do it again . The car was in for a 45k service today, and I mentioned it to the dealership. They had a look and couldn't see any reason why it is happening, and said the same re:- checking oil levels.

My car is a MY00 with full decat Scoobysport system, and a 57i - but on the previous occassion it was on an ITG.

I'll be watching it like a hawk over the next few days to see what happens, but if it continues, then I'll be straight back to the dealership.

 

OK, just to let you all know that I've done over 300 miles of cross country, town, and motorway driving this weekend, and I've still got the same problem!

I had a friend (Cheers Neil ) follow me yesterday, and I had no smoke whatsoever whilst driving along, and it was only when we pulled up to have a chat that it started to happen again. The car also does it whilst I leave it on the driveway warming up before I travel off somewhere. My car is never thrashed from cold, and has never been on a track, so I'm completely lost as to the reasons behind this.

Oh well, I guess I'll double check the oil level again later on, and then book it back in to the dealers, just as they said to do.

 

Scott W,

This is exactly the same symtons that i had, and it hasn't done it for a few months now, so fingers crossed. Maybe oil was overfilled by the dealer??

 

Iain, not sure on the oil, as it was happening just before it went to the dealers!

I'll just see how is goes over the next couple of days, and sees if it clears itself like it did last time, and as it did for yourself.

 

Well just got back from the round trip and I am happy to say all is well. No smoking and not using any more oil than usual.

It's a strange one this!!

 

Is the car suffering from any piston slap at the moment? could be oil passing by the piston rings (as on my car - roll on the rebuild!)

Russell

 

Russell,

Mine did it before and after the piston slap was repaired!! It's defineatly a really weird one this. It will be so interesting when someone finds the real reason for it.

Iain

 

Thought id bring this back to the top.

My car did this lastnight Its an MY00 with a recently fitted ss dp, went for a blast and when we parked up it was smoking a bit. Blipping the throttle caused quite a bit of smoke to come out but then it cleared up. No smoke was coming out whilst on the move coming on and off throttle. Checked my oil levels today and its fine. I havent been able to go out and have a drive to see if it happens again.

Has anyone found an explination for this yet?

Ian

 

Maxy - the reason it's been doing this on my car is because my Turbo seals are shot. Fortunately I'm having a replacement turbo fitted under warranty, so it might be worth your while getting in touch with your dealer.

My car has been doing it for somewhere near 2000 miles now, and as you say, it's only when you are parked up on idle. When you are driving, there is no smoke whatsoever.

 

How did they react with the DP / Warranty situation? Interested as I have a full de-cat, car under warranty.

MB

 

my94 runs fully decat, & i cant get my head round whats happening to the oil level.
I now check it every 2 days. The last 2 weeks I have been checking it every 2 days & have put roughly 1/4 litre oil in, (i keep it just between the f & the top hole & always check it first thing in the morning on my flat driveway) then on saturday it was only just registering on the dipstick!!!

I get a tiny bit of smoke when idling, nothing when driving.
Over a 6 week period, i put nearly 4 litres in!!! (it still had centre cat on at the time)

It keeps doing this, it'll use bugger all oil, then its as if someone has dropped a litre out of it.

It must be going somewhere through the engine as there is not even a sign of a drip let alone a leak.
I took the intercooler off & checked the pipes, trace of oil, not excessive.