blue smoke after prolonged idle

[JDMs13]

My car doesnt smoke when I drive it, but if at idle for to long, say 3-5 minutes it loads up and starts puffing blue smoke. Drive the car, blow it out....smoke gone. Allow to idle for a bit, blue smoke starts puffing out again. I realize its burning oil, but where? The motor has 95K kilometers on it, ca18det. Im leaning towards the possibility that it burning oil in the turbo. Could be an oil control ring on one of the pistons, but then I'd think it would smoke regularly. Any ideas on why the car has to idle for a while for the said problem to occur? :down:

[ledzeppelin240]

Easy one...You valve seals are leaking. I am willing to bet it might even smoke a bit on start up, this is because of the accumulation of oil after the engine is shut down, or at idle for a bit.

Your valve guides could also have excessive wear preventing them from stoping the oil. The correct way to control oil to the valve guide is to have correct clearance and then the seal is added in for one more seal.

It could also be a turbo seal, piston oil control ring, plugged PCV valve and the list goes on...Not being able to look over a car first hand makes it difficult but that should be a start.

[AlligatorBling]

oil = blue

[ass15]

same here... my kat does it also... before it used to do a lot LOT !... i would see like a puddle of oil in my tail pipe...but after installing the .060 restrictor in the oil feed line (15 inches away from the turbo.. ideally it should be on the turbo, not in the feed line)
so now its been about 3 months or so.. and i've lot lot less blue smoke... not to mension i no longer have puddle of oil in my tail pipe..

BUT it does smoke (blue) when i let it idle for like 5 min or so) so i just let it idle for like 1 min or 2... but today it smoke at a stop light.. so like you said ,, it's most likely the oil seal..

do you have oil restrictor on the feedline or on the turbo?... i bet you have it like me on the feed line...

[JDMs13]

Oil restrictor on the oil feed? Not familiar with what you speak of. With the amount of miles my motor has, isnt it unlikely that the valve guides or piston oil control rings are worn. The car is boosting at 13 psi, and last year I was running no BOV. Pehaps the turbine was shocked one to many times in the past?

[JDMs13]

I should add that sometimes when I start it in the garage to let it warm up, when I come back out a few minutes later to drive it, I have noticed oil sprayed onto the floor in little droplets from out of the exhaust. Not consitently though, today I watched it and nothing of that sort. It didnt even puff any smoke on start up.

My car needs some good old fashioned loving.

[cheez80]

sir, that used to happen to me. i swapped to another turbo, just to see how it would feel, but that shit was blown. i had the same exact symptoms you describe (ie., smoke after prolonged idle) and after i swapped the turbos back to the original, it went away.

[boosteds13]

If it's your valve stem seals, you can add a tablespoon of brake fluid to your oil and it will make the seals swell. Should be a good bandaid fix until you can remove the head and have them replaced.

[JDMs13]

So basically, its a guessing game for me at this point. I really hope its not in the motor and only a turbine. With the amount of miles, Its highly unlikely its valve guides or oil control rings.........am I wrong to think that?

[JDMs13]

So would brake fluid be a possible way for me to diagnose the problem? Add tablespoon of brake fluid, and if it doesnt smoke after a while idling.....then I could reasonably assume that its my valve stem seals.....?

[krustindumm]

brake fluid will make all of the seals swell.

[ledzeppelin240]

Yeah WTF...Why don't you pour rice in your intake manifold and bring a conclusion to my theroy. It either cleans the carbon out of the cylinder and off the piston or you engine hand grenades.

[boosteds13]

brake fluid will make all of the seals swell.

True, but it won't hurt anything vital. Still a temporary fix. I did it with my parents old Honda accord and it fixed the leaking seals and the car still ran another 30000 miles.

[SochBAT]

Instant solution, don't let it sit and prolong the idle. Our cars are ment to be driven, like in Fast and Furious. See that chick with the purple Kouki? NO2 solves everything.

On a serious note, If you've just changed your seals, check the turbo. Buddie's turbo was cracked and made that smoke. new turbo solved it.

[Angel]

Typically if it's valve stem seals it will be at it's worse under heavy vaccum. So if you accelerate in gear and let off while still in gear and coast down you should see more smoke as the oil is drawn through.

[JDMs13]

[QUOTE=sochbat]Instant solution, don't let it sit and prolong the idle. Our cars are ment to be driven, like in Fast and Furious. See that chick with the purple Kouki? NO2 solves everything.

On a serious note, If you've just changed your seals, check the turbo.


Where did I say that I changed any seals? Im still in the troubleshooting phase of this problem. And how is Fast and Furious at all pertinent to what we are talking about. :sadwavey: If you have nothing good to say.....nothing that I might learn a thing or two from, then dont post. Not being a dick, so dont take it as that.

[g2ic02]

more than likely it is your turbo....mine smoked at idle then stopped when i drove it around...i swapped to a t28 and it hasn't smoked since.

[SochBAT]

What kind of seals are you using? Certain seals swell up faster than others, FYI. Maybe you haven't broken in the seals correctly? Sorry for being an ass, but if everyone was all nice and happy, these forums wouldn't be as fun to read.

[JDMs13]

Today at a light it started smoking after about 30 seconds at idle. I think Im just goint to wait until its blowing smoke consitently, then worry about it. My friend has an extra t25 that I could bolt up at that point to help narrow down my problem.

[ledzeppelin240]

WTF again, I didn't know you had to break in seals....Interesting, I'll make sure to break in my valve cover, head gasket, valve seals etc...when my engine is done....

[SochBAT]

WTF? Are you serious? Cmon man, thats like, common sense! You've gotta break in EVERYTHING! Especially houses.