why does sr20 blows white smoke?

[englandduvan]

my engine is blowing white smoke when im at idle but when i drive it? it goes away? lately i noticed its idling a lil higher than normal' anyone know what can be the problem?

[jdm213]

ur burning coolant .. it could be ur head gasket but least likey the turbo seals

[AdrenalineS14]

could be coolant, are you 100% sure its "thick" white smoke... check your coolant lvls in the radiator... and what does the smoke smell like?

[fliprayzin240sx]

Turbo seals are probably blown...

[jr_ss]

I'm with Flip on this one... Sounds like your turbo seals are on the way out.

[jesse_s13]

Does it smell sweet???????

[steve shadows]

If it's white like fog or steam it's your head gasket

if it's blue/white or white that dissipates into blue color then it's oil, possibly turbo, or ring lands.

[airman]

My $0.02:

It's possible that seeing white/gray smoke is still oil, but only if it's not "burned" in the combustion process. Think about spilling oil on your manifold when you put more in the car or change it - you see white/gray smoke coming out of your hood until it's completely burned off.

Turbos don't really have "seals", more along the lines of a piston-ring type deal and oil slinger grooves. When your bearings wear out, there's more play for the ring(s) to wear/allow oil to get past. The reason it happens only at idle is because the turbo shaft is spinning considerably slower than what it would while cruising. The slower rotation allows the oil slinger grooves to be less effective, and therefore you leak oil into the exhaust housing/downpipe.

I would check for in/out shaftplay. If you're 'burning' oil only at idle, that's a good chance of what it could be.

If it were rings, I would expect a lot of oil to be burned while slowing down in a low gear (high vacuum in cylinders). The high rpm/throttle plate closed draws a high vacuum in the cylinders; if the rings are bad it will literally suck oil past them and you will smoke heavily on decel.

Best of luck

[[email protected]]

Mine does the same thing and just checked turbo
and has in/out play but i got a full radiator of coolant
And i check my oil and reads nothing but running it
Reads over the limit so im kinda lost too.
Not to steal the thread but any body has anu info.