smokin like a freight train May 12, 2009, 08:03:06 AM well the TC has been running great for a long time but i decided to check the timing just for something to get me out of house work and lo and behold the thing was sitting directly on TDC. So, with the spout off I adjusted the timing to 10 degrees, and holy cow, the car started pouring blue smoke out the exhaust. I was afraid Al Gore was going to come arrest me it was so bad. It settled down a bit but it is still bad...mainly at idle it will just start belching smoke. If i get on it hard ...no smoke. At first I thought rings, but advancing the timing wouldnt all of a sudden blow out rings would it? I then thought valve stem seals, but now I think something is causing it to suck oil at idle. Any ideas, i know this isn't easy to diagnose over the internet but I'd appreciate any imput! And no I already put it back at zero!:barf: Quote Selected
smokin like a freight train Reply #1 – May 12, 2009, 11:45:51 AM Is it blue or black smoke? Quote Selected
smokin like a freight train Reply #3 – May 12, 2009, 05:43:24 PM Sorry, I just saw it in the op that it says blue. It could be an oil line for the turbo or something along those lines.I highly doubt that adjusting your timing would cause the rings or valve seals to blow. Quote Selected
smokin like a freight train Reply #4 – May 23, 2009, 05:48:26 PM i just had a chance to dig into the car somewhat and i found fresh, wet oil in the intercooler on the turbo side and down the intake of the turbo its self. It seems to be pumping it from the tee on the neck of the turbo inlet. I have a brass tee in place of the stock metering valve. One end goes to the wastegate and the other end goes to the vacuum port on the turbo(I have a manual boost controller in line). This set up has been in place for several months. Any idea why it is sucking oil all of a sudden after i advanced the timing? Is the turbo bad? could a vacuum leak elsewhere be causing it? it seems to be worse at idle cuz if i zoom off i dont get any smoke. Quote Selected
smokin like a freight train Reply #5 – May 23, 2009, 07:55:51 PM Just a guess but increasing the timing will produce more vacuum at idle, possibly highlighting a problem that was already in the making... Also it's a known issue, if the correct Motorcraft PCV valve isn't used, the crankcase can be pressurized under boost and blow oil into the intercooler... Quote Selected
smokin like a freight train Reply #6 – May 23, 2009, 08:08:52 PM Definitely check the PCV valve. If it's bad replace it with the correct Motorcraft piece. Since the car is smoking at idle with the timing in the correct place, reset the timing to 10 degrees, and start diagnosing what's wrong with it. I highly doubt your pulling oil in through the vacuum tee on the intercooler. More that likely, its coming in through the valve cover breather line that goes to the turbo. Clean all the oil out of the intercooler, turbo inlet, and the hose from the VAM to the turbo (its probably full of oil). Put it all back together, and plug the fitting in the turbo inlet from the valve cover breather. You can run the line from the valve cover breather into a container (16ounce pop bottle works great) temporarily. Take the car for a drive and see if the smoking stops. If the problem is the breather line, the smoke will stop after a short while (you'll just be burning off what made it into the intake). Alot of times the breather gets clogged with and stops trapping the oil and let's it pass instead. You can clean them out. This is just a place to start. If this doesn't work, you'll have to dig deeper. Keep us informed. I'm assuming the car still has the stock IHI turbo on it? Quote Selected
smokin like a freight train Reply #7 – May 24, 2009, 10:24:17 AM I haven't had the issue at idle before, only under boost. I do feel that TurboCoupe5.0 is on the right track with the increased vacuum and PCV valve.The hot setup is to run a second PCV valve and a catch can. First, I removed my charcoal canister that's on the passanger side of the car, below the air intake. I re-used the bracket, and mounted the catch can to it. Then I pulled the oil separator/valve cover breather out of the valve cover, and removed the metal line and fittings off of the turbo inlet. I replaced the valve cover grommet with an angled one from the help section of the auto parts store, and took a second PCV valve and popped it into the valve cover. Then I ran one hose from the new PCV valve to the catch can, and then a hose from the catch can to the turbo inlet. You'll have to get a barb fitting for the turbo inlet, which most auto parts stores will have in their little fitting section. I used 3/8's line and never had an issue after that.I only have a picture of where I mounted the catch can: Quote Selected
smokin like a freight train Reply #8 – May 24, 2009, 10:34:03 AM thanks for the help...my PCV is an autolite i believe, so I will change it out and see what happens. Quote Selected
smokin like a freight train Reply #9 – June 12, 2009, 01:42:23 PM Well I replaced the PCV with a Motorcraft one and the smoking quit for a bit and then started again. I took the intake hose off from the VAM to turbo and oil was puddled in it. I cleaned that out plus residuals in the turbo outlet/inlet housings and the intercooler itsself. I doesnt smoke at idle anymore but when you start it up or decelerate it throws out a ton of smoke. It doesnt do it at full throttle acceleration but it will go nuts when i down shift to stop. Is that the valve stem seal bad? The vacuum lines seem good, but could the black box thing on the block be bad....i dont even know what that thing is called. Quote Selected
smokin like a freight train Reply #10 – June 12, 2009, 02:34:22 PM Pull the VAM hose and check for oil in it again. If there is, you've got a blowby problem. The breather on top of the valve cover, and the on on the drivers side of the block can be removed and cleaned out. I don't believe either one is available new anymore. The one on the block can be a real pain to get off. If it fights back, you may have to remove the lower intake. Quote Selected
smokin like a freight train Reply #11 – June 12, 2009, 03:10:36 PM Quote from: lakenheath24;277280 could the black box thing on the block be bad....i dont even know what that thing is called.It's a oil separator to keep the PCV valve from sucking up oil from the crankcase... They have a fiber mesh and can become plugged with sludge, but usually don't cause a sudden problem... Quote Selected
smokin like a freight train Reply #12 – June 13, 2009, 12:34:39 PM The VAM hose is full of oil again and it smokes as bad as ever. The intercooler is full of oil again as well. I also pulled the lines off the manual boost controller and those are full of oil as well. It seems to be pushing oil by the oil filler cap. Man what a mess. UPDATE...i just pulled the tube from the valve cover breather to theturbo housing and there is no oil and it's not obstructed. Same with the PCV hoses...there is no fresh oil on the PCV valve. It all seems to be getting sucked through the manual bypass hose from the wastegate actuator. Quote Selected
smokin like a freight train Reply #13 – June 14, 2009, 01:46:44 PM Where is the other end of the boost controller hooked up? Are you using the fitting on the turbo compressor housing?The waste gate actuator has no oil source, so any oil in those hoses is coming from somewhere else.Is in your turbo in good order? Been making any funny noises? I would start to suspect you have an issues with either the turbo oil seals, or a drain back issue with the turbo. Have you done anything in the area of the drain line? Check and make sure the drain line is running downhill, with no uphill at all. Quote Selected
smokin like a freight train Reply #14 – June 14, 2009, 06:38:20 PM That is the weird part, cuz the ONLY thing I have done is bump the timing from TDC to 10 degrees, where it started billowing smoke and hasn't stopped since. Now that you mention it though, when I shift gears it sounds like i have a small leak...almost like I have a blow off valve. I put it on jacks and there is oil dripping from the weep hole(i guess that's what it is) on the bottom of the actuator. I replaced the original compressor housing fitting with a brass "t" because the original was rusted and broke off. I now have a line running from the actuator to the new tee and the other end of the tee has the manual boost control. The other hose goes to the closest outlet to the turbo inlet housing and I capped the other outlet(the one on the VAM side of the turbo housing). The car was running perfect until I bumped the timing up. You thing the increased timing might have blown some weak seals in the turbo? Quote Selected
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