Smoke Out Exhaust

[dyermullet]

He never answered how much oil it was using and if he checked the plugs for signs of carbon.  If it is consuming a significant amount of oil and the plugs are clean it is just another sign pointing to the turbo leaking into exhaust.

[Joel Russo]

With only about 6k miles on the turbo, I'm figuring on the valve seals....
It's resting in the heated garage until we get through the winter.

[Joel Russo]

He never answered how much oil it was using and if he checked the plugs for signs of carbon.  If it is consuming a significant amount of oil and the plugs are clean it is just another sign pointing to the turbo leaking into exhaust.

There is no oil consumption.
I'll pull a few plugs tomorrow and see what they look like. 

[dyermullet]

He never answered how much oil it was using and if he checked the plugs for signs of carbon.  If it is consuming a significant amount of oil and the plugs are clean it is just another sign pointing to the turbo leaking into exhaust.

There is no oil consumption.
I'll pull a few plugs tomorrow and see what they look like.

If there is no oil consumption then you are not burning any oil.      (I am just being a smart ass, I am assuming you mean no significant oil consumption).

[Joel Russo]

If there is no oil consumption then you are not burning any oil.      (I am just being a smart ass, I am assuming you mean no significant oil consumption).



Hey, I'm used to it, I have kids....


No significant oil consumption.

[dyermullet]

You might not see anything on the plugs then but still worth checking them. 

[626gn]

With only about 6k miles on the turbo, I'm figuring on the valve seals....
It's resting in the heated garage until we get through the winter.

Mileage on the turbo is not a reliable way to rule it out. I bought a turbo with 0 miles on it rebuilt by a very well known shop. 400 miles later it started smoking. This time sent it to bison to be updated. No problems since. Like you, I initially thought valve seals but came across a thread by Nick Micale that suggested it wasn't the likely cause. Before you start looking for a problem that doesn't exist I would simply swap the turbo with a known good one to rule it out.

Does your car start smoking only after it warms up (as opposed to immediately after start up) and most noticeable at idle? It only takes a small amount of oil to produce smoke. Mine was leaking a tiny bit on the exhaust side but not enough to see it when I pulled the DP. Most times it only smoked after I let it idle a few minutes and after the exhaust got hot enough to burn the oil, producing smoke. If you're lucky you might be able to see some wetness if you shine a light and take a peek behind the exhaust wheel. Good luck in sorting out your problem.

[626gn]

In case you were interested, I pasted my post on the other board below when I was going through my smoking problem. I'm not saying your valve seals are not the problem. I'm just saying you should first rule out the turbo, in a definitive way (not just visual), before you dig deeper into the motor. Have you checked the thrust yet? Anyway, hope this helps.


"Correct, I already looked in the usual areas and replaced the PCV. PM'd bison and he confirmed it is possible for the turbo to smoke eventhough I could not find visible oil in the exhaust side of the turbo.
 
 I also did a search on valve seals thinking this may be the problem and came across a post by Nick saying:
 
 "In all the stock valve spring replacement jobs I have done, not once have the seals been replaced. If there is an issue with the valves or seals, the heads need to come off for repair.
 
  I have seen many GN's with over 150K miles that are fine with original seals. So maybe a little oil will go through the stems, that can be a good thing to minimize guide wear.
 
 When we do a performance valve job, that is a different story. The guides have bronze inserts installed, and are machined for PC type vs. o-ring seals.
 
  I am very fortunate to have a GN owner as a friend and fellow racer who has been racing for years with one of his cars that has been 10.9 on the original, unopened engine. I continually use his car as an example of how good the original engine will perform with minimal internal work or changes, and how important it is to have the proper supporting parts.
 
  The heads have NEVER been removed on this GN with over 700 track passes, and internally all that has been done is replacing the timing chain set and the valve springs also - but NOT the oil seals!
 
 But I could be taking his statement out of context as the subject of that thread had nothing to do with a smoking problem...That said, it still doesn't mean my valve seals are ok. Whats the best way to find out?"