2002 V40 1.9T - (absolutely) RANDOM blue smoke

[StringFlinger]

I've been lurking the forums for a few days now, but I can't seem to find any information about my exact problem.

Last Tuesday, I bought a 2002 v40 1.9t with 96k miles for $4200. The car had been garage-kept since it's last servicing, when the timing belt, tires, and battery were replaced (approximately 2 years of sitting). Everything seemed to check out, alright, until I checked the oil. It was low by about 1.5 quarts, so I added some oil I had brought with me and proceeded to the test-drive. It's important to note that there were no signs of an oil leak anywhere near the house/garage. No drips, no freshly-cleaned areas where the car had been parked.

The car drives beautifully - no strange noises, no smoke, idles well, pulls well throughout the RPMs, front end is tight, brakes are silent (which I hear is actually somewhat rare for Volvo, heh). Anyway, after some back-and-forth-ing with the seller, I decide to buy the car (for $300 less than their asking price of $4500, based on the low oil level, which they seemed to be unable to explain).

The drive home and the next two days go by without incident. Then, as I'm readying to leave from class on Friday, I notice a significant cloud of blue smoke coming from the exhaust. I couldn't consistently make it happen - sometimes it happened more under acceleration, sometimes more at idle, sometimes it was constant, no matter the RPM.

I got home and perused this site for a while, and I decided to check the oil (and see if the dipstick/oil fill cap had a tiny bit of suction, as per the advice I found). The oil level has NOT changed noticeably, whatsoever. It was on the exact cross-hatch mark on the dipstick as it had been before. Also, the dipstick and oil fill cap both had suction, as they should. Definitely not blowing smoke from there.

The next day, I start the car, and there is absolutely ZERO smoke. The second time I start the car, there is a considerably smaller amount of smoke for, maybe, 20 seconds. Then, no more smoke for the rest of the day. That night, I crank the car 3-4 times to check for smoke. Three of those times, there was no smoke at all. The second time, there was a small puff after I blipped the throttle, for about 5 seconds.

Today, I start the car, and there is a HUGE amount of smoke. More than the first day. Still, no loss of power, no idling problems, no positive pressure from the crank case, and absolutely no other symptoms. The check engine light came on a few minutes after the giant cloud of smoke billowed from my exhaust. Oh, no. I'm hoping this is only because of the giant puff of smoke going through the exhaust. Can't that trip the CEL, somehow? Also, my dad seems to think that there could be an aftermarket dipstick installed, which may be shorter than the stock one (causing me to over-fill the engine with oil, thus - smoke).

Anyway, if you made it through that, I just want to know what my next steps should be. An oil/filter change is happening tomorrow, regardless of anything else. That old oil is obviously not helping anything. What do you guys think could be happening? Valve-guide seals... PCV... Turbo components... RINGS?! (I sure hope not)

Thanks for any help in advance!
Hershey

[StringFlinger]

I forgot to add that, today, after the huge amount of smoke was observed, the car stopped smoking completely while my dad was driving it to try to diagnose it. No smoke for the rest of the ride. However, when I cranked it again, about 2 hours later, there was another very small amount of smoke for about 30 seconds. Totally random.

My dad thinks that the car sitting for 2 years could be the culprit, and that something simple is causing it - i.e. some of the seals (maybe within the turbo) could just be slightly worn, allowing oil to drip, ever so slowly, through and into the exhaust.

[jblackburn]

Start with the turbo first since it's the easiest to check. There's an intercooler pipe running from the turbo at the back up and over the engine - unbolt that pipe and have a look inside it. Is the pipe coated with oil?

What oil did the previous owners run in the car? You might want to switch to a "high mileage" synthetic oil (Mobil-1 makes a good one, so does Castrol) that conditions the old seals to get them to leak less.

[StringFlinger]

The intercooler (at least on the side that connects to the engine) for the turbo is bone-dry. No oil, whatsoever.

The previous owner (one-owner car) just ran standard 5w-30 viscosity (I can't remember the brand). I think we're going to perform somewhat of a 'flush' of the oil, and run some thinner oil through it for a week or so, then change it out with some high-mileage synthetic. Does that sound advisable?

[jblackburn]

If you live down in Mississippi, I would actually use a thicker oil, since you don't need a thin one even in winter. A thin oil will only exacerbate oil burning problems. I'd reccomend a 40 weight, either 5W-40 or 10W-40 (hard to find).

The valve seals are a common problem on the inline Volvo engines, but you may be able to avoid having to do that (soon, anyway) with a good oil.

Do NOT (I stress the not part) put any of the no-smoke products into your engine that are sold at auto parts stores.

We had a Buick with only 80,000 miles on it that sat for somewhere between 2-3 years without being driven and would burn a quart of oil every 1500 miles. After about a year, it stopped burning oil entirely. Sometimes just sitting will have that effect on the engine alone.

[StringFlinger]

Okay, so I haven't seen a single bit of smoke today. We had the codes read at auto zone, and it was a P0015 - camshaft position actuator B code. We cleared it, and the CEL hasn't come back on.

We're in the middle of the oil/filter change, now (10w-40, non-synthetic high-mileage for 2 days, just to flush some of the sludge out. we'll be using synthetic 10w-40 as of wednesday, with another new filter), so hopefully this will clear up the smoke problem. I'll keep you updated.

I'm having a hard time finding torque specs for the drain plug, filter housing, etc. Hopefully I can find these specs through a quick search of the forums.

As for the code, I think it may be a fluke. If the CEL comes on again, I'll be much more worried.

Thanks, jablackburn!

[jblackburn]

I never torque them. For the plug, til it stops and then maybe another 1/2 turn - you want to get it in tight, but don't strip it. For the filter, about as tight as you can get it with your hand/a rubber glove.

Is there oil seeping out around the cam sensor? It's on the drivers side of the engine under a little metal cover, behind the distributor.

[StringFlinger]

The cam sensor is dry, no sign of oil seepage.

The CEL hasn't come back on, either. After the oil change, the car smoked for a few minutes. Since those first few cranks after the oil change, though, there has been absolutely no smoke. I'm having a hard time getting a clear reading on the dipstick; the little 'strip' of oil that usually shows up past the actual mark has become more solid, so it's hard to tell where the level actually is. I filled it up with approximately 5.6 liters, though.

[StringFlinger]

Update:

Smoking again. It always stops, completely, after the engine has warmed up. Still no other symptoms, though. I'm thinking maybe the oil is collecting somewhere near the exhaust and being burned all at once at start-up, as it only happens after the car has been sitting for more than an hour or two.

[p40l]

hi there, i had the same problem with my 2001 t4 and it turned out to be the valve stem oil seals.had them replaced and its ran perfect ever since.this might not be the same problem you are having but hope this helps