Huge white smoke- FRUSTRATED

davis911s · Post by **davis911s** » 12 Jun 2011, 17:04

I am losing my mind

Last month my oil light came on. I stopped the car immediately and as followed the guidelines on here and dropped the oil pan and changed all the seals. The seals actually looked good, but the pickup was completely clogged. (hence the oil light)

When that was fixed, the oil light went off but the car smoked like heck. Huge white clouds any time you touched the gas. The car smoked a bit before the oil seal change but hardly noticable now it is like a James Bond car even when idling.

So back to the drawing board I went. Everything pointed to PVC system. I even tried the glove/ balloon over the oil filler and dipstick. They inflated right up. So I ordered a complete PVC kit and replaced it. I finished that today, started up the car and HUGE WHITE SMOKE still

I am so disappointed, what the heck is wrong with my car? It has high mileage, and from the looks of the oil pickup it was not well maintained prior to me getting it. I am assuming that the car was not smoking before because there was no oil flow to burn. Now that it is getting oil flow it is smoking. But what is my next step? I ran great and had lots of power before all this!

Car is a 98 V70, Turbo, AWD with 5 Spd

PLEASE HELP

Post by **FlyingVolvo** » 12 Jun 2011, 17:07

I would have a mechanic do a leak-down test on the coolant system. Does the white exhaust smell sweet?

White smoke is not usually indicative of oil burning (blue). White is usually water/coolant.

Post by **jblackburn** » 12 Jun 2011, 17:40

Car is a 98 V70, Turbo, AWD with 5 Spd

I WANT ONE!!!

Are you losing coolant at all?

If not, it sounds like you've got blown turbo seals - oil into the exhaust without being ignited will make heavy, white smoke. The 13G's seem to have problems with seals earlier in their lives than the bigger turbos on other models.

davis911s · Post by **davis911s** » 12 Jun 2011, 17:51

Yes I have been losing coolant, but I noticed it only drained the overflow resevoir then would not lose any more. I did not see any coolant in the oil when I drained it.

Also why would it only start to smoke after the oil seal problem was fixed? If it were coolant related wouldn't it have been smoking all along

I just went out and took the oil seperator off again because I wasn't sure I had cleaned the holes in the block well enough. My finger is small enough to feel inside the top one and feel around, but I can't see or feel inside the bottom one to ensure it is not clogged. What is the trick to that?

Also I did not see any evidence of oil inside the hoses that go into or come out of the oil seperator when I removed them. They are dry. I ran the car for about 30 seconds, should there not have been oil flow through them, while the car was running?

Post by **jblackburn** » 12 Jun 2011, 18:01

I think it's time to do what Ed mentioned. A leak-down/compression test. The head gasket may be compromised. This will give you a better idea if it's that or the turbo seals.

davis911s · Post by **davis911s** » 12 Jun 2011, 20:10

Compression test done.
Engine cold
4 cylinders showed 150psi
1 cylinder showed 100psi

The one with the low PSI is the cylinder on the drivers side of the engine (I assume cyl #1?)

How do I do a leakdown test? I actually have a leakdown tester,just funnily enough I don't know how to use it lol

Also when I had the engine cranking NO OIL came out of any orfice. I mention this because I have the oil seperator off the engine. I was expecting oil to come out one of the holes when I was cranking it over.

Back to another question. How do I ensure the two holes in the block for the oil seperator are clear????

Post by **jblackburn** » 12 Jun 2011, 22:05

Sounds like you have a breached head gasket

Just google leakdown test; you will find tons more helpful information than I can describe on my own.

The oil seperator only sucks in oil from blowby (from the turbo and top of the engine) and puts it back into the crankcase. Use a wire brush or something to clean out the holes in the block.

davis911s · Post by **davis911s** » 12 Jun 2011, 22:11

Thanks, will do leakdown tomorrow and clean the heck out of the holes as best I can.

I plan on doing the leakdown test with the intake manifold off (since it is already off)

I know leakdown as suppose to be done with engine warm but I will have to do it cold.

HEAD GASKET IS NOT good news. I have searched and the parts are cheap but looks like a ton of work!

Post by **jblackburn** » 12 Jun 2011, 22:12

It's never good news

davis911s · Post by **davis911s** » 13 Jun 2011, 12:05

I am leaning more towards it being the turbo seals.

The two main reasons are;
1- there was very little smoke prior to the oil light going on, as soon as I fixed the restricted oil flow it smokes horrible
2- the smoke did not smell sweet, it smelt "oily"

I am still going to do a leakdown test to be sure, but again it will be done on a cold engine which is not best.

2 new questions
1- How can I test the turbo seals? or is it possible I didn't clean something
2- when I turn the engine over by hand to get TDC for each cylinder, does it matter if engine is turned clockwise or counter clockwise?

Thanks