2001 V70XC - Blue smoke from tail pipe...

[xHeart]

My recent euphoria of passing emission is short lived. Blue smoke from tail-pipe while engine struggling is a sign of something failed on engine...

TIA.

[jonesg]

failed seals in the turbo was the cause for mine.
feel for side to side play in the turbo shaft.

[xHeart]

failed seals in the turbo was the cause for mine.
feel for side to side play in the turbo shaft.

Thank you!
Do I disconnect the metered air intake hose connected to the turbo to feel the play in shaft?

[scot850]

Yes, if you pull the connection at the turbo end of the intake pipe from the air filter box. It is tricky to access, but once off, you can stick a finger into the intake side of the turbo and touch the end of the turbo impeller shaft. Try wiggling it side to side as per jonesg's advice above. Any noticeable movement and you have a problem.

Neil.

[jonesg]

failed seals in the turbo was the cause for mine.
feel for side to side play in the turbo shaft.

Thank you!
Do I disconnect the metered air intake hose connected to the turbo to feel the play in shaft?

yes, its a reach, I could only reach with a finger.
On cold start I got white smoke first, as the cat converter heated up in 30 seconds I got blue smoke.

[vtl]

Pull the spark plugs and inspect the cylinders through the hole. Preferably, with a borescope. Oil gets into combustion chamber via

- PCV
- blown turbo
- valve stem seals
- worn piston rings

[xHeart]

Pull the spark plugs and inspect the cylinders through the hole. Preferably, with a borescope. Oil gets into combustion chamber via

- PCV
- blown turbo
- valve stem seals
- worn piston rings

Thank you vtl!
What borescope work in this situation? Top pick at Amazon https://www.amazon.com/DEPSTECH-Industr ... r=8-3&th=1

[vtl]

I would use something like that: https://www.amazon.com/Articulating-Tes ... B0CJY5C9QX It has an articulating probe, which is handy for cylinder head and valves inspection.

[leapdragon]

I have an '02 XC70 that had sat for a couple of years only being started periodically, and it gradually developed a blue smoke problem just as we were getting ready to start using it regularly again. We did an oil change with Valvoline Restore + Protect on the advice of a mechanic friend and just drove it. About 100 miles in, the smoke went away. He tells us he's had a few "older car" cases that were smoking a bit that were helped with some highway miles and the Valvoline R+P.

So if you run out of diagnostic tricks and start to think maybe it's just gunked up piston rings or similar, it might be worth a shot.

[vtl]

"High mileage" oils cause seals to swell. Carbonized piston rings can't be cleaned in any other way but mechanically, and it takes a lot of efforts to do so. In your case oil was dripping into cylinders via valve stem seals.