Just when I thought it was over. Losing oil

[SRRAE]

I thought I was done with my car but Im losing oil and it looks like its going in to the water.

Im looking for any one and everyones thoughts and advice on this its not just a Z32 issue but a general engine one now.

Long story short.
Got car, drivers side always smoked very slighly, white smoke. When I mean slight, the passenger side had no smoke at all the drivers you could see a little come out but would disappear a few inches away from the exhaust.
Rebuilt the engine, EVERY gasket and seal was replaced, now pistions and rings, new turbos and yet the drivers site would still smoke.
Things happened, new block, new pistons, rods new seals all round and again. Driver side smoked but getting worse and also seems to be blowing oil and maybe water.
My basis of this the exuast is covered in soot, the passenger I use a cloth and wipe away the soot from the inside of the exaust and it wipes clean.
The drivers side, the soot is wet, and just smudges the dirt.
At idle there is the usual, no smoke from the passenger and slight from the drivers side. Rev the car a few times and a significant amount of smoke comes out of the drivers side, white but with a blueish tinge at the end.
I give the car a little bit of boost and I get a poof of black smoke for a half a second from the drivers side and then nothing.
I can be cruising along at 60mph for 5mins or so, stop at some lights and the drivers side will smoke (white/grey) for about 2 seconds and then clear,

Considering that every seal has been replaced, twice, the turbos have been totally re built with genuine garrett parts( Basically new core, bearings, blades, shafts etc ), I can only see 1 reason behind the smoke still and probably the oil loss, and that is there is a problem with the drivers side head.

I had a mechanic friend test the head to see if it has warped, basically using the same technique as in the manual and he said it is fine. I dont think the heads can be skimmed again as there is little meat left on it if you know what I mean.


What are your thoughts on this matter?

Im thinking of getting a low mileage head, getting it skimmed, replace the valve seals and slapping it on.

 

[Nidge74]

Initial thoughts are same as yours, HEAD. Warped, maybe, but may also be hairline cracks or scratches from being removed/replaced.

White smoke is oil smoke, so why is the oil burning in the exhaust??? Piston Rings?????

 

[nickz32]

Deffinatly worth running a compression test. As you have replaced virtually everything, then you should be running near on factory spec compression (170psi if i remember) maybe loosing a few through wear on the fair wear and tear on the bores.

The only other thing i can think of is something simple like a PCV or a large build up of oil deposits in the exhaust system left over from the previous engine probs.

I know the stock dip stick is shite at the best of times, but how much oil are you using?

Are there any of the other usual symptoms for HG failure??

Stick to the simple things first, but i think the compression test will give you the best indication of whether is a big problem or not

All the best bud!

 

[SRRAE]

I thought white smoke is water smoke. Black/blue is oil and grey is fuel.

The thing is twice I have got the block, rebored, new pistons and rings and still that side of the engine smoked.

I have have done a full PCV replacement twice and still just the driver side smoked.

I must have taken the engine out 4 times in year because of the smoke on that side, each time got new head gaskets and it still smokes.

I dont think that the engine is burning much oil, I do think most of it is getting in to the water.
The only symptoms that something is wrong, is the smoke when reving which goes very quick. The smoke when stopping after cruising at 40-60mph for 5 or more mins, and the fact the water looks like choclate milkshake.
Other than that there are no other symptoms, the car is actually running great. Good oil pressure, water temp holding very well, engine very very responsive.

 

[260ZG]

I have had something similar on a Ford Fester and after a couple of head gasket changes seal changes etc we finally found the cause. It was microscopic cracks in the head which opened/closed as the engine got hot.

It was very difficult to detect and only found using a boroscope.

It may or may not be a similar problem of course, but you seem to have tried nearly everything else so perhaps worth checking.

 

[zpuppy]

Sounds like it could be valve seals maybe ? Although I have seen hairline cracks in heads as well.

 

[grolls]

I thought I was done with my car but Im losing oil and it looks like its going in to the water.

Im looking for any one and everyones thoughts and advice on this its not just a Z32 issue but a general engine one now.

Long story short.
Got car, drivers side always smoked very slighly, white smoke. When I mean slight, the passenger side had no smoke at all the drivers you could see a little come out but would disappear a few inches away from the exhaust.
Rebuilt the engine, EVERY gasket and seal was replaced, now pistions and rings, new turbos and yet the drivers site would still smoke.
Things happened, new block, new pistons, rods new seals all round and again. Driver side smoked but getting worse and also seems to be blowing oil and maybe water.
My basis of this the exuast is covered in soot, the passenger I use a cloth and wipe away the soot from the inside of the exaust and it wipes clean.
The drivers side, the soot is wet, and just smudges the dirt.
At idle there is the usual, no smoke from the passenger and slight from the drivers side. Rev the car a few times and a significant amount of smoke comes out of the drivers side, white but with a blueish tinge at the end.
I give the car a little bit of boost and I get a poof of black smoke for a half a second from the drivers side and then nothing.
I can be cruising along at 60mph for 5mins or so, stop at some lights and the drivers side will smoke (white/grey) for about 2 seconds and then clear,

Considering that every seal has been replaced, twice, the turbos have been totally re built with genuine garrett parts( Basically new core, bearings, blades, shafts etc ), I can only see 1 reason behind the smoke still and probably the oil loss, and that is there is a problem with the drivers side head.

I had a mechanic friend test the head to see if it has warped, basically using the same technique as in the manual and he said it is fine. I dont think the heads can be skimmed again as there is little meat left on it if you know what I mean.


What are your thoughts on this matter?

Im thinking of getting a low mileage head, getting it skimmed, replace the valve seals and slapping it on.

Back to basics;

1, are you loosing oil?
2, are you loosing coolant?


The cream in the water would suggest oil in water. Have you flushed out the cooling system after the head re-fit and are you loosing water ??

When the head gasket was replaced, was it the correct gasket and the head tightened correctly?

Blue smoke= oil white smoke = water


From what you have said I would be looking at pressure testing the water system and checking oil pressure in case the relieve valve has stuck and forcing oil past the rings too. Also check block vents to make sure they are not blocked so the engine breathes properly. You have too many issues to be just one thing as you state.

good hunting!

 

[SRRAE]

Sounds like it could be valve seals maybe ? Although I have seen hairline cracks in heads as well.

Valve oil seals have been replaced.
Twice.

When I took the engine apart the back of the valves where clean as a whistle and dry as a bone.

 

[DBnathan]

did you have the heads pressure tested if they have a hairline crack it would show up during the test

 

[SRRAE]

No I didnt get that done as cash was short etc. When I did up my I spent about 75% on replacement items like, engine mounts, gaskets, wire loom, injector seals, NA squirters etc than actual mods. My cash ran out.

However Im going to get 2 heads from ebay and build them up over a year or so but that is expensive. Not so much the cost of the parts but its the cost of putting in new guides, and Im planning to get 1mm over sized valves too.

 

[SRRAE]

Does any one have any idea what could be causing this?
People keep telling me valve seals, but the have been replaced.

I did a compression test and all seems very good and even.
I removed spakplugs and they are the perfect colour, like a light chocolate brown colour.
I thought if I had some sort of oil leak which reached the cylinder the spark plugs would be spoiled.
The car is losing oil, about half a litre every 500-700 miles.
Its not losing coolant.

However, the engine smokes sometimes when coming to a halt and it smokes all the time if I hold the revs at 3000rpm at a stand still. I dont notice it when driving at 3000 rpm.

I would have thought that smoking when holding at 3000rpm would mean valve seals or rings, but the spark plugs show no sign of oil burning.

Please any ideas or thoughts just reply with them.

 

[rhanagar]

White is deffo water, blue is oil.

Go to a garage and get a sniff test done. Basically they take out some coolant and mix it with a chemical and it tells you if there are any hydrocarbons in it. That will tell you if there are any issues with the headgasket and/or head. If the headgaskets are fine then I would say its the head itself.

 

[SRRAE]

I had a problem with the head gasket, losting oil in to the water, that has been resolved by replacing the gasket., but there are still specs of oil in the water, but these are very small specs left after I sorted the gasket and did an engine flush. Should do another engine flush and drive it for a few hundred miles first?

 

[rhanagar]

It would probably pay you to do that. can I suggest that you do things bit by bit. Start with flushing the heater matrix (using the two hoses that go through the bulkhead) then bypass it and flush the engine, then the radiator.

 

[Wilz]

I may be way off here, so forgive me. I'm also not particularly technical but this happened to my z32....

...could it be the brake servo is leaking and the vacuum pipe is dropping brake fluid into the inlet in small enough amounts to burn off as white smoke?

As I say this happened to me until the servo let rip and I left a thick white smoke trail hundreds of yards long behind me as I 'cruised' home!!

I am right in thinking the vacuum pipe is located drivers side inlet/exhaust?

It was a friend of mine who gave me the idea - I thought the car was terminal - apparently they would put brake fluid into the 'new boy's' carb so it would leave huge white clouds of smoke behind - a little tartan paint humour!

Doesn't explain the oil loss I guess

 

[Wilz]

Oh, and if it is that. Make sure you're sitting down when you get the price for a new servo!

 

[rhanagar]

But you could stand up again if you source a secondhand one from a breaker car.

 

[Wilz]

...and perhaps do a little jig!

 

[Zoomer]

As a matter of interest, has the head gaskets now sorted out the engine problem. I was going to suggest a 'running period' just to burn all the rubbish out from the manifolds, this can take weeks because the oil / water is soaked into the carbon deposits and thus requires more heat to evaporate it.

 

[John Dixon]

The white smoke can be oil passing the turbo seals and leaking into the exhaust. It doesn't get hot enough to burn and produce blue smoke like oil burning in the engine from leaky valve guides etc.
Does the smoke dissipate quickly when idling? White water smoke (steam!) will but if it's oil then it will hang around for a while longer. Kinda hard to explain the difference though.
Like grolls, I'm thinking the oil in the coolant may still be residual from previous problems, particularly if you didn't replace or solvent wash the rad out.
Sure fire way to tell although it means some work is to remove the turbo on that side and see if the exhaust manifold has some oil residue or if it's just after the turbo.