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Afternoon all. I've just bought a car for my partner for her to learn to drive in, although she won't be learning now as we've just discovered she's pregnant. Anyway, when I start the car there is a puff of blue smoke which I know is the valve stem seals/valve guides, but there is no more smoke until after about 5-10 min's when the engine is warm, it gets worse as it warms up basicly. Does this sound like shot rings to you? I've done a compression test and the readings are fairly consistent across the cylinders with number 4 being the highest, but upon removing the plug on number 4 cylinder smoke was coming out, obviously from the burnt oil but not sure if it's because of the seals or rings. I can't really drive the car to test it properly as there is no tax on the car and I'm not insured on it either. Thanks in advance.
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What were the 4 readings & did you do a wet and dry test ?
Edited by andyp on 26/04/2009 at 14:03
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The results of the dry test were as follows:
Cylinder 1 - 180psi
Cylinder 2 - 187psi
Cylinder 3 - 185psi
Cylinder 4 - 190psi
I did a wet test but I don't trust the readings. Cylinder 1 went up to 200psi as did 2 and 3, but cylinder 4 went off the scale, so either I put too much oil down the bore or my gauge is stuffed. I would've thought that if the rings were gone it would smoke right from start up, but as the oil warms up it gets thinner so is able to pass the rings or valve seals? The car runs really well, idles spot on, no wierd noises, starts very well and the plugs are very clean, a nice tanned colour.
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those readings look fine to me
i think this car really needs a good 10 mile run to clean out the old oil,its probably been stop started a lot lately and this has acenuated the oil seepage into the piston crowns
i wouldnt be overly worried
best of luck with the forthcoming nip
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May have been topped up with a 0/30 or 5/30 oil too. Good idea to change and use a 5/40 (thicker when hot)
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Just looked at the mot history online, and in November 2008 amongst other things it failed the mot on emissions and excessive dense blue smoke during accleration, the test in January this year had blue smoke as one of a few reasons for refusal of certificate, although it did pass eventually with no advisories. Darn it, that sounds a bit worse than valve stem seals lol.
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Clean out the breathers and change the oil and filter & air filter then take it for a " italian tune up " see if that sorts it.
A good thrash for 30mls or so works wonders!
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Sounds like good advice. I just don't want to get the car taxed and insured just to have to go through all the bother of fitting a new engine or replacing the rings e.t.c. I'm not too bothered about the valve stem seals as I know I can do them without too much trouble, but piston rings scare me. Thanks guys, I'll come back when I have given it a good seeing to ;-)
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Bit of a long shot, but it could be a stuck piston ring, especially if it has been standing for a while unused. It might be worth pouring some Redex down the plug holes and leaving it overnight to see if that frees it up.
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You know what, I thought it could be a sticky ring (hmmm) Redex is a great idea, I'll do that too. Many thanks.
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Can you still get that stuff you used to put in the plug holes (probably branded by Holts) that gave a temporary cure for worn bores?
Piston seal?
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How many miles has this engine done ?
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if you all look at the dry compression readings he has posted up these are good figures showing a healthy engine :-)
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This engine is normally a very tough long lived engine, i have had 2 of them, both in Citroens, a ZX & a Xsara, both covered a lot of miles without any problems and never needed topping up with oil between services.
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Can you still get 20W/50?
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check the turbo,if ok then check head gasket,it can pump oil straight into no4 cylinder(timing belt end)
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The engine has covered 98k, no turbo on this one, just a little 1.4. I did think that the head gasket may be leaking internaly, but wouldn't that cause a lot of crankcase pressure and chuck oil out of the dipstick tube e.t.c.? I'm glad the compression readings look good, the smoke must be caused by shot valve stem seals then, it smokes for a second at first start and then gets worse as it warms up.
Edited by marty1979 on 27/04/2009 at 11:07
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