Strange update:

Well, now that the weather has warmed up to above freezing the car only blows lots of smoke under boost. I confirmed with the data logs from my AEM EMS that I did have the car fully warmed up, and that I never hit positive boost pressure on Chrismas Morning when I had the original problem, and that my air fuel ratios are fine. Now it is possible that I am now totally paranoid and the smoke I am seeing now is just the normal amount for running 11:1 A/F under boost. I am going to do a compression test tonight when one of my buddies gets off work. What comression is normal for our cars?

Anything else you can think of that I should look for?

Thanks,

Keith

 

Check and see if your dipstick is blowing out and oil is coming from it. You might have positive crankcase pressure..... My '03 GSR checked at 140-145 pounds compression after Busted Solutions did their "magic" on my car. That's still within acceptable range according to , but I think 170 is a better number......

Good luck

 

With the Magnus intake manifold the dip stick gets caught under the strut tower bar unless you pull it forward a bit when you pull it out... so it wasn't blown out. But there was a bunch of oil around the oil fill cap. I know some is normal but this looked more than normal.

Thanks for the info on compression numbers.

Keith

 

Black smoke from a rich conditon is soot and will settle quickly and not leave a plume for very long.. think of a diesel engine here for the mental picture.. Since you are not using a parafin base lube I do not know what color the smoke would be. If it is oil it may well show up on your plugs.. one plug suggests rings or a valve seal.. all plugs means it is entering from the intake. If it is a tubo seal you should be able to see oil on the inside surface of your flexible intake hose. Piston related Blow by can be detected if you remove your dip stick and put your finger over the dip tube to feel for pos or neg pressure. If it is a valve seal the smoke should cease when under boost as it requires a vaccum condition for oil to enter the cylinder from around a valve stem. These possibilities can be checked out with just some minor dissasembly. Good Luck to you... hope it is a simple fix.

 

Did a compression test today. Crappy old Sears compression tester does not read the correct pressure, but all four readings were exactly the same so I figure my rings are fine. Plugs looked fine when we had them out for the compression test. The car is running fine and I don't have any fear that it will die on me on a long trip now (that was my main worry at the moment). I am not sure if the problem has gone away completely or not.... but it is a heck of a lot better than it looked on Christmas day!

Keith

 

sounds like your turbo took a poop to me

 

i've had that w/dsm turbo toasted

 

This is the symptoms of a dead turbo.

 

were you able to determine what happened?

 

Since everything is fine now (wish people would READ the thread befor jumping on the dead turbo band wagon) I am convinced that the outlet filter on my catch can or the tube leading to the catch can was frozen up. This allowed pressure to build up in the valve cover area and forced oil past the valve stems into the combustion chamber.

Keith

 

Seems like I just had the same issue. Installed a catch can this summer so never had it through a winter before. I usually have the car in the garage but had to keep it out over night on a zero degree day yesterday. This morning I turn the car on and notice lots of exhaust smoke. I began driving and had a long 007 style smoke screen going on. I was like wow, that is a lot of exhaust, billowing white type smoke. Mile long trails it seemed. It eventually went away. Check all my fluid levels and they seem good, not indicating burning of oil or coolant. The problem went away after 20 minutes, took it for a few drives throughout the day, car pulls good, everything seems normal. I honestly thought some joker pumped some type of fluid into my exhaust and the smoke was caused by it burning off. Now coming across the frozen catch can line possibility, this seems like it is what happened to me because the issue went away. So it has to be that the issue was caused by something temporary like a frozen line since the issue is now gone. Issues do not just go away on their own. So it had to of been temporary due to some type of variable that cold could create. Freezing.

 

That's what I like in the dead of winter, a car that heals itself while I stay inside writing to the internet.

 

Would the evo sustain any damage from this occurring? The catch can lines or the can itself freezing up and causing pressure to build and forcing oil past the valve stems into the combustion chamber? Anyone suffer any issues form this?

 

Glad your optimistic you will be needing a new turbo my friend