My wife and I recently had the following parts installed on her Evo IX:

Cosworth 272
SuperTech dual valve springs and titanium retainers
ARP head studs
WOT-ported OEM turbo manifold
WOT-ported OEM hotside

Since the install (I do not believe this problem happened beforehand), I have noticed a puff of blueish smoke when initially starting the car and then a trail of blueish smoke under WOT. The car has about 7800 miles on it. From all that I've read thus far, blue exhaust smoke normally indicates that a seal of some sort is failing and oil is going where it shouldn't. This mainly happens with high mileage cars, but this car only has 7800 miles so engine fatigue is not the culprit.

When installing the SuperTech valvetrain, the OEM valve stem seals were removed using a valve stem seal puller. The stem seals were inspected and thought to be in good condition and reused. Is it possible that one or more of these seals has failed and oil is passing through? Would that cause blue smoke? I believe I should check the spark plugs to see if they are fouled.

Thoughts?

 

I think blueish smoke means your burning oil.

 

I would say the valve seals are the culprits.

 

Right...what now needs to be determined is the source of the leak.

 

I am starting to think the same thing...but I also heard that if the valve stem seals were leaking there would be more issues than just blue smoke.

 

Source of the leak? Valve seals.

 

Cylinder compression could be the issue as a result of the valve seals leaking.

 

This sounds goofy to me. Anybody going to the trouble of pulling the seals is going to replace them no matter how they look. The cost is nothing. And, at 7800 miles, why would you look at them in the first place? I'd guess a seal retainer clearance problem is the answer.

 

In order to install the SuperTech dual valve springs, you have to remove the valve stem seals. The ID of the SuperTech seat locaters is smaller than the OEM seat locater and you cannot simply install the SuperTech seat locater over the valve stem seal. So, you need to remove the valve stem seals in order to install these seat locaters. According to the factory manual, any time the valve stem seals are removed they are supposed to be replaced. However, I have talked to several Evo mechanics and they do not replace the valve stem seals--they simply use a valve stem seal puller and reinstall the seals.

To error on the side of caution, I order new valve stem seals anyways. Unfortunately the dealer screwed up and provided me with the wrong intake-side valve stem seals. So, we used a valve stem seal puller and removed and reinstalled the intake-side valve stem seals. Before reinstalling them we inspected them and found nothing wrong. The slinky-looking metal band around the bottom portion of the seal was not damaged, and the valve stem seal itself was still round (vice being oval from getting squished).

Anyways, the rest of the install was flawless and the car feels VERY good. The only potential issue is the blueish smoke. Also, the more I think about it, if the valve stem seals were the culprit the car would be smoking at all times and not just the initial start-up and WOT pulls. The problem, if there is one, is still TBD.

 

Before operating on the head first, try to see can find the source by removing the manifold or through the sparkplug holes. A black plug would pinpoint the culprit on the intake side and exhaust runner on the exhaust valve side. If you find nothing then it could be as simple as needing a catch can on the PVCC.

If oil is burning it should be knocking like mad

 

I had the exactly the same symptoms on a DSM with 90K and replacing the valve seals was the fix.

 

Thanks for the tip! There is no knocking whatsoever.

 

i have the same exact problem in the same exact sequence..however i cannot determine if the smoke is blue or black...my oil levels look good..i have 0 knock and the car has been behaving very well for the past 3000miles..
everyone i know told me that its normal to have little smoke out of the exhaust..
my tuner also mentioned this smoke is due to a very rich A/F ratio he gave me..so i dont really know..well anyhow i just got my catch can from GSC..am gonna install it and if i notice anything different i will difenitely let you know..

goodluck.

 

BTW..if i were you ..i wouldnt start operating on the head or anything else yet..watch and see if your oil consumption behaves unusually.

also check with your tuner how he set you up..i doubt its the valve seal if you have used a puller

 

and btw..lil offtopic...i really think that is the coolest wife i have heard of to be driving a cammed evo!!!