Smoke from exhaust
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Joined: Mar 2003
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From: New Jersey
Smoke from exhaust
Was driving down to Atlantic City this weekend for a bachlor party with a group of friends when my friend in another car calls me and says..."last one to the hotel pays for the pays for the room." So were doing about 100mph on and off and Im smoking them (literally). I got another call and my friend tells me that they are choking on the smoke coming out of my exhaust. Ive never had this problem before and I havent had it since then but it seemed that when I was in e-shift and really getting on the engine, black smoke would come out of the exhaust. Anyone have any insight on this?
Also the whole *** of my car is often coated with a film of oil or grease after not washing my car for a couple of weeks. Anyone get this?
BTW this may be of relevance I have a K&N intake and Borla exhaust.
Thanks,
-J
Also the whole *** of my car is often coated with a film of oil or grease after not washing my car for a couple of weeks. Anyone get this?
BTW this may be of relevance I have a K&N intake and Borla exhaust.
Thanks,
-J
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 31,944
Likes: 2,737
From: North Carolina
Jacko, this doesn't sound good....
Exactly what color is the smoke? I know you said black above, but please confirm if it's really black smoke, blue smoke or white smoke? Here's a good diagnostic FAQ I found with a quick google search...
From http://www.salemboysauto.com/faqs/faq-38.htm:
Black, blue, white or grey smoke from the tailpipe!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Black smoke is raw gasoline burning. A rich condition can be the cause by a heavy or mis adjusted float, a choke stuck shut, a bad oxygen sensor, a bad map sensor, a bad fuel pressure regulator, a plugged up air filter or a bad injector. Typically, if you only get black smoke first thing in the morning, it has to do with the choke or the fuel enrichment portion of your fuel injection system. If you get black smoke all the time, get it fixed NOW. If you don’t, you run the risk of wiping out the catalytic convertor and doubling your repair bill.
Blue smoke is oil burning. The tailpipe will either smoke all the time or just once, first thing in the morning. If you get blue smoke all the time, that is a sign of impeding doom. That is the first sign of the beginning of the end. Broken rings, bad pistons, damaged cylinder walls, all high dollar items.
On the other hand, if all you get is a puff or two first thing in the morning and never again throughout the day, then your problem is probably bad value guides or value guide seals. It will cost between $350-800 to replace the seals, $750-1,500 to replace the guides and seals. I always tell my customers, wait until you begin to see other symptoms of this oil usage. Wait until you start fouling plugs, wait until the oil consumption is greater than one quart every 1,000 miles. And never assume that seals alone will totally fix this problem, if the engine has 100k miles plus.
Grey smoke can really be black or blue. You can usually tell which is it by the smell or by matching other symptoms you have to the color of the smoke is easier. Others will say blue is blue and all other is really grey to black and I would agree.
White smoke is either the transmission shift modulator is bad and allowing the engine to suck and burn transmission fluid (repair costs under $100) or it’s really, really bad. White smoke could also be coolant or antifreeze that is either leaking, or being forced into the combustion chambers and being burned. The exhaust will look wet and have a sweet smell to it. A bad head gasket (75% of the time), a broken head (15% of the time) or a broken cylinder wall (10% of the time) will be the reason your engine is burning coolant or antifreeze. The repairs start at $400 and go to $4,000.
Exactly what color is the smoke? I know you said black above, but please confirm if it's really black smoke, blue smoke or white smoke? Here's a good diagnostic FAQ I found with a quick google search...
From http://www.salemboysauto.com/faqs/faq-38.htm:
Black, blue, white or grey smoke from the tailpipe!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Black smoke is raw gasoline burning. A rich condition can be the cause by a heavy or mis adjusted float, a choke stuck shut, a bad oxygen sensor, a bad map sensor, a bad fuel pressure regulator, a plugged up air filter or a bad injector. Typically, if you only get black smoke first thing in the morning, it has to do with the choke or the fuel enrichment portion of your fuel injection system. If you get black smoke all the time, get it fixed NOW. If you don’t, you run the risk of wiping out the catalytic convertor and doubling your repair bill.
Blue smoke is oil burning. The tailpipe will either smoke all the time or just once, first thing in the morning. If you get blue smoke all the time, that is a sign of impeding doom. That is the first sign of the beginning of the end. Broken rings, bad pistons, damaged cylinder walls, all high dollar items.
On the other hand, if all you get is a puff or two first thing in the morning and never again throughout the day, then your problem is probably bad value guides or value guide seals. It will cost between $350-800 to replace the seals, $750-1,500 to replace the guides and seals. I always tell my customers, wait until you begin to see other symptoms of this oil usage. Wait until you start fouling plugs, wait until the oil consumption is greater than one quart every 1,000 miles. And never assume that seals alone will totally fix this problem, if the engine has 100k miles plus.
Grey smoke can really be black or blue. You can usually tell which is it by the smell or by matching other symptoms you have to the color of the smoke is easier. Others will say blue is blue and all other is really grey to black and I would agree.
White smoke is either the transmission shift modulator is bad and allowing the engine to suck and burn transmission fluid (repair costs under $100) or it’s really, really bad. White smoke could also be coolant or antifreeze that is either leaking, or being forced into the combustion chambers and being burned. The exhaust will look wet and have a sweet smell to it. A bad head gasket (75% of the time), a broken head (15% of the time) or a broken cylinder wall (10% of the time) will be the reason your engine is burning coolant or antifreeze. The repairs start at $400 and go to $4,000.
Lexus Champion
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 1,808
Likes: 1
From: California
Well, I was going to say maybe your buddies are just giving you a hard time and making up stories. But that last part of your post where you talk about a greasy film on the rear of your car is not good. DaveGS4 has your possible problems nailed and as mentioned there should be a number items you can check [oil & plugs]. A decent mechanic should be able to determine your problem pretty quick if your symtoms are as obvious as they sound. Good luck.
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