i am getting more and more smoke from my car. it still starts and runs fine, but the smoke cloud is stating to worry me and i would like to get it sorted.
the engine was rebuilt and street ported by wgt 40K ago and had an apexi fitted. I have since done a full rats nest simplification. compression test are according to Reworx \'excellent\' and i haven\'t had to top the water up (touch wood). how ever it is not making boost correctly and i am topping up the oil more often. it also feels down on power and less responsive. the smoke is light grey kind of colour and feels watery/greasy to touch. oh and the exhaust smells RICH! i can only see this at idle but i guess it is doing it all the time.
so from my deductions, it is either burning oil or chucking a load of fuel in. if it is fuel it could be the apexi playing up, or possibly sticking injectors? if it was a hose coming loose of the fpr then i would think it would be terminal and the engine would have gone pop by now.
if it is oil then it cold be one of four things-
turbo seals gone (original turbos with 90K on them)
oil blow by forcing it into the turbo intake
OMP system gone to pot
one or more seals in the engine have gone.
any more suggestions? and just how likely is it that an engine seal has gone? that would be the worse case scenario as it would be a rebuild job, and cost would be an order of magnitude greater. anything else can be overcome as i upgrade.
any advice, pointers, hint etc would be greatly received as i am stumbling blind into this!
cheers
marco
I\'d suggest the turbos have had enough, that would explain the lack of power and smoke.
We\'ve loads of old turbos hanging around....
cheers. whats the best way to check, take the intake off and look for play/ loads of oil in the inercooler pipes?
i amy as well use it as an excuse to upgrade the turbos hadn\'t i? ;)
yip id say your tubbys are pumpy, just go the full on and rebuild the engine with massive ports and a t51 :D
nah....dont go for the old t series...you want to go with the newer gt series!! Using turbo technology that is twice the age of the car isnt the way forward!!!
good advice interloper, can i borrow 5k please?
just debating uprated twins or a GT35r. either way it is going to need uprated fueling and a remap so would cover most of the other possible failure points.
am going to have a look at my tubs now. if i can use them for another month or so so i can save up the cash for the tubs then so much the better.
Go for the the T51 BB, new techonlgy :D
But seriously sounds like Turbos.
Work out if you want more power or not, if not just get another used twinturbo pack.
who doesn\'t want more power?
actually have been thinking about it for quite a while, as at the back of my mind i sort of \'knew\' that my tubs were on the way out, for me driveability is everything, and i don\'t want big power. have always thought 350 at the wheels is about the right point. its just a case of how to get there. cost wise i guess that uprated twins and a cheap single kit is going to be similar, so it is going to be a trade off between simplicity and reliability, with low down response. oh and the fact that the insurers wont even bother with lube if i went with a single!
Quote from: AtomicRexnah....dont go for the old t series...you want to go with the newer gt series!! Using turbo technology that is twice the age of the car isnt the way forward!!!
^^What he said! I cannot understand why so many people get all wet about these old dinosaurs!
Quote from: Jin Kazama^^What he said! I cannot understand why so many people get all wet about these old dinosaurs!
I think wet is a little bit of an exaggeration...Id say moist really :D
Oh and Jin
How the hell is anyone meant to take you seriously with that avatar...lol
:Laugh It\'s my twin brother.
Quote from: marcowho doesn\'t want more power?
actually have been thinking about it for quite a while, as at the back of my mind i sort of \'knew\' that my tubs were on the way out, for me driveability is everything, and i don\'t want big power. have always thought 350 at the wheels is about the right point. its just a case of how to get there. cost wise i guess that uprated twins and a cheap single kit is going to be similar, so it is going to be a trade off between simplicity and reliability, with low down response. oh and the fact that the insurers wont even bother with lube if i went with a single!
for 350atw the GT3540 is ideal you will hit that with a mild street port at 0.8 BAR.
PS If you want big power T51 or T88 or GT42RS but make sure you go for a wild street port to spool those buggers
And yes my dinsosaur of a T51 does make me moist and with the porting and tuning the spool up puts most mid sized turbos to shame :D
ITS ALL IN THE TUNING
right then, just had a look at my turbos, and there is no oil in the piping from the tubs to the intercooler (so that rules out oil blow by from the crank ventilation system i guess) and both turbos seem to spin freely, and have no axial play at all, but \'some\' radial play. dont the bearings have some paly in as standard? how much is some? i would guess mine has 0.5mm, even when i pushed it to its max amount of play and then tried to spin them , they were stiffer but it didn\'t feel like they were fouling on the housings.
so is the best guess still the tubs, or could the pfc have gone belly up? if it had then that would also explain the lack of boost. i am starting to wonder if it has reset itself- is there anyway to check?
p.s. exhaust wrap and bare skin do not go together- i will be itching for days!
after muchos reading last night and this morning, i am 85% sure that its my tubs. so what are my options?
a second hand pair of stock twins.
+ price and will require no other modifications
- chances are i am going to be in the same position in12months time. also limited upgrade potential
uprated twins
+ more power, bolt on.
-cost, complexity, limited improvement, require associated upgrades
single
+ more power, lighter, simpler
-cost, insurance, power possibly not quite as instant.
so of these options i either go for a good single kit or get a set of secondhand twins to tide me over whilst i save up for a single.
if (ok when!) i go for a single will 850s all round do me for injectors, or should i bite the bullet and get a full rail kit.
also i currently have a greddy SMIC gathering dust, would that be enough for for a gt35r? my thinking is that the single will actually heat the air up less than maxing a pair of twins, so would actually need a smaller intercooler for the same power. or am i barking up the wrong tree?
finally, whilst i can get prices for single kits off the net, how much are second hand twins going for at the moment?
btw thanks for all the advice guys, has helped a lot.
It\'s really a cost issue, you can buy yourself time and just get some used twins £1-200 and not change anything else while you save for a proper kit and all accessories. Otherwise aside from the turbo kit itself, 850s all round will probably allow for a low boost tune and as long as the greddy smic is pretty chunky (that\'s the one I\'m thinking of) then it should hold up ok as you\'ll probably be running cooler temps with the single. I wouldn\'t downgrade the intercooler, the colder the inlet temps the better!
The main extras in your case would be pfc (if you don\'t already have one) some injectors, maybe a heftier fuel pump and tuning. You can save a lot of cash by fitting bits yourself if you\'re competent, getting the twins off is the hardest bit! Otherwise get as many mods in as possible before your tune otherwise you\'ll be back again before you know it.