qwarrior Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 So yesterday I ran the tank down to it's absolute limit trying to get to a petrol station. By the time I got there I was running on fumes and driving sensibly, but I was getting a tonne of blue/grey smoke out of the exhaust. Filled up and then limped it home at about 20 mph for the 1 mile from the garage. No funny noises or weird sounds just a tonne of smoke which got grayer and less blue by the time I was home even while idling. Bit worried about starting it at the moment so it's parked on the drive with no apparent oil leaks of bits on the floor. Does this scream catastrophic failure (gasket, turbos etc.) or could it be contaminants from running the fuel tank empty or something else? How do I diagnose it? Cheers in advance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ATB Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 Have you checked the Oil and radiator level? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nic Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 Sounds like a turbo has let go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swampy442 Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 Ill also say turbo, have you got a cat fitted? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qwarrior Posted October 15, 2014 Author Share Posted October 15, 2014 Oil and Water levels are fine. CAT is currently in, I suspected turbo but am clutching at straws that its zomething less expensive. Seems a coincidence that it was when i was extremely low on fuel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Budz86 Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 Did you hear or feel a big bang? Was the car being driven hard or just pootling off boost? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qwarrior Posted October 15, 2014 Author Share Posted October 15, 2014 Did you hear or feel a big bang? Was the car being driven hard or just pootling off boost? Just pootling as had no fuel and no big or small bang. While driving from the garage home was still building boost too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Wilson Posted October 16, 2014 Share Posted October 16, 2014 (edited) Is it water vapour or smoke? water vapour is whitish, disperses very quickly, condenses immediately on any cold metal. Oil smoke is blue, hangs about far longer, smells of, you guessed it, oily smoke. Doesn't normally condense on cold metals. Oil *MUST* come from the sump, is oil usage abnormal? ** Heavy water vapour from vehicle that does regular long journeys must come from the coolant system. Low usage cars will boil water from the exhaust and that needs taking into consideration. Outside air temp and humidity play a big part in how water vapour appears from the exhaust. ** Caveat. Occasionally you get brake master cylinder seal issues that fill the servo with brake fluid until the level in the servo allows it to be sucked into the intake. Smoke is dense and pure white. To fill the servo you would have seen the need to keep topping the brake fluid reservoir for no apparent reason. Edited October 16, 2014 by Chris Wilson (see edit history) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qwarrior Posted October 17, 2014 Author Share Posted October 17, 2014 (edited) Definitely an oil smoke. Blue in colour and lots of it. I havent restarted the car since it happened. Going to give a good look over this weekend. Any suggestions or a list of things I can check to diagnose Chris? Oil usage is not abnormal but have had a minor leak from the sump gasket pending repair. Also seen a small amount of oil through the bov recently. Edited October 17, 2014 by qwarrior (see edit history) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Budz86 Posted October 18, 2014 Share Posted October 18, 2014 Maybe the sump gasket leak has got worse and you got a bit on the exhaust somehow? That will cause loads of smoke! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qwarrior Posted October 18, 2014 Author Share Posted October 18, 2014 There is some oil on the exhaust however it's coming through the exhaust and out the back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Wilson Posted October 18, 2014 Share Posted October 18, 2014 I'd just use it for a while and see what happens. It's hard to distinguish between turbo seal leakage and valve stem seal leakage. The usual test is if the smoke is at start up after an overnight rest, but disperses in less than a minute, it's probably stem seals. If you are paranoid you could get a cylinder leakage test done and have an endoscope down the bores to see if there's bore damage. The cars are of an age where valve guides are often worn, and doing them properly, as well as replacing stem seals, is a costly undertaking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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