hey guys, been a while since i've posted:

anyways, i noticed white smoke from my car--just thought it was water vapor until I changed the oil recently. I noticed alot of froth in my ghetto fuel filter oil catch can, and opened the oil cap to be bombarded by a TON of blowby--more than I can remember from this car.

Did a compression test, came up with 160's/70's across the board dry.
Also noticed my coolant overflow tank is a little low--i'm thinking it may be the turbo.

Any ideas--i'm going to check for shaft play tomorrow, but I've only had the turbo 6-7k. Also, is it possible to get audible knock at idle? Every now and then I think I hear it, like a little knock coming out of the filter (the sound, at least), but only with the hood up while it's idling. I'm kinda lost as to where the smoke is coming from. Keep in mind I have no cat...

thanks!
matt

sounds like headgasket to me.
Compression is "normal" I got 165 pretty much aross the board when I last checked mine.
White smoke from the exaust is coolant/water. Since you already saw your oil is mixed. Thats why.

If the compression is that high, I would think the turbo might be losing its seals.


The froth in the catch can could just be condensation or rain water that mixed in with the oil. My catch can always has coffee colored water/oil in it due to rain water getting into the catch can.

Originally posted by Jeff_99gs
If the compression is that high, I would think the turbo might be losing its seals. The froth in the catch can could just be condensation or rain water that mixed in with the oil. My catch can always has coffee colored water/oil in it due to rain water getting into the catch can.

ok i'm sorry jeff, but how the heck does rain water get into your catch can? (it has been raining alot here, but i'm absolutely 120% lost as to how it could get in there...)

As for the headgasket, I woud've thought my compression would suck if my headgasket was on its way out...

if the HD is leaking cyl->cyl, comp. probably wouldn't suffer too much. I'm not positive cause I've yet to blow one. *knocks on wood.
So was it just the catchcan oil that was frothy? I was under the assumption you checked the rest of it too. :shrug Maybe you should. ;)

Jeff, I'm curious what high cylinder compression would have to do with turbo seals? I've never heard that before.

After reading what I wrote, it does look a little strange.

What I meant was if the compression is that high in the cylinders, chances are it is not the headgasket and therefore could be the turbo seals. When my headgasket started to leak my compression numbers dropped like a rock. When it actually blew out, I had horrible compression and the car would barely drive at all. Even with the headgasket destroyed, the car still never overheated and never mixed the coolant with the oil. In fact the coolant level never even dropped in the overflow bottle.

What I am trying to say is, if the hg was on the way out I would think the compression numbers would be lower than they are. Since the numbers are still so high I would bet the turbo is causing the problem.

besides just checking for shaft play, are there other things i can do to see if the turbo is the culprit? how does one check the seals on a turbo?

Originally posted by Vandy420a
besides just checking for shaft play, are there other things i can do to see if the turbo is the culprit? how does one check the seals on a turbo?

it's probably the turbo, they've gone bad with less miles.

there might be oil in the intake/intercooler tubes.

Originally posted by 420a-Tnthewerks
it's probably the turbo, they've gone bad with less miles. there might be oil in the intake/intercooler tubes.

Ugh if its the turbo then I'm DONE with buschur racing. I know Jeff has had good experiences with them, but so far everything I've gotten/done through them has been a disaster. Scratch one buschur customer--- Hindsight is 20/20 I guess

Originally posted by Jeff_99gs
After reading what I wrote, it does look a little strange. What I meant was if the compression is that high in the cylinders, chances are it is not the headgasket and therefore could be the turbo seals. When my headgasket started to leak my compression numbers dropped like a rock. When it actually blew out, I had horrible compression and the car would barely drive at all. Even with the headgasket destroyed, the car still never overheated and never mixed the coolant with the oil. In fact the coolant level never even dropped in the overflow bottle. What I am trying to say is, if the hg was on the way out I would think the compression numbers would be lower than they are. Since the numbers are still so high I would bet the turbo is causing the problem.

ok. That makes more sense. :P
I have never had a HG go out on me but just figured if he was burning coolant and the oil was mixed, the HG would be the most likely culprit.
Thanks for explanation.