8 replies to this topic

[johan_modig]

Hi all,

I saw my wife drive off with our 1996 non-turbo 855 this morning and it struck me that it was smoking a bit more than I liked when she pulled away. Smoke was mainly white which indicates water were it should not be.
Checked dipstick later on and sure enough there was some tan colour foamy gunk on it. As some of you know from a previous thread I started I'm about to change the front HO2S later today.

If the smoke problem persists after O2 sensor is there a procedure for confirming/ruling out blown head gasket? Can the smoking be connected to a clogged flame trap/crank case ventilation?

Sorry for all the newbie questions but I really enjoy doing stuff myself (I will leave a headgasket job to a shop though) and this board is a great place for learning (and my budget is real tight). Thanks all for sharing.


Cheers
/Johan

P.S. Car has 134 kmiles on it and reasonably well maintained and in overall decent condition (far from mint but drives real nice). Recently it has been driven almost exclusively short trips (a couple of miles here and there) which might account for some internal condensation.

P.P.S. I can post pics if you tell me what to shoot.

[snorrih]

If the smoke problem persists after O2 sensor is there a procedure for confirming/ruling out blown head gasket? Can the smoking be connected to a clogged flame trap/crank case ventilation?

Sorry for all the newbie questions but I really enjoy doing stuff myself (I will leave a headgasket job to a shop though) and this board is a great place for learning (and my budget is real tight). Thanks all for sharing.
Cheers
/Johan

P.S. Car has 134 kmiles on it and reasonably well maintained and in overall decent condition (far from mint but drives real nice). Recently it has been driven almost exclusively short trips (a couple of miles here and there) which might account for some internal condensation.

Short trips + clogged PCV will result in water/oil mayo, so check the PCV right now. The procedure for confirming (or hopefully ruling out) headgasket problems is to do a leakdown test on the cylinders.

[WhiteT5]

A better, but certainly not surefire way of figuring the problem out would be to check the overflow tank to see if there is oil in it. If there is, there are two possible problems:

1. Head Gasket (Much less likely unless the car overheated at some point)
2. Broken radiator allowing the oil from the oil cooler part of the radiator to mix with the coolant in it.

However, since you mentioned that the car has been used for a lot of short trips lately, I would simply suspect that condensation has found it's way into the oil by other means than a blown headgasket. Longer trips should allow all of it to burn off. Condensation in the oil isn't the worst thing in the world, but it's not very good either b/c water is displacing the oil to an extent and as we all know, water doesn't lubricate as well as oil . So, the solution would either be to change the oil and drive it around for a while to burn off the rest of the water or just take a good drive of at least 20 minutes or so to burn it off. Cooler weather can also make the problem worse and I'm sure the weather there in Uppsala is not exactly warm yet, like it is here.

[johan_modig]

  Cooler weather can also make the problem worse and I'm sure the weather there in Uppsala is not exactly warm yet, like it is here.

Thanks to both of you for your input. I'll do some more inspection tonight when I change the O2 sensor.

Cold, here? Nah. Nights don't fall below freezing now and I swapped from studded to summer tires the other week

Cheers
Johan

PS Forgot to mention that car is manual which would mean no oil cooler. Right?

[Kashif]

Why don't you try an engine compression test? I believe that is the best way to test for a head gasket failure. The gauge only cost about $40.

[johan_modig]

Why don't you try an engine compression test?  I believe that is the best way to test for a head gasket failure.  The gauge only cost about $40.

Thanks for the suggestion. I might do just that if the problem persists. I'm just back from changing O2 sensor and while at the garage I did my best to clean the air intake and crank case vent. Interestingly I did not have a flame trap. It was probably removed by previous owner.

Cheers
Johan

[johan_modig]

Update:

As suggested I checked expansion tank and found no trace of oil in coolant.

On latest cold start I got the usual burst of something liquid out of the tailpipe (just a couple of drops hit the pavement). I tasted it and it did not taste like coolant (please note my scientific approach).

After driving pretty hard (as hard as you can drive with 144 hp) for a while I got out of the car and popped the hood. Lifted dipstick and there was some steam coming out. Same thing when unscrewed oil filler cap. Not much but clearly visible in the dark with a flashlight.

Does this look like a decent compression tester? I can get it locally dirt cheap and its supposed ti fit 14 and 18 mm thread.

http://www.biltema.se/products/productimag...p?iItemId=82423

Cheers
Johan

[Kashif]

I tasted it and it did not taste like coolant

Now there's a commited mechanic, next time smell it, don't taste it.

[prasamin]

After driving pretty hard (as  hard as you can drive with 144 hp) for a while I got out of the car and popped the hood. Lifted dipstick and there was some steam coming out. Same thing when unscrewed oil filler cap. Not much but clearly visible in the dark with a flashlight.

sounds like PCV clog along with condensation....Sean fixed his a while ago, and I will be PAYING someone to do mine after I drop my money on brakes, control arms, etc....