no, it really does...

So I'm somewhere around 110,000 miles;
At somewhere north of 100,000 miles, my engine started smoking bad - I'm pretty sure I had a ringland go.

I had previously purchased a wrecked SS/TC with 38k km's (24k miles);
I installed this engine with a used turbo (upgraded K04).

The car has ran like an absolute top since the engine swap.

But...

It intermittently smokes.

It used to be that ever so often after really goosing it, it would smoke when I let off the gas;
Now, it's like clockwork, every time I goose it, it smokes when I let off the gas - and I'm sure it's oil.

I am looking for a donor motor to build, but I am also kind of scratching my head wondering if this used turbo might be the culprit.
Could a seal on the turbo be why it's smoking?

If I drive like grandma for weeks on end, it won't puff anything...

Is there a test that I can do to eliminate valve seals vs rings, versus the turbo?

I would appreciate assistance, to avoid any unneeded engine swap in my future - and it would be kinda nice to not look like a meat head with a bagged on car every time I hit the go button...

 

leak down test

 

but that only does rings - (is that) correct?

which leaves valve seals, and the turbo as possible suspects.

 

Check for shaft play on the turbo and do a leakdown as staged suggested.

 

Leak down test checks rings and valves

 

Leakdown doesnt test the valve stem seals, which it could be.

 

Ah my bad, my brain isn't working fully today haha

 

You could pull the cam cover and inspect the valve seals as well.

Might be hard to notice anything out of sorts if it's a small leak at a seal.

It's still worth it to perform a leakdown test though.

I'd pull the turbo and inspect it while youre at it.

 

Do a compression test. If all cylinders are good, then that points to the turbo. If one cylinder is low, add a tablespoon of oil to the spark plug hole, and check compression again. If compression goes up, the ring/cylinder is worn. If compression stays the same, it's a valve issue. I knew about a compression test, but just learned the oil trick yesterday.

 

this is my DD, so pullimg the turbo on a whim to check is really low on my list of things to do;
itdidn't exhibit any shaft play last july when i installed it...

 

Well my transmission also had a third gear last July, things change

 

Stock tune? I'd go after the turbo first, it's your most likely, least expensive possibility

 

What colour is the smoke?

 

i'm confident that it's oil.

 

Interesting...

 

Might help getting a oil diagnosis done. Too much fuel in it could lead you in the right direction.

 

actually, not interesting.

you cannot run a gm tune with an upgraded turbo, so the post is irrelivant.

In my opinion, the gme tune sucks;
it might be fine for your parents, but not me.

@ cluelessk: i am unaware of any canadian companies offering anything of this sort....

 

They're not Canadian but a bunch of guys from Winnipeg use Blackstone Labs.

They send you a container for free and you ship it back. Think it's $25 USD.

http://www.blackstone-labs.com/

 

Isnt there little test strips you can buy to do the analysis yourself?

 

This gives you way more information on your oil than just "coolant present" from a test strip.

Click on the Gas/ Diesel tab to see a sample.

Blackstone Labs

 

Well, here's where I'm at;
I have been closely watching my rear view mirrors to look for a pattern...

I am now leaning towards thinking that this turbo is about the crap out on me.

It used to be that once in a while after getting on it I'd get a puff of oil;
Of late, it's appearing as though every single time I make boost, it will smoke (not puff) once letting off the gas - and it's starting to smoke alot more...

I have driven up to speed under vacuum - and I see nothing.
After cruising at speed for a while, I have then let off (at 130km or roughly 75mph), and nothing - it seems to be a happy little engine, until I hit boost.

My past experience tells me that if it were valve seals, that they would either be:
a) their worst at start up - which would indicate worn out seals.
b) or they would be their worst after initially firing up a dormant engine - and then as the seals would be exposed to oil, they would stop leaking - this would just mean that the seals were dried out, and needed a bit to lubricate properly.
My engine doesn't appear to be doing either of these.

My past experience tells me that if it's rings, it would burn all the time, not just when I hit boost, and it would smoke at idle... my engine clearly isn't doing this.

Since this seems to only be boost related, I can only see it pointing to the turbo.

I will do a compression test this weekend, and if the results look good, I am going to swap out the turbo to see if that fixes it.

I really appreciate the input, as sometimes just talking it out with other people really helps you to look at a problem differently, and sometimes helps you see something you've missed.

 

Sounds like you are on the right track. Good luck.

 

^^This forsure, Anwyays good luck man and keep us posted

 

ok, so I'm calling this a closed matter.

I intended to do a compression test, and swap the turbo on the weekend of the 28th, but I was under the weather, so I took care of it last weekend;
My compression looked pretty even across the board, which in this instance was aprox 120spi (I don't know if my elevation might come into play in making my compression look off compared to some of you).
I did end up swapping out my turbo, and reinstalled my car's original (160k km unit);
Last night I had the tune checked - and I can confirm, that Iam now able to drive, and even make boost without any smoking!

Yay!!

Now I'm ready for my road trip to Portland Oregon!
(too bad, I'm back on the stock K04, and running a much less aggressive tune )

Thanks again guys for chiming in to help me think this one through - I really appreciated it.

 

Glad to hear its all sorted out.