blowing smoke off and on

[Alex C]

ok, I took it for a test drive last night and nothign was wrong. So I went to work today with it, no problems, went to the bank at lunch, no probs, went fromthe bank to get food, no probs, started it after eating and big clouds of white smoke came out, followed me all the way back to work. At work I shut it off, and smoke was even pouring out of the carb. After work I started it with the techs watching, blew a huge cloud and that was it. they said rings or valve guides and that it was oil smoke. Anyway, I drove it from work to the store by my house, no probs, started it afterward to finally go home and it blew out clouds and clouds of smoke, huge haze behind me the whole way home.

 

Somehow, i dont think its a head gasket anymore.

 

 

Alex

[Cougar]

Try changing the PCV valve to fix this problem.

[Alex C]

that easy?

 

 

you serious?

[Cougar]

I can't guarantee this will fix your problem but it did on another car I worked on. I suspect it will do the trick though. You may be able to just clean the valve also with some cleaner.

[GeneralDisorder]

I concur - a cheap solution possibly. I would add that you should use ONLY a SOA valve. The aftermarket ones are notorious for sucking oil into the intake. It's very uncommon for EA81's to smoke heavily like that.... rings and valve guides typically last the lifetime of the engine. The bottom end gets sloppy, and EA81's typically die by blown rod when they are allowed to run long enough for mehcanical failure to occur. Usually they are sent to the junk yard long before this happens with bad carbs, or transmissions (those auto's were crap!). If by some odd coincidence it does turn out to be your rings or valves, then just get another engine. Fortunately they are cheap, and probably a board member will have one for you anyway....

 

GD

[thealleyboy]

Al:

 

If you just got the car, you gotta give it a chance to air out. Some smoke is normal if it hasn't been driven regularly.

 

If you've had it for awhile, and this smoking just happened all of a sudden, then yeah it's probably burning some oil.

 

You've got to figure out just how much is burning. You need to drive it awhile and check it constantly. Believe it or not, oil burning is considered normal on some cars (but not necessarily our Subes).

 

The Pcv is an obvious quick and dirty check. If you replace it, and it continues to burn oil at an unacceptable level, you'll have to decide whether you want to spend your $ on oil, or in dealing with your motor. Bottom line: your motor is gradually wearing out. An overhaul/replacement is the only fix.

 

good luck, John