burning oil...

[Elliott18t]

so Ive been meaning to get this fixed but i want to be 100% before i dive into it...

My car seems to burn oil after sitting for a minute or so idle... a thread on vortex seemed to lead nowhere so Im checking with the people on here and maybe someone could help me out..

there are about 3 things I have an idea it could be


1.) turbo :( (i only have 66-67k miles..)

2.) valve stem seals .... :(

3.) suction valve that is part of the pcv system.. Ive read it gets clogged causing high crankcase pressure and leaks oil and it seems to be all oily.. I have a replacement part sitting in my car.


What do you guys think... I would imagine that if it was the turbo it would be smoking all the time and not just some of the time...(aka after i start moving from a stop only).

::waits for willdue or cbirgl to chime in::

[97TurboDSM]

are you sure its just not leaking onto an exhaust component and burning off like mine was? my oil return fitting cracked and broke so oil was hitting the outside of my dp and burning off. i thought the car was burning oil too until i looked more closely. make sure you're not leaking onto something hot before ripping things apart.

[Elliott18t]

are you sure its just not leaking onto an exhaust component and burning off like mine was? my oil return fitting cracked and broke so oil was hitting the outside of my dp and burning off. i thought the car was burning oil too until i looked more closely. make sure you're not leaking onto something hot before ripping things apart.

yeah thats what im kinda thinking.. Ill take another look today when I get home since I think the turbo is still kinda young to go, but you never know lol.

[420sx]

Compression test would confirm or rule out the valvestem seals.

Does it smoke?

[Elliott18t]

Compression test would confirm or rule out the valvestem seals.

Does it smoke?

hoping my friend picks one up soon, if not i will get/borrow one.

yes it only smokes when i move from idle.. normal acceleration and driving it does not, only from idle.

[420sx]

Valve stem seals...

If you cant get a compression tester, I have one that you can borrow. Just let me know.

[Elliott18t]

Valve stem seals...

If you cant get a compression tester, I have one that you can borrow. Just let me know.

ugh, well if i can't ill let you know.
warrington isnt that far from me, i was there a couple times just this weekend lol.

[cbirgl]

Are you sure it is smoke from oil? Are you losing a noticeable amount of oil over time? Very uncommon for valve seals to leak on these motors, but is possible. Can you take off the intercooler piping to check for oil in the system? Are you on stock intercooler? You can do compression / leak down to try and help diagnose, but that will not always tell you 100% depending how bad things are. I have both testers as well if you want to come up and check. Is this only when cold or every time when you move after start up. Is it possible to be fuel build-up in the exhaust not being burnt off because there is no converter?

[Elliott18t]

Are you sure it is smoke from oil? Are you losing a noticeable amount of oil over time? Very uncommon for valve seals to leak on these motors, but is possible. Can you take off the intercooler piping to check for oil in the system? Are you on stock intercooler? You can do compression / leak down to try and help diagnose, but that will not always tell you 100% depending how bad things are. I have both testers as well if you want to come up and check. Is this only when cold or every time when you move after start up. Is it possible to be fuel build-up in the exhaust not being burnt off because there is no converter?

only after it has warmed up and i can smell the oil, so I dont think it could be unburnt gas. This is the first time I think I noticed that a significant amount of oil was missing.
I just checked yesterday and my oil was low, it is about time to change my oil though. I Just threw some in there (same as i was using) to hold me over till this weekend when I will probably change my oil.

yes I am on the stock intercooler, Ill check that too soon.


I have never really heard about valve seals being bad either, but i just wanted some opinions.

[cbirgl]

Anything is possible, but I find it best to go into things somewhat blind to any ideas of what is wrong - that way you are sure to check everything and not be swayed one way or another. I would pull the lower intercooler pipe and see if oil comes out of it. How much smoke are we talking coming out the back? Are you leaking anywhere as well? Valve cover, drain plug, oil return line, etc. If you are only a little bit low after 5k miles it may not be worth addressing unless it is the turbo seal going out. I have seen stock intercoolers collect a lot of oil in the past. The owners have cleaned them out and reinstalled with no issues for many miles following. Also check the PCV lines they are known for cracking/breaking and leaking oil - and the dipstick tube itself. It may be wise to replace the PCV valve as well since you have the part. Are you having any boost issues? I would suggest checking play on the turbo, but that can be a hard task with the fitment of the stock turbo.

[Elliott18t]

Anything is possible, but I find it best to go into things somewhat blind to any ideas of what is wrong - that way you are sure to check everything and not be swayed one way or another. I would pull the lower intercooler pipe and see if oil comes out of it. How much smoke are we talking coming out the back? Are you leaking anywhere as well? Valve cover, drain plug, oil return line, etc. If you are only a little bit low after 5k miles it may not be worth addressing unless it is the turbo seal going out. I have seen stock intercoolers collect a lot of oil in the past. The owners have cleaned them out and reinstalled with no issues for many miles following. Also check the PCV lines they are known for cracking/breaking and leaking oil - and the dipstick tube itself. It may be wise to replace the PCV valve as well since you have the part. Are you having any boost issues? I would suggest checking play on the turbo, but that can be a hard task with the fitment of the stock turbo.

no boost issues, and ill end up replacing the part since i have it. i just had my dipstick replaced not long ago and have the eurojet pcv silicone replacements for that part of the pcv system.

Smoke out the back can be anywhere from a little puff to a decent size (about the size of my hatch i guess for reference).. it depends on how long i was sitting. I never really noticed oil on the ground but ill take a check when i leave work today to see if maybe there is a little spot..

The valve cover seems a little messy around it so I may end up doing that also anyways since it seems to be a fairly easy job.

I would check play Im just scared of playing with that awful job of the forge TIP lol..

[cbirgl]

Make sure you do valve cover and cam chain tensioner gasket at the same time.

Smoke like you are describing sounds more like something that happens with fuel being built up at idle, does it have a strong blue tint to it? Are you on stock injectors? If you want to get really into it I would say take your downpipe off and check the turbine side of the turbo for oil build up. If whatever is causing the issue isn't real bad at this stage it may be hard to say 100% one way or the other though.

[Elliott18t]

Make sure you do valve cover and cam chain tensioner gasket at the same time.

Smoke like you are describing sounds more like something that happens with fuel being built up at idle, does it have a strong blue tint to it? Are you on stock injectors? If you want to get really into it I would say take your downpipe off and check the turbine side of the turbo for oil build up. If whatever is causing the issue isn't real bad at this stage it may be hard to say 100% one way or the other though.

Thanks for the gasket heads up.

still on stock injectors with unitronics 93 oct file.(which i always use 93 oct).
it doesnt seem to have a stong blue tint but then again im driving when i see it so im not really looking at it strongly. I can ask friends what it seems like. weird thing is I've had this file for a long time, and it just started maybe late last year.. I wasnt sure about it because it stopped in the winter and started again now that its warm out.

[cbirgl]

Weather can affect the tune, but the fact that there is no converter means that gasses that would normally be taken care of aren't. The file is not the issue, but it would be a hardware thing. Maybe the injectors are starting to leak or allow more fuel out at idle than they are supposed to. Did it happen after installing any part? Hopefully you have some ideas of things to check out let us know what you find and go from there.

[Elliott18t]

Weather can affect the tune, but the fact that there is no converter means that gasses that would normally be taken care of aren't. The file is not the issue, but it would be a hardware thing. Maybe the injectors are starting to leak or allow more fuel out at idle than they are supposed to. Did it happen after installing any part? Hopefully you have some ideas of things to check out let us know what you find and go from there.

only thing ive installed was the pcv replacement and put the DP back on.. since it cracked. I dont like the current DP and been meaning to replace it with 42dd's catted 3" dp.

is there a way i can check injectors??

[cbirgl]

I would first try and figure out for sure if it is oil or fuel. You can look at some value blocks and get an idea of how the injectors are reacting, but unless you have a bench spray tester for the injectors it is difficult to check them for sure. If you take them out you can check for carbon build up as well.

[Elliott18t]

its kinda white smoke, isnt fuel usually a dark smoke?

Ill check what i can and take some pictures if needed when I get home. Ill just check what I can without giving my car downtime, since I need it :/

[jpalamar]

Weather can affect the tune, but the fact that there is no converter means that gasses that would normally be taken care of aren't. The file is not the issue, but it would be a hardware thing. Maybe the injectors are starting to leak or allow more fuel out at idle than they are supposed to. Did it happen after installing any part? Hopefully you have some ideas of things to check out let us know what you find and go from there.

Isn't that more of an old school carb thing.. fuel injection adjusts to temps, altiitude, ect...

[420sx]

White smoke is burning coolant.
Black smoke is burning excess gas.
Blue smoke is burning oil.

[Elliott18t]

White smoke is burning coolant.
Black smoke is burning excess gas.
Blue smoke is burning oil.

the thing is i have seen no coolant loss(ill double check) and isnt there usually a stong acidic smell? what i smell, smells like oil.

Idk, this has had me a confused for a while.

[420sx]

Start with a compression/leak down test. If youre that unsure, it'd be good to do one just to know where youre at.

[cbirgl]

What I meant by weather affecting tune is that the ECU will adapt and change start up fuel trims etc. depending on outside conditions. Not that the actual running condition changes.

As for smoke colors that is generally correct, however I have seen people put larger injectors on stock turbo setups and causing a similar condition. And the black is actually unburnt fuel.

The smell is that from inside the car or are you smelling at the tail pipe? You could be smelling the oil burning off the engine.

Basically just need to take a few things off the car and check it out - get a better idea what is burning off in the exhaust. See what color your friends think it is.

[Elliott18t]

ill check everything over after work

i smell it when i reverse, so i would imagine exhaust. However i do get a slight smell of it now and then at idle too.

Everything is stock with the exception of TIP, exhaust and the tune. i dont think the bolt down coils would do it or the pcv replacements. it only has 67k miles on it :(

[20squared]

We'd be more than happy to take a look at it for you and take care of the problem. Let me know!

[Elliott18t]

We'd be more than happy to take a look at it for you and take care of the problem. Let me know!

you guys moved over to burlington nj or nearby right?

i can try to come down, you guys gave me good service before when i got unitronics from you.