GT4 Blowing smoke?

[Sledge]

A few weeks ago some kids jumped in my car while it was running, and one of them pressed on the accelerator quite hard. i reached in and turned off the engine (as you would).
A little after that, the wife said it smelt hot, so i checked the oil, which was down a bit as well...so i filled it up.
since then it's been blowing smoke..
It seems ok when i start it, but then once it warms up a little, it blows a fair amount of smoke when i stop and idle at lights etc. It SEEMS ok when i'm actually driving down the road, just not when i'm sitting still idling.
I've got it booked in at mechanic next week (earliest possible)
Is there something majorly wrong now? Will it prolly need a rebuild? How much is that likely to cost?
If i DO need to go that route, what else should i get done at the same time?
I WAS planning on selling it pretty soon anyway to get something else.

Any insight/comments appreciated.

Chris

[HAVABEER]

bottle of stop smoke from super cheap?

[LeeRoy]

Smoke from taking off ie leaving a set of lights is generally indicitive of worn valve stem seals.

[IN 05 NT]

thicker oil will also slow down the smoke,

u cant generally see the smoke while youre driving either, get someone to follow behind you.

also compression test. see how the rings are.

[Sledge]

Smoke from taking off ie leaving a set of lights is generally indicitive of worn valve stem seals.

Yeah it's not just when i take off.....It drifts past me in the wind, and even other people look around to see where it's coming from..
It makes me worry...and it only just started...
I'll try both suggestions and see how it goes i guess...

[Howieau]

When you have someone drive behind to check the amount, be in contact with them on the phone and try some different scenarios and let them tell you when the smoke comes out, and also get them to take note of what colour it is.

By different scenarios I mean idling, gear changes, normal driving, full boost and then backing off from full boost (when the engine goes into strong vacuum which could suck more oil past the valve stem seals/piston ring into the combustion chamber). Along with a compression test this could help you diagnose the problem. Trying a thicker oil might help you fix/slow down the oil consumption/smoke.

[Kedderz]

valve steam seals, turbo oil seals are my bet or worn rings as has been said.
If you need to drive the car, keep the oil topped up and run a thicker oil it MAY help a bit.

If you need to replace things the sky is the limit. if your mechanically inclined take the head off and get the valve stems repaced, do the head gasket, water pump and timing belt at the same time. Also replace/rebuild the turbo. Sky is the limit as to how much or how little this will cost depending on stock replacements or aftermarket/stronger units.

[LeeRoy]

If its your turbo pull your compressor pipe that goes to the intercooler off and also pull your dump pipe off and check for oil. If theres oil in either then it will be burning it.

What colour is the smoke?

PCV could also be broken.

[DavGT4]

If its your turbo pull your compressor pipe that goes to the intercooler off and also pull your dump pipe off and check for oil. If theres oil in either then it will be burning it.

this was my problem a little while back... new seals and turbo solved the problem.

As for rebuilds... like everyone's said. You can do a little, or you can do a lot. I'm not hugely mechanically minded, so rely of some really good mates to help out. Long story short, GT4 has celebated it's 3rd year off the road

If you're looking to sell it, just get it working and piss it off. If it ain't broke don't fix it!

[Az_GT4]

Same problem with my GT4. I only noticed it however when I changed to a thicker oil. Its gotta be valve stem seals. Ive also had some problems with my turbo however so I'll probably end up having to source another ct26.

[Howieau]

GT4 here aswell. Ive done some diagnosing and I presume its the valve stem seals on mine. When replaced, non-OEM ones were used (not made by Toyota). I get white smoke from my exhaust mainly when backing off from boost (when engine goings into strong vacuum and sucks the oil into the combustion chamber I guess.

If you are burning oil, as said, the only real ways it can get into your combustion chambers are if the oil seal in the turbo is buggered, if youre valve stem seals are buggered, if you have a blown head gasket, or if youre piston rings aren't sealing against the cylinder wall properly. By running a thicker oil then it won't be able to leak as easy as it is more viscous (thick).

[Howieau]

I posted this in another thread and I thought Id repost to help anyone out who may experience a similar problem:

QuoteRob, the smoke youre seeing may certainly be burning oil. Keep in mind though there are a few ways that oil can find its way to being burnt. It can be pulled into the combustion chamber past your valve steam seals, or up past your piston rings. As said also it can be leaked out past your turbo oil seals into your intake side of the turbo (which then goes into the combustion chamber) or out the exhaust side into the hot exhaust. Last way could be if you have a blown head gasket. To give a few ideas of the different scenarios;

Blown head gasket between cylinder and oil gallery - oil will be sucked into the cylinder and burnt off so you'll see the smoke coming from youre exhaust, also exhaust gases will enter the oil gallery from the cylinder so your oil would begin to go dark quickly as it will become contaminated(a more severe case of blowby I guess you could look at it as).

Valve steam seals worn or damaged; when your engine is in vacuum, oil will be sucked past the valve stem seals into the combustion chamber. Once again youll get oil burning off in the cylinder and out the exhaust. Exhaust gases may once again get past the stem seals and contaminate your oil so it will begin to go dark.

Worn piston rings; same scenario as valve stem seals except the oil is being sucked up from under the piston rings into the combustion chamber. It is normal for the 3SGTE to consume oil over time via both the valve stem seals and piston rings, but certainly not as much as you are explaining, unless either your rings/valve stem seals are damaged. If you run too thin of an oil, it will be more easily sucked into the combustion chamber. I am currently experiencing a similar problem of white smoke out the exhaust but it seems mainly only after boosting. My valve stem seals weren't replace with Toyota products when I had the head reconditioned so I think this may be my problem, along with somewhat thin oil I run. Bad move.

Turbo oil seals; oil leaks into compressor side of turbo and is sucked into engine via throttle body/intake manifold etc and then burnt off in combustion chamber. If oil leaks out exhaust side it is burnt up by the hot exhaust.

If anyone has any other ideas that I haven't thought of let me know.

I wanted to post this because while a turbo seal sounds like the problem, there is still a chance it may not be so it's best to do some diagnosis before you spend the $$ on a new turbo. Better safe than sorry. So, does your car still run properly? If it is running differently all of a sudden, do a compression test on your cylinders to make sure there is no damage to your head gasket/valve stem seals/piston rings. Also keep an eye on whether your engine is consuming coolant, as it could be coolant finding its way into your combustion chamber. Though this can only really be done via a blown head gasket (in which your car would overheat real quick) - or (please correct me on this as I'm not sure) is coolant finding its way out of your turbo into the compressor side or the exhaust side? I know the CT26 is water and oil cooled, just wasn't sure what path the water takes as to whether it can leak past any sort of seal or gasket.

Hope this helps, seems to be a couple of GT4s on the forums blowing smoke lately! End

[Sledge]

hrmm..so basically there's a few different things it could be...
I've put it into the mechanics and they put thicker oil into it (while getting RHF hub replaced). the smoke has slowed, but not stopped. It's a light grey color.
I'm thinking of putting some stop smoke into it, and see if it helps more.. then maybe sell it.
I don't really want to spend much on it, as i don't think it's got the performance i want out of a car.
There hasn't been any drop in performance recently, it just started blowing smoke.
And it isn't using coolant.

[Sledge]

Well, it doesn't seem to do it when accelerating, or under high boost, only when i'm idling at lights etc...and then as i take off from lights..
So i've decied to just sell it and prolly get soemthing else like a soarer...
Given the issue i've got with this car, but otherwise being a good car, how much should i ask for it?
147,000 k's
Burgandy
pioneer DEH-8650MP head unit
clean inside and out.
good tyres
a few extra's as well i think.. not sure what was standard on these cars
electric seats, elec sunroof, factory central locking. not sure what else..

[LeeRoy]

I'm assuming your problem is valve stem seals so if its not ignore what im writing. FYI valve stem seals are not a huge job and con be done without the removal of the head.

My GF had the valve stem seals in her pajero done for around the $500 mark and from what i could see it was a pretty bloody big job due to the removal of heaps of stuff to remove tha cam covers, not to mention it would still be a tight work area, and its got an extra 2 cylinders on you.

Before you go selling it id take it to a few other places and see what they say and maybe get some quotes.