Outer Limits 4x4 Board

My engine has started to blow a bit of smoke when you pull up at the lights mainly but also when you back off the throttle and put the foot down.

Still makes plenty of power and runs smooth just has a bit of a smoking problem.

Is it a tuning thing or should I just whip the head off for some new rings & seals, if so what sort of $$$ does it cost for this sort of this sort of work to be done.

Cheers

Steve

Cough Cough Splutter

Steve
That really sounds like valve stem seals,If you pull the head off,i would just get a full head service done.(new valve stam seals,maybe a slight skim,and re-seat the valves..)
As for cost it will all depend on if you can pull the head off and put it back on..If that be the case you more than likely be looking at the couple hundred $$$ to do,This would be a far bit more if you have to get someone else to do the whole thing..

Hope this helps.

Jamie

do a compression test - a dry one then a wet one - that will determine if it is rings or valve stem seals/guides.
A good mechanic should be able to change the seals without removing the head.
But the first question that should have been asked - is the smoke blue?
From when you have said the smoke appears, I would think it was blue.

Yeah any mechanic should be able to replace the seals without removing the head,But for the little extra time and $$ it worth while doing the whole lot...

Jamie

I'd probably get another head done up and swap them over, the problem seems to have started all of a sudden so I changing the oil ATM.

Thanks guys for the quick response

Fourwheelin wrote:But for the little extra time and $$ it worth while doing the whole lot...

To take the head off and do the job properly, any good mechanic would charge about $700 (depends on km etc)
on the car would probly be under $200
Quite a difference to just pull the head off.

No Idea wrote:

Fourwheelin wrote:But for the little extra time and $$ it worth while doing the whole lot...

To take the head off and do the job properly, any good mechanic would charge about $700 (depends on km etc)
on the car would probly be under $200
Quite a difference to just pull the head off.

What do you mean by depends on the km etc?????
Thats why i stated that if he could do it himself,it would be around the couple a hundred,And if a mechanic is going to charge about $700 to do a zook head,then i would be finding another mechanic,After all it's only a zook...

Jamie

its ya tyres dude ya gotta get rid of them..

bigsteve wrote:Is it a tuning thing or should I just whip the head off for some new rings & seals, if so what sort of $$$ does it cost for this sort of this sort of work to be done.

I read it as though he wanted to get the job done at a shop or by a mechanic.

Fourwheelin wrote:What do you mean by depends on the km etc?????

Well if the motor has done just over 100k and the belt is still the orig it should be changed = more cost.
state of the guides - more km = more wear = more cost
camshaft wear = more cost

Did you think mechanics do things for free?
There would be at least 4 - 5 hrs labour in a head r&r, at least $50 per hour comes to $250, add $250 for the head service - there's $500 before you even look at plugs, oil, oil filter, coolant, maybe timing belt and any other parts required.

No Idea wrote:

bigsteve wrote:Is it a tuning thing or should I just whip the head off for some new rings & seals, if so what sort of $$$ does it cost for this sort of this sort of work to be done.

I read it as though he wanted to get the job done at a shop or by a mechanic.

Fourwheelin wrote:What do you mean by depends on the km etc?????

Well if the motor has done just over 100k and the belt is still the orig it should be changed = more cost.
state of the guides - more km = more wear = more cost
camshaft wear = more cost

Did you think mechanics do things for free?
There would be at least 4 - 5 hrs labour in a head r&r, at least $50 per hour comes to $250, add $250 for the head service - there's $500 before you even look at plugs, oil, oil filter, coolant, maybe timing belt and any other parts required.

Add another $100 or so for head gasket and seals etc, time taken to resurface if required... $700 for a head replacement is reasonable.

Of course I'd be pissed off about that but then I can do all the work at home if im not being lazy so that's ok.

Why don't you guys suggest the simple solution, instead of trying to spend money...??

Take the head off yourself, and have it cleaned and resurfaced.

Buy new valves if necessary. Spend a few buck on a valve compressor, and a valve seating tool, and do it yourself. Once you get the head off, and check it all out, you'll see the situation and if you have to go any deeper with more rings and seals...

The "spare head" idea is a good one. That way you can keep driving it while it's all assembled, rebuild the new head, then spend a few hours swapping them out one afternoon.

Also, someone around your area must be selling reman heads by now. Not sure who, but someone who reads on this list must know.

By the way you describe it it is the valve stem seals, if it has just happened then I would think that one has got a tear in it and the others prob aren't far away. It is possible to change them with the head on the car but it is an absolute PITA as you can't remove the rocker gear wothout taking the head off anyway. I did mine not long ago with an overhead valve spring compressor and one of those air lines that go in the spark plug hole and it took most of the day to do (about 3 times longer than most other engines) like others have said if the engines got some k's on it pull the head and give it a clean up, replace the bits that need doing and maybe take the opurtunity to fit a mild cam as well?

Thanks for all the input peoples

Some more info:

~ I have the skills to remove the head e.t.c. and also have had a mate offer to "Do up" the head as well

But the fact that it basically happened over night so I couldn't see how a "Wear & Tear" problem would go from nothing to plumes of smoke in such a short time a bit of trouble shooting revealed:

I had two breather hoses free - one from the rocker cover to the air box (after the T piece going to the inlet manifold) free as I dont have an air box as well as the hose from the F& R Diffs which were joined by an anonymous family member a week or 2 back.

Looks like the the diffs were causing the breather from the rocker cover to suck more than usual, after removing this and changing the oil to something better the smoke has dropped to about 25% of what it was like and it appears to be getting better & better.

Will see how it goes though, I'd rather get the most out of this engine before swapping it, I'm also trying to keep it numbers matching for resale value.

Steve


DISCLAIMER - I DON"T GIVE A RATS ABOUT RESALE VALUE

Just a silly question...

You didn't overfill the engine with oil, did you? I've seen a car with a few litres too many and you'd swear the thing was on fire. He read his dipstick wrong before adding it.

Go ahead and disregard this, cause I know this more than likely won't be your problem (although it is an instantaneous thing).

Mike.

My step brother did this to his gemini, killed it pretty quickly.

mtzook wrote:Just a silly question...

You didn't overfill the engine with oil, did you? I've seen a car with a few litres too many and you'd swear the thing was on fire. He read his dipstick wrong before adding it.

Go ahead and disregard this, cause I know this more than likely won't be your problem (although it is an instantaneous thing).

Mike.

No I'm pretty confident I know how much oil is "Enough"

ive seen 11 ltrs of oil come out of a cruiser motor is that to much