Date: 22 Jul 2003 20:56:59 GMT From: aeatartsandmedianopsamcomnohawker (Andy Evans) Subject: Re: Smokin' exhaust - more info.....
[a] If the smoke is whilte and billowy - fluffy white smoke that lingers - then it can only be the head gasket. No ifs, not buts, only one possibility. Well - it's kind of greyish white, and it certainly billows, i.e. clouds up all round the car. On the other hand, it smells bad and then it does disperse pretty quickly. [b] If the smoke is greyish and disperses quickly, and smells bad, then it's burnt oil. This could be caused by either worn valve stem seals, or a worn turbo. It isn't easy to tell which until you take the head off. Any decent garage should be able to tell you whether it's [a] or [b] - all it takes is a compression test. But either way, the next step will be to remove the head. Yes. Not sure if the head needs skimming - I guess the mechanic will find out. He said that valve stem oil seals are now much tougher and it's the older ones that tend to go. My car is 1985. === Andy Evans === Visit our Website:- http://www.artsandmedia.com Audio, music and health pages and interesting links.