9 replies to this topic

[tangerinebean]

Hi all,

Everytime i start her up she puffs a little blue love puff for me!

Now i don't believe this is too much of a problem, as when she is up to temperature she runs fine,

......until last night.

I was happily plodding along, when i came off a roundabout in 2nd and put the hammer down up a slip road to a dual carriageway, a feat i have achieved many times before,

this time there was no dramas with speed or acceleration but i did notice a lovely blue plume and got flashed by the person behind for smoking them out,

is this a usual thing?

I'm concerned now that my Mini has become a shed, as the engine sounds a bit rough (bag of nails) and noisy, but still seems to go ok,
just likes to spit stuff at people.

Maybe it finds non-mini's offensive and has an attitude problem.

Any help, or suggestions please.

Its a '93 Mini Mayfair, 1275 manual.

[Cater_Racer]

Get to the doctors, before its terminal.

[Stevee]

that blue smoke is Oil

check your Oil level it could be really slow and slugde up why its sounding like a bag of nails

it could be leaking though your valve stem oil seals

[tangerinebean]

The Oil Level is ok,

I do seem to have oil around the gearbox, i was gonna start by replacing all the gaskets,

The problem is, it started out auto and the guy i boguth it from put a manual box in it, i don't really have the funds to pay someone i don't know to rip it apart 'because it will no doubt cost the earth.

If there was someone local who knows Mini's i would be ok, if they could look at it.

Gonna get it lifted up properly on friday to have a look, i do know that blue smoke is oil, but it doesn't seem to be too much of a problem, another symptom is a very black inside the exhaust.

Anyone know someone in the Derbyshire/Notts. Border who knows there way around a mini?

[Stevee]

yeah all exhusts get black but if its oily black then you got a oil leak into the cylinders and the engine is burning the oil it don't need alot of oil to smoke alot
so my guess is it is Valve Stem oil seals

[tangerinebean]

Cheers Bud.

Gonna strip it down, to find out whats going on, and see if i can learn what to do.

Guess i need to get oily myself.

[mini-man-dan]

Blue smoke is probably piston rings on their way out, noise is probably big ends on their way out. Just a stab in the dark, but it's the most common problems that seem to go hand in hand with a tired engine.

Dan

[Dan]

The original problem of smoke on startup points to a valve oil leak. Could be the seals, more likely to be the guides. As you say this is not a serious issue if it only smokes after sitting for a while but does reduce your engine's efficiency. The new smoke is unrelated and almost definitely means you've cracked a ring. This is much more serious, the broken ends usually destroy the bore. Drive near the redline much?

[tangerinebean]

To be honest having only had the car for two weeks, i haven't driven it hard at all, last night was probably the toughest i've been on it, but still not near the redline, as the tax has now expired, and plan to rip it apart anyway, to find out who's done what and what has been overlooked/bodged!

The question is where to start with it! I think my decision has been made for me, as i'm probably gonna have to rebuild the engine.

Edited by tangerinebean, 01 September 2010 - 06:29 PM.

[Dan]

A lovely gift from the previous owner then!