30 replies to this topic

[liam1288]

hi guys, my standard 1275 has been producing white smoke when cold for about 2 weeks, this does only happen when i first start her up say in the morning... and then the smoke dies down to produce little (normal amount).

few things to mention, it does take about 2 goes to start her up and im topping up with oil frequently...temp gauge doesnt work but im sure its not overheating as the rad is always full, the thremostat has been swapped for a blanking sleeve ages ago too.

now if im correct in thinking its burning oil by the fact im having to keep topping it up shouldnt it be black smoke?
any info or suggestions what possible things this could be are all welcome!
cheers

[oltonlad]

if it is burning oil you will see blue smoke from the exhaust, how much oil is the engine using?...........i:e how many miles per litre roughly.

is it white smoke that you are seeing or just condensation?

[freshairmini]

Its Cold!!

Any old car will have a lot of white smoke when starting. Mine does the same, its just because its very cold in the mornings, after about 5 mind of the choke it clears and its fine. Its perfectly normal.

[freshairmini]

with regards to the oil burning, check the plugs and see if there sooty, also if it was burning it you should get blue smoke. I have a similar problem also, but with mine the oil slowly disappears. But theres no sooty plugs and no blue smoke. I can only assume its a little leak that just spits out oil under pressure.

So you could check for oily patches after the mini's been sitting for a while. Or if its a small leak then check for oil spatters under the mini around the bulkhead area and where the exhaust curves under the mini.

Or you could find its just where its cold as I said on my previous post.

[greensilver mini]

yeah mine smokes loads when cold but will clear when get going down the road

[liam1288]

ok,thats put me at ease a bit, but it is a fair bit of smoke ha ha
ill have a look at the plugs and see, maybe good to replace them too while im there...i mean there are a few leaks regarding the oil but thats quite common i think... ive not measured how much is lost but after a few days , i could be putting around 1-2 litres of oil back in...so i think oil is deffinitely going somewhere but there have been no obvious large pools on the ground when parked up...

[AVV IT]

A significant puff of smoke on start up that clears after a while is often a sign of worn valve stem seals, particularly if you are loosing oil too (although the smoke tends to have a blue tinge as opposed to white). Mine suffers from this and burns a fair amount of oil in the process too. it's one of those things that I might get around to sorting out one day!

[bmcecosse]

You must keep the oil level right up to the Max mark - don't let it even approach the Min mark. Your engine is not heating up properly because of the silly 'blanking sleeve' - this is a race mod only - for a road car you must use a thermostat or it will be constantly running desperately cold - especially in winter.....

[liam1288]

Ha ha possibly the same for me then... Is it a massive problem or can I still run it as a daily car without getting fixed ASAP?

[bmcecosse]

It's never the valve stem seals (unless they have not been fitted?) - straw clutched at by many......

[liam1288]

Cheers BMC well I'm not sure if they are fitted or not, I'll invest in a thermostat too, what temp to go for?

[bmcecosse]

For a decent heater get the 88 deg.

[AVV IT]

It's never the valve stem seals (unless they have not been fitted?) - straw clutched at by many......

EH???? .........Make up your mind man!!!

You seemed to think that my valve stem seals could be the cause when I had a similar problem!! ......

.............or were you just one of the many "clutching at straws" on that occasion??

My Mini seems to be puffing out a bit of blue smoke on start up, it then soon clears and doesn't seem to reappear again until the next time I start her up again. Someone I was chatting to reckons that this sounds like a symptom of worn valve stem seals, does this sound plausible or is it more likely to be caused by a different problem?

It could be - but just think of it as good cylinder lubrication at start-up.........

Edited by AVV IT, 11 December 2011 - 03:48 PM.

[bmcecosse]

Indeed - it can be for a puff of blue smoke at start up, but not for overall heavy oil consumption ........

[Cerberus]

I feel obligated to point this out as no one else has, the white clouds are steam not smoke. Every single car produces them, especially when its cold.