30 replies to this topic

[liam1288]

nah, i know the difference between steam and a cloud of thick smoke that smells...its smoke lol

[bmcecosse]

White 'smoke' can be brake fluid burning - through a faulty servo - so check if you are losing brake fluid........

[liam1288]

just checked and the brake fluid is ok...

[Cerberus]

I'd get a video of it.

Having just had a google, the term 'smoke' seems to be used with barely any meaning in automotive exhaust situations, with some places saying steam at one point and then smoke in the next sentence.

Bear in mind, that anything coming out of the exhaust will smell, be it steam or smoke.

[barney5286]

White/bluey smoke first thing in the morning (and I mean smoke grenade) was the valve stem seals on my mx5. Sorted the problem right away.

[liam1288]

hi guys, i replaced my plugs today and the old ones seemed quite normal, apart from the first one but i did drop it in the engine bay where it might have picked up some oil down there but not sure... i also removed the thermo blanking sleeve and replaced it with a new 88deg thermostat though on doing this water came out of the housing and it was mixed with oil... any suggestions?
heres a pic of the plugs

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[liam1288]

Bump

[liam1288]

bump

[freshairmini]

If there is oil in the water, that normally points to head gasket failure? Some one else might be able to confirm that for you as I have not had experience of a head gasket failure.

[liam1288]

ahh right, well the performance isnt too bad its still running as good as it did 4 weeks ago when i got it RR'd with 70hp so maybe its on its way out...

[jaydee]

Unless you're using a synth 10w40 on a worn engine..
Thats not the valve stems!
Its condensation or another kind of leak. Although leakage will occur doing warm up and when hot.

[twrminisport]

Your plugs are perfect, and i mean perfect.
They should be mcvities biscuit brown.

The first one is a little oily but as you said that might have been you

Jesus

[liam1288]

Yeah I thought the plugs are ok, what could cause a leak to get oil in the rad? Someone suggested head gasket?

[jaydee]

Yes oil in water could well be the head gasket. Or badly torqued.
But arrange a compression test first, or, even better, a leakdown test.

[Gulfclubby]

Headgasket is the most likely candidate, because if the head isn't torqued down correctly, the headgasket will be the first thing to fail anyways. It could of course also be a crack in the head, but that's not very likely.