plumes of smoke

[mkcman17]

recently did some basic maintenance on a malnourished m20b25 and now have everything buttoned up. runs, drives, and sounds decent now, minus a giant cloud of greyish-whitish smoke that comes out the back under revs.

what's been done as far as i recall in terms of motor:

timing belt/tensioner
water pump gasket
various vacuum/breather hoses
spark plugs
replaced and cleaned the injectors
valve adjustment hot to .012
o2 sensor
full coolant and oil flush
cleaned icv/tb
ran fuel cleaner through tank
deleted a/c and hoses

we're fearing a head/headgasket, but previous to the above work plus driveline component work the car did not smoke at all and both the coolant and oil showed no signs of either. because of the current situation, the car is running on water atm. advice?

[Dj Buttchug]

ive been searching for you mike. maybe the time has finally come to give the m20 the boot

[mkcman17]

thanks ryan, but this problem is for my buddy's car! nearly bought a '97 today for a smoking deal, but it sold wayyy too fast.

[Dj Buttchug]

oh well thats good. DAMNN you gotta snag them up fast. two sold down here already. for way to much money tho.

[jlevie]

With only water in the cooling ssystem, the smoke color from a leaking head gasket is going to be darker than it would with anti-freeze in the cooling system. So my long distance diagnosis would be a head gasket failure.

[mkcman17]

But prior to the basic engine work we did, there was no blown hg. Why would there be one now?

[davem]

But prior to the basic engine work we did, there was no blown hg. Why would there be one now?

Installation error?

[mkcman17]

Installation of what? All the work was external.

[jlevie]

But prior to the basic engine work we did, there was no blown hg. Why would there be one now?

It could be just coincidence. Nothing you've done should cause this, except maybe the fuel system additive.

[PNWDan]

recently did some basic maintenance on a malnourished m20b25 and now have everything buttoned up. runs, drives, and sounds decent now, minus a giant cloud of greyish-whitish smoke that comes out the back under revs.

what's been done as far as i recall in terms of motor:

timing belt/tensioner
water pump gasket
various vacuum/breather hoses
spark plugs
replaced and cleaned the injectors
valve adjustment hot to .012
o2 sensor
full coolant and oil flush
cleaned icv/tb
ran fuel cleaner through tank
deleted a/c and hoses

we're fearing a head/headgasket, but previous to the above work plus driveline component work the car did not smoke at all and both the coolant and oil showed no signs of either. because of the current situation, the car is running on water atm. advice?

Sometimes having the oil too full can also cause this. As engine vacuum increases with RPM it can draw oil through the ventilation system and into the intake. Oil drawn through the intake will be a different color than when its slightly burning it while running because of the larger quantity burned. Just an idea..

[jlevie]

Sometimes having the oil too full can also cause this. As engine vacuum increases with RPM it can draw oil through the ventilation system and into the intake. Oil drawn through the intake will be a different color than when its slightly burning it while running because of the larger quantity burned. Just an idea..

The engine would have to be seriously overfilled with oil. We routinely overfill race engine by a quart and experience no smoke.