Hey guys!

As some of you may know may F is very poorly. It has a stack of miles on after all. My car is very smoky when I put my foot down. I thought at first that this could be condensation in my back box (as it has a big rip it) but even after an hour or so of driving it is still very bad. I have just changed the head gasket, but she is perfectly timed. She doesn't over heat, lose coolant or oil. One thing I did notice was a small black rubber pipe with red dashes on it. One end of this goes it to the fuel pressure system on the left hand side of the engine by just above the fuel rail. I was wondering if this could possibly have anything to do with it? And if not any ideas?

Cheers,

Raul

What colour is the smoke, if blue it would be burning oil if black would be running rich or if accelerating hard it would smoke. will wait for your reply.

Pictures of the offending item would help

The smokes blue, nearly 100% sure it's burning oil, as it has that classic oil burning smell. I think that it could be the valve stem seals, as it dissappears after about 10 mins. However, when I had this problem with my mk3 golf it only lasted 2-3 mins. As the smoke does dissapear, I'm fairly sure its not the oil piston rings. I've checked the compression on all four cylinders and it's fine. However this does not disprove the oil piston rings, though it does lead me to belive that it won't be due to that as all rings would have the problem? The other reson I think it could not be the valve stem seals is that it happens after an hour or two of leaving the car. After changeing the head gasket I have changed oil from 10w/40 to 5w/40 could this make a difference?

And when you say the offending item do you mean the little tube or the smoke that she chucks out?

Thanks again,

Raul

Mine did exactly that - but didn't smoke for quite so long, then wouldn't do it again until the next day or quite a few hours later. Mine wasn't as bad as yours seems though, but I sorted mine with some seal conditioner put in with another oil change, within a few weeks it had stopped doing it altogether and hasn't used any oil since

With the oil change, I think the reasoning I discovered was if the engine hadn't been looked after too good, the old oil could have been carrying so much crap in it that it was literally holding the seals together, so when I changed it (all started after an oil change, no idea what was in before but I put 10w40) the crap was all dislodged and so oil was getting past the seals. So changing oil to 5w40 may have done a similar thing, and I think 5w40 is thinner is it not(?) so more likely to get past the seals if they're not in great condition.

Other things I found out were check for oil in the air intake which could be coming from the breather pipe from the rocker cover, also look inside the intake manifold, shouldn't be able to see oil in that. I think I've got that right- was a while ago...

Using thinner oil will definitely affect it and will lead to some oil going past the seals. what's recommended for cold weather use user manual? I've always use 20W50 oil but we don't get as cold as in UK or northern europe. It would be a good idea to follow the guidelines set by Mazda in the user manual.

I will post photos tomorrow, I also have a HUGE split in my back box which means that condensation could contribute. Any ideas of this rubber tube? Will post photos of that too also.

Ok, so here are the photos.

change your backbox and forget about it.

Thats totally normal for this time of year, remember the temperature outside is very cold.

you should see the v6 in the morning.

The back box is on the list. I just dunno what one to go for that'll give me a nice sound because I think personally that the stock one sounds s***. I'm still trucking through oil though?

http://www.powerflowexhausts.co.uk/

Im going there next year

any back box will do, I personally would stick a cheap backbox on that just to make it "legal" so to speak. . .

from the last piccy the rear silencer looks like it has split

just replace it and it will get rid of 90% of the smog

£45ish +p+p from fordprobestore

Yeah the split's massive. Not that I doubt you, but how can that help? Just curious is all.

It won't help, it will just make the smoke come out the propor exit. . .

So I could just weld a piece of metal tube on instead of the back box and it would have the same effect? Just for a cheap solution too check?

http://shop.ebay.co.uk/?_from=R40&_trks ... Categories


Cheaper just to replace the back box with another one.

the fact that the silencer is split means that it isnt doing its job

better to replace the back box, than try and fix it it the long run

just my onion

There is nothing wrong with the car except the split backbox,

You have to remember the temperature outside and the temperature of the exhaust gasses, If you paid attention at school ( usually science ) you will know what happens when hot meets cold. . .

But hot meets cold in such a way that i've got through 4 liters of oil in 2 weeks?

that smoke is not blue in the pictures, its looks pure white to me.

if you are losing oil, a common place is valve stem oil seals. I can only assume you didnt change them when doing the head gasket.

changing from 10w40 to 5w40 won't make a difference

oil control rings and compression rings are different - it is possible that your oil control rings are letting oil up into the combustion chamber, but you still have compression

valve stem oil seals will mean you burn oil at start up for a short period of time - and can happen even if the car has only been stood for a few hours - probably means the seals are shot, rather than starting to wear

You have lost a lot of oil - if it hasn't leaked out, it has burnt away...


hope this helps

If i were you I'de use the recommended viscosity oil, in Aus we use 20-50 I'm not sure what's the norm in UK for winter conditions. or go back to the oil you were using before just to see how it goes. another thing when you had the head off did you get it serviced( if it was serviced they should replace stem seals as well). the crap bit is it needs to come of again to get those buggers replaced.

Ok, now I am confused...is it using oil or not?

Your not the only one. . . .

Well, as Marc said, if it's losing oil, its either leaking it or burning it. If it's burning, the smoke is blueish and tends to linger for ages. If it's leaking, park over a sheet of cardboard or something overnight, then check for drops of oil in the morning.

The pictures there show white smoke, which is actually steam. This is either coolant or condensation. Coolant will STINK if it's burning, and your coolant level will drop, and you will overheat, which suggests a headgasket leak. If it's condensation (which I think it is, as you've just replaced the headgasket), it's just moisture in the exhaust boiling away.

4l of oil in 2 weeks is a lot of oil. Even my 1.5 wasn't that bad (1l per week). Drive the car and get someone to follow you. When it's up to temperature, stick it in a high gear (low revs) and plant it. If blue smoke billows out the back, your oil control rings (and possibly compression rings) are done for, in which case, a new engine is the cheapest option.