Blue Smoke

[TimmerTVR]

Hey,

Apparantly i had a bit of blue/grey smoke from my pug 205 gti the other day and it has also developed a high pitched faint rattle on idle. The blue smoke appeared on a cold start and died away very quickly and to my knowledge did not do it today.

Is that just a one off then?

Any ideas about the rattle on idle? (it definately sounds like its from the engine bay altho i havent had time to pop the bonnet and check)

Cheers

[Rob_the_Sparky]

Blue smoke will be valve stem oil seals. Will ingest a bit of oil on first starting and on the overrun, common problem and not serious.

"Rattle" - if it is a sharp tick under acceleration then quite likely to be a cracked exhaust manifold. Again a common problem. Also injectors sound remarkably like a tappet rattle although it is possible the tappets need shimming but this is not a fun job (and you may as well get the stem seals done as well if bothering with this).

Rob

[TimmerTVR]

If its the valve seals, that will be expensive wont it? (How can i tell if this is the problem?) I have a friend to follow me tommorow to see if it happens again.

As for the rattle thing, that only occurs on idle.

Cheers.

[Rob_the_Sparky]

Cost depends how handy you are with a spanner or who you get to do it.

If you have the right kit you can hold the valves up using compressed air, allowing the seals to be changed without taking the head off. Otherwise the head has to come off, which isn't going to be cheap if paying for someone to do the work.

However, parts cost isn't high so if you do it your self it need not be expensive.

Rob

[nurburgring]

Sounds like the smoke is valve stem oil seals. I think if it smokes all the time thats probably the piston rings. The valve stem oil seals on my 205 1.1 got old and I decided to swap the engine as it was easier/cheaper to fit a low mileage one.

When inspecting the old engine after removal I discovered that the headgasket was just clinging on to life! Just as well I put in a new engine, as i would have been annoyed to fix the seals only for the head gasket to go!

Might be worth considering an Mi16 if your old engine is getting majorly worn. If its only just a little puff of smoke then it should be fine as it is for quite a while though.

Edited by nurburgring on Thursday 1st February 23:40

[TimmerTVR]

Hmm maybe worth considering. How much should i pay for a 1.9l 8v engine or an Mi16?
Ive been quoted £470 to fix the engine.

(That includes rebuilt head and head gasket)

Edited by TimmerTVR on Thursday 1st February 23:42

Edited by TimmerTVR on Friday 2nd February 10:28

[simes205]

I paid (6 yrs ago) £255 to have the cambelt and valve stem seals replaced on my old 8v. This was done without the need of having the head off.

I bought my Mi engine (57k old) for £300 including ECU etc, then spent roughly £500 on a rebuild.
Sold my 99K old 1.9 8v for £82 including ECU etc.

Edited by simes205 on Friday 2nd February 13:02

[Rob_the_Sparky]

Or you just continue to drive it until it is actually a problem beyond a bit of blue smoke. As long as it isn't drinking oil then I'd just ignore it, but then I'm a "if it ain't bust then don't fix it" kind of chap.

[sorrento205]

personally id aquire an Mi16 now (or maybe even a GTI6 ) then spend some money rebuilding it and then do a conversion when its convenient i.e. run the engine until it destroys itself. The 8v is a tough old engine though, youd be suprised how much abuse it will take!

[TimmerTVR]

Yeah thats definately worth thinking about as i will be in full time employment soon when uni finishes and therefore have mor emoney to play with. Am having a guy look at the car tommorow so i'll see after that. Due to funds i may have no choice but to run the car untill it collapses.

Cheers

[Rob_the_Sparky]

You staying in the Reading area? There are a few of us local on 205GTiDrivers and a good (ad-hoc) meeting just North of Guildford (when it is warm anyway).

[TimmerTVR]

Ah cool, im in Swansea until uni finishes but then i will be back in Reading from may/june for the forseable future. Definately up for a meet sometime.