Jretal

from my exhaust :-\

It has a white/blue haze to it. Obviously this sounds like oil, but it smells like gas. Yeah, I had him start the car so I could take a quick wiff to see if it were burned oil. Doesn't smell like burned oil (know the smell well from our old car that had bad rings).

Everytime I saw the plume, the car has been sitting for a day or so (not moving it so I don't leak too much p/s fluid =P)... any ideas?

Oil consumption is no different than it was (I've gone through 2 qts of topping off in the past 7500 mi), and gas mileage has gone UP (26 mpg driving up to PA)... so I'm kinda stumped.

Anything I should try to possibly stop this? Maybe it's just oil residue in the cylinders... but that still doesn't make me very happy. Is it time to run a lil seafoam through the oil before I change it out? Possibly run some through my vac system to clean everything out? Might it be a good idea to upgrade to full synthetic oil to possibly kill any sludge that might have formed around the rings? (Current oil is Castrol Syntec 5w-50)

Thanks for the help guys!

moribundman

Hence the fuel smell. As for the blue smoke, the valve stem seals might not be in the best shape. Do you ever trail a bit blue smoke when decelerating? Increased vaccum sucks oil right throught worn/shrunken valve stem seals and into the exhaust.

You say you've been topping off with 2 qts over 7,500 miles? That's not too bad, compared to what I hear other 12 v engines consume. What's your oil change interval?

Sludge gunks up oil passages, lifters, oil filter, etc. You may have some carbon deposists in the ring/groove area. if you suspect sludge, take off a valve cover. Sea Foam seems to work well for cleaning an engine for some people.

If you go to a full synthetic oil, your oil consumption may increase somewhat. A mildly dirty engine may benefit from a couple oil change intervals with an HDEO, mixed-fleet oil like Delvac 1300 S or Chevron DELO 400. These oils have better detergency than oil for only gas engines.

Jretal

as for the trailing blue smoke, not that I see from the rear view. I'll have to have a friend follow me to see if I have any blue plumes ocming from the exhaust under decel.

I'm doing 8k mi change. I normally do 7500, but am gonna be lazy this time Not to mention I need to go get new oil (was going to stick with the castrol 5w-50... what do you think Tom?) and oil filter. Was thinking of just picking up the puralator one that a guy on teh B5 forum saw at autozone or pep boys. whatever I save from the online people I lose in shipping at this point in time, so might as well just pick it up locally.

Also found a local place that's about a mile or so away from my house that seems to do the same thing that germanautoparts.com does. He quoted me the same (absurdly high) price on the p/s hose that's leaking as adirondack (sp?) so I might start talking with them about ordering parts for my car.

I honestly don't think I have a sludge problem, but ya never know I guess. Engine has got 114.5 k on it and has done about 8 track days at the glen, 2-3 at pocono, and I can't remember how many autox's... so it's been used pretty hard... If I'd do the seafoam route, should I pour it straight into my oil? Then run it about 100 mi or so then drain the oil? Or just do the vac line move... (which is the brake booster line... seriously =P)

moribundman

they don't do diddly. It's safer for the engine to run a little rich rather than too lean. So I'd say it's not the O2 sensors.

Have a buddy follow you around and have him keep a close eye on your tailpipe.

I never has an issue with Castol 5W-50, but the first few years that I used it it may well have still been a full synthetic! At that time I was driving mostly long distance, so I was going very easy on the oil. I did 10k mile OCIs, but that's likely too much under more severe conditions.

The Purolator filter is made by Champion, I think. So it's the same as a US-made Bosch filter. Not quite as good as a Mann. Mahle, OEM, AMSOIL, or M1 filter, methinks, but most likely it's a non-issue.

Sea Foam: half the can goes into a vac hose (brake booster hose), the rest goes into the crankcase, I think. Follow the instructions. I believe there is another Sea Foam product, called Deep Creep. I hear it works well for a piston soak?

Having a UOA done would be a good idea. Not only does it show if any particular oil woprks well for your engine, it also shows how an oil is holding up, which allows you to optimize your oil change intervals. Abnormal wear and contamination (fuel, anti-freeze) would also be recognized.