MartinS Posted March 8, 2011 Posted March 8, 2011 Hi, My 1.8k has recently been running rough on startup, with a short but noticeable puff of white smoke right when the engine catches. I've also noticed the engine is consuming oil. I'm guessing oil is getting into the combustion chambers? Any thoughts? M.
MartinS Posted March 8, 2011 Author Posted March 8, 2011 Could be. That's an interesting side point, I've just fitted a one way valve to the Apollo from think automotive. Now that is there, is it safe to measure the oil level without the engine running? M.
MartinS Posted March 8, 2011 Author Posted March 8, 2011 I meant as opposed to test with the engine running which I thought you had to with the Apollo? I don't think the engine is that overfilled, I checked it a week or so ago. M.
Stationary M25 Traveller Posted March 8, 2011 Posted March 8, 2011 No you should still check the oil level with the engine warmed up and running. Just a thought .. is the valve the right way round ?
MartinS Posted March 9, 2011 Author Posted March 9, 2011 Think so :) It's doing it's job as far as I can tell, the oil pressure is there from the first stroke of the engine. I will check now you've mentioned it though 😶🌫️
Graham D Posted March 9, 2011 Posted March 9, 2011 I dont know what causes white smoke, but if your engine was burning oil the smoke would be blue and if running rich I would expect it to be black.
Stationary M25 Traveller Posted March 9, 2011 Posted March 9, 2011 white smoke is normally escaping electricity 😬 or steam ?
Paul Deslandes Posted March 9, 2011 Posted March 9, 2011 Too rich (take out a plug and see if its wet after failing to start), or condensation. Oil smoke will be blue. Don't know about Ks and HGF but I guess water in the bores would do the same?
Englishmaninwales Posted March 10, 2011 Posted March 10, 2011 Paul may be correct. Coolant collecting in (a) cylinder(s) when switched off. Either a HGF or a coolant leak from the inlet manifold gasket (plastic inlet manifold).
Stationary M25 Traveller Posted March 10, 2011 Posted March 10, 2011 Hope it is something simple like leaking inlet manifold .... that would be a good result for you
MartinS Posted June 20, 2012 Author Posted June 20, 2012 Hi, Going back to this a second, I'm wondering about if I'm overfilling the engine again. The dip stick I currently have was from my 1400 k-series, but that engine was upgraded by DVA to an 1800. Is it possible that the notch on my old dip stick is too high for an 1800, or is everything at the same level down that end of the engine? M.
Stationary M25 Traveller Posted June 21, 2012 Posted June 21, 2012 Think it is the same. There was a thread on dipstick length - do a search. One recently and one a year or two ago.
charlie_pank Posted June 21, 2012 Posted June 21, 2012 BLACK smoke: overfueling, BLUE smoke: burning oil, WHITE smoke: moisture in the cylinders. Your described symptoms are not related to oil level. Perhaps the 'using oil' you've noticed is just because you're not checking it while hot and running? The smell of the white puff will help too: if it's sweet, it's coolant, if it's not, it's not! The blue smoke will smell distinctively of burning oil too. Edited by - charlie_pank on 21 Jun 2012 09:24:46
Eugene Posted June 21, 2012 Posted June 21, 2012 Our K-Series Elise often puffs out white on starting, under specific weather conditions. It's condensation in the exhaust... Could it be the same?
Nov-07 Posted June 21, 2012 Posted June 21, 2012 I may be wrong but I think that white smoke on start-up indicates the presence of oil, at low temperature. See any video of radial aero engines being started, accompanied by swirling clouds of white smoke. Blue smoke only occurs if the oil is hot enough to burn, unlikely in a cold engine. Display aircraft, e.g. Red Arrows, inject diesel fuel into the exhaust to produce white smoke. It sounds as though you have oil in the cylinders - broken piston ring 🤔
charlie_pank Posted June 21, 2012 Posted June 21, 2012 Guess, you'll have to rely on the sniff-test then. Oil smells like oil, antifreeze smells sweet. If it's condensation/rain doesn't smell of anything.
tweeky Posted June 21, 2012 Posted June 21, 2012 worn valve stem seals !! Edited by - tweeky on 21 Jun 2012 12:17:35
MartinS Posted June 21, 2012 Author Posted June 21, 2012 To me it smells like oil, but I'm very curious about the idea I could be overfilling it now. I didn't realise there was so much variance in dip sticks! The engine is consuming oil, so I'm going to closely monitor it and see how low it goes rather than constantly top it up to the notch. I think the consumption slow the lower it goes and I've never let it go that low. Thanks again guys M.
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