Cloud of smoke - Oil surge?

[Davejenks23]

Can Anyone help please? I've just done a spirited right turn round a roundabout and there was a cloud of smoke that came from the exhaust. The car is a N reg HPC that is injected not on carbs. Is this an oil surge? I have just had the oil changed so it may have been over filled? Will this damage the CAT? The car then popped and banged a bit then seem to settle down again. The exhaust has also recently been rebuild as the weld round the end pipe had cracked. A good job done by longlife birmingham

 

The car has a normal sump not a dry sump.

 

 

[TJG]

If it was blue smoke then oil surge, particularly if the level was on the high side seems likely. I have no knowledge of the breather system on that engine so hopefully an owner will be along shortly. I doubt it will have done any harm to the cat, they seem far more resilient than we were led to believe. Exhaust repair wont be relevant.

 

Tony

[Davejenks23]

Thanks Tony,

 

Yes it was kind of blue smoke I think only saw it in the mirror as I was already half way up the rd!

 

It's the vauxhall 2.0l engine. If anyone else has had the same experience with the same engine it would put my mind at rest.

 

Cheers

 

Dave

[Stationary M25 Traveller]

How about valve stem oil seals ? My Mark 2 Cortina used to do that on sterp hills when all the oil on top of the head ran to the back and down a couple of valve stems.

[Mike Biddle]

used to have a 2.0 VX in my car and it would do that if the oil level was the slightest bit too high. I dry sumped it in the end because the cam followers used to get awful rattly during a decent blat

[Bio]

There is a mod for the baffle plate mounted in the cam cover. Oil gets thrown up from the crankcase breather tube that is connected to the cam cover and sits on top of the baffle and then gets sucked into the induction plenum and burnt.

Search on Tech Talk or SBD web site.

 

John

[Davejenks23]

Thanks Mike,

 

It's reassuring to know that its not just an issue with my car. Were you happy with the dry sump conversion? Did you do it yourself or use a specialist? If so which one and can you remember how much is was approximately? Might be tempted and get a bit more power out at the same time.

 

Cheers

 

Dave

[Davejenks23]

Thanks John,

 

Yes just found the SBD website, very impressive. Will give them a call, shame they are down in surrey however would have been more convenient if they were a bit closer to home (midlands)

 

Thanks again,

 

Dave

[Paul Deslandes]

The baffle plate mod is one of several that can be done to a Vx to improve the wet sump lubrication. Search the archives for details. I'm pretty sure SBD won't do the mods for you, the tech sheets are there to tell you how to do them yourself. Lots of help on BC of course.

Are you sure you have CAT on your HPC, it wasn't a standard fit and not a requirement now for those old Vx redtop engines.

[Paul Deslandes]

You could start with this thread.

[Lotus Boy]

Dave,

 

This happened to me in my Inj HPC some years back. Gave me a fright too I can tell you. it's just a by-product if you like of having an engine designed to go tranversely in a car mounted longitudinally and won't harm anything.

 

I did the SBD mod and all is fine now. Well worth doing and quite straightforward. The only horrid task is getting rid of ALL the old sealant. I used a unipart gasket remover spray can to soften the sealant before gently brushing off.

 

I may have some photos of the mod somewhere if that helps but once you whip the cam cover off it's quite straightforward.

 

Cheers

David