Engine is smoking!! any suggestions...

[SHO-93-ATX]

Hey i own a 93 atx sho... im a new member here, and im really trying to dedicate my time to my sho, im the 2nd owner, i just bought it from the orignal owner who had all the verifying records of matinece and stuff.. its got 104k miles... emerald green.
---- when test driving it, i noticed smoke when i got the car up to 70... i know it wasnt the radiator.. because it was coming from the rear engine back by the struts... so i dont know... im lost. but it really smelt like crap... i could be radiator but im not sure... UGH! some1 help me? or give me clues on what it could be.
thanks,
your newest SHO member,
-Brett

 

[Brian Smith]

Could be an oil seal leaking onto your catalytic converters... What maintenance did the PO do? When I took my engine front end apart all the cam seals and the front main were leaking, though not dramitically, if they were then they would have leaked onto the cats and smoked a lot. Are you loosing oil? I dont have a lot of experience with these cars, but ive read about your problem while diagnosing problems of my own and am familiar with the front side of the engine and possible leak points.

 

[SHO-93-ATX]

ugh... he had 60k done... oil changed every 3k miles or so... when i inspected car, it was clean... no oil leaks... or anything...

 

[sho 'nuff]

Does it smell like burning oil or burning coolant? If its coolant, I would guess the issue is the waterpump leaking onto the front cat(passenger side) Either way if the leak is small and dripping onto the cat, you may not see it because it burns off from the hot exhaust before the vehicle is parked.

 

[SHO-93-ATX]

yeah i mean i drove it around the city for like 10 mins to get to freeway... i get on drive about a mile, then see some smoke... its dark but not like woah you cant see... but it was making people not go behind me it was bad.. so i drove it back w/ the guy in car, he never seen it before and neither have i... it smells like coolant... but damn, how much do you think the repair will run me?

 

[sho 'nuff]

if it is indeed the waterpump and you don't have the means to do it yourself. probably around $200-300 including labor to replace it.

 

[Ferendon]

From what I gather, SHOs aren't known for the water pumps sealing too well to begin with. They cause alot of CPS problems from a leaky seal.

 

[SHO-93-ATX]

Thanks... now i got a better resolution of what i have to have done...

 

[Bizzy]

Brett,

First off....welcome to the forum! You're in great hands here, these guys are great at helping others.

No onto the problem at hand. I'm trying to get a good feel for what's going on with your car. I guess I haven't had enough coffee yet this morning so you'll have to excuse me.

You're getting smoke when driving the car at 70mph. It's dark in color from what I read. Is this the only time you see the smoke? What about when the car is parked just after driving and you raise the hood, do you see smoke then? Is it coming from the tail pipes or from under the hood?

What you really need to do is take a good flashlight and look around the engine bay. Inspect around where hoses attach, look on the subframe and other areas where water/coolant can pool. If there is a leak, a lot of it will blow off when driving, but there will be some clues left behind for you to see.

After driving it and getting it to smoke, stop the car and jack it up. Make sure you properly support the car (ie: jackstands) and have a look underneath with the flashlight. See if you see any drips and look for areas that it's blown back on the cats or body underneath. Be careful when you do this....obviously the car will be hot.

One last set of questions...the car only smokes when doing 70 mph? What about driving around town for 20-30 minutes? Any smoke then? What about the coolant level....did you check it? What about the temp gauge in the car....In the word "N O R M A L" where does the needle go to?

Make sure that the car has plenty of coolant in the radiator and bottle. Overheating will **** this car so you really need to find out where it's leaking from and get it fixed. In the mean time make sure you keep the fluids full.

 

[SHO-93-ATX]

temp gauge = normal... pressure = good.. its darker smoke also... i mean im not gonna drive a car thats gonna smoke - and yes i havent teied but yeah i lookked in hood, car doesnt smoke only when driving. when its on and idleing its not, when i give it gas it seems to have a little coming up only noticable w/ hood open. But everything reads good.
i appreciate the help. this is definatly 1 of the best sho sites ive been too. thanks!
-bret