Well it only occurs after my drive to or from work. It's 30 miles of highway driving and I think the cat is over heating. As soon as I get on the offramp and stop at the light it will start.

It takes around 10-15 seconds for it to start.
Then thick white smoke will start pouring out from under the middle of my car.

Now I don't know which part is causeing it. Either the clutch is smoking or the Cat. I have looked under my car and have seen it glowing before after the long drive.

One thought I had was that some oil from my oil filter leak drips onto the cat causing the smoke screen.

The other thoght is that the cluthc is still semi-engaged and rubs enough to smoke.

Another thing is that this started once I installed the Bonez Superflo DP and Cat.

 

Dude....

When I bought my previous car, an 89 gtu, somebody had really thin oil in the tranny, i mean this stuff was like alchohol when I drained it, and it didn't smell like gear oil at all, I have no idea what it was, but it must have been some rice boy hop-up judging by the kid that owned the car... ANYWAY.. when the tranny would warm up, it would leak at one of the joints in the case, the one to the front of the drain plug, and drip right on cat and smoke like hell.

When i first saw this, I thought that i was going to have to rebuild/ reseal my tranny.. HOWEVER...

After i noticed this, i drained the tranny, saw the thin-assed oil that came out, switched to regular gear oil, and never had the problem again.

In short... Check your tranny!!! It may be the culprit, it if is, and you have regualr gear oil in it, Lucas makes a pruduct that might help seal it up.

 

If it only happens when you drive to or from work: my advice to you is to quit your job! The only fire-like problem I've ever had with a car is when the CAT is clogged. Cause heat to build-up where it shouldn't.

 

I have a leak I think at the Oil Padistal O ring and it has covered my entire drivers side under carrage and engine bay with oil/gunk.

It started when I bought the NEW high flow cat.
I emailed the Bonez RX7.com guys and they replied saying the cat glowing red is normal.

As for the Tranny oil I replaced it just a month ago. I know it's some thick stuff but even beore when I had thicker it would do this.

I think the oil leak trails oil down the bell housing and it drips off onto the cat. It's kinda odd that it only does it at this time(long highway drive) maybe the cat is only hot enough at this time to instantly create oil smoke.

 

Thick white smoke; isn't that steam?

 

Oil leaks at the pedestal are normal. Go get some new rings from the dealership and throw them in so you can rule that out as the source. They cost almost nothing, you cheapskate.


I agree with 1987RX7guy that it seems very doubtful that the pedestal is the source of the prob. It would have to leak like a **** to even consider it as a source, and even so could you explain how the oil would travel down the driver's side of the motor, under either the motor or tranny and then go up again before dripping onto the cat/dp? Something's not right with that scenario...


Here's my suggestion. I have had two different trannies in my 7 and all through that time there has been a thin slick of oil on the underbody on both sides of the tranny. It's everpresent, but it doesn't drip (not enough oil there - it's like it has 'creeped,' if you know what I mean.) And it's there above the heat shields.
I used to think that I just had a small seal leak somewhere in my tranny, but that left the question of how the oil had managed to go up to reach the underbody...
What I think happened is that long long ago, when I first got this car, the shifter bushings were completely gone, as were the shifter boots. Maybe, just maybe, the oil that sits up there that the stem of the shifter dips into was coming out (fast shifting, splashing out, whatever) onto the underbody and then creeping downwards and out along the body.
I've never tried to clean the slick. I think of it as free undercoating.

Have you ever checked or replaced your shifter bushings or shifter boots? Maybe, if my idea has some truth to it, you've got enough oil splashing out of there that it drips onto the cat and gives you your smoke...

Like the oil is dripping onto the cat all the time, but it's only after your highway drive that the cat is hot enough to create the smoke.

At the moment, I can't think of any other source of fluid that could reach the cat, except maybe the cold start assist resevoir, if yours is still in there.

Have you given the cloud of smoke a sniff to find out what it smells like? Coolant? Oil? Grape Slurpee?

 

Oil leaks, my favorite subject.

I have spent $650 just this week on oil cooler lines and a p/s rack rebuild.

I swore that there was still oil leaking, and took it back to Cartek, who is the best.

This morning they pulled off the valance, brake-cleened the entire underbody and top of the engine, assured all of the oil cooler and p/s bolts were tight, checked for leaks and sent me on my way.

And oh yeah, topped off the low p/s fluid (one week after rebuiling the rack).

By the time I got home, I had a puddle in my driveway and the ps was low again (not even on the dipstick)

But I digress.

The amazing smoke I had at stoplights was from a leaking brakeline at the RF caliper.

I love my car.

 

Oil leaks will end up everywhere. The transmission tunnel forms a wind tunnel and sucks splatter from the engine bay down over the transmission and past the exhaust. Hence the smoke. However, WHITE smoke is normally transmission fluid or coolant...Also, brake fluid will burn bright white, but I can assume that's not the problem since your brakes still work.

Completely degrease the transmission and engine then go for a short, slow drive. You should be able to find the leak then.

BTW, a cat glowing red is not normal. It indicates a failed airpump, ACV, or overly rich mixture.

 

I emailed the Bonez people a month after this started and they said that cats do glow red it's just that there are heat shield covering them preventing you from seeing this.

When I looked under the car I could see through the Semi-heat shield and that's what was glowong. not the shields around it. Maybe the cat is cooking itself?

The first time I noticed this I checked my pump and ACV or what ever it is and everything worked fine.

I did go through emissions 3 weeks ago and passed perfectly.

 

Also about the oil ending up there.

The bottum of the tranny is nice and clean. A thin film of oil is on it but nothing thick.

The metal under belly pan under the Oil pan is usually coated in gunk and is where oil will pool until it drips through a vent or opening in it. I figured that oil is being blown by highway driving onto my cat and causing the smoke.

This weekend I am going to fix the oil leak then go after the annoying possibly dangerous noise coming from my front wheel well. I'll be doing a thorough degreasing of the engine bay.