I have a video and I just want confirmation that it is my oil seals. I bought this car the previous owner said it was a coolant leak, but i dont believe it is. Collant level is normal and so is temperautre. Fuel is the only thing thats seems not right about this car other than its smoking. I put 3 gallons of premium in it yesterday out my gas can, and within about 20 mins of idling its all gone, and its out of fuel. Is it possible that i am burning fuel?
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What does the smoke smell like?

Sweet, like maple syrup (assuming you have antifreeze, and not straight water) = coolant.
Fuel smell = fuel (obviously)
Oil = oil

Once you determine the cause of the smoke, we can then begin to address the issue.

Good luck.





.

 

The video didn't embed correctly try it again.

 

Just post the link to the video, and the forum will embed it for you.

But first, answer my questions posted above.

 

If the car was running I would say you are most definitley burning fuel.

 

You can still watch the video, just highlight the URL in the jumble of code and then slide it into a new tab spot on your browser.

Anyways, looks very similar to my issues that I am having right now with my FD. I have always been led to believe that:

Thick white smoke that lingers and smells sweet is COOLANT

Black smoke or dark smoke means unburnt FUEL or something fuel related

And light white smoke with a mostly blue haze in it that smells like OIL ... is OIL

And then to further analyze your video, you checked the coolant for bubbles, and there was none. I am also assuming your coolant level is not dropping. Well then how could that possibly be a coolant leak if none of your coolant is leaving the actual coolant system.

I would lean on the side of an oil related problem, which is what I am starting to think for my own car. A good way to tell for oil is to take all your intake off down to the exhaust manifold or exhaust ports on the engine. And check to see if the it is wet with oil, because when I did that with my car I though it was but wasn't sure. And then if it the front rotor exhaust port is wet, its probably a front oil seal. You have to really dig into the car to do this method but it is probably going to yield better results.

Joe.

 

tell us what it smells like....if it is oil you will know for sure. burning oil has a pretty distinct smell.

 

[QUOTE=stuwk1;10076285]I have a video and I just want confirmation that it is my oil seals. I bought this car the previous owner said it was a coolant leak, but i dont believe it is. Collant level is normal and so is temperautre. Fuel is the only thing thats seems not right about this car other than its smoking. I put 3 gallons of premium in it yesterday out my gas can, and within about 20 mins of idling its all gone, and its out of fuel. Is it possible that i am burning fuel?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGU02Bhoxg0
there we go

 

Great Answer thanks Once it cools down tonite currently 95degs ill start taking it appart and see what I can see, and btw my spark plugs looked brand new.

 

After alot of the responses I have gotten from this video I am now believing it is an oil problem, it dosent smell sweet, but if i straight inhale that stuff haha it feels like something carbonated went up my nose. Its a pretty thick smell.

 

It's oil, I can see a faint blue tint in the smoke.

You have bad oil control rings. This is good and bad. Good because everything is getting more lubrication than it normally would thus prolonging the life of the engine. Bad because you burn oil and have to keep putting oil in it.

You can either:

Rebuild/replace the engine.

OR

Use this magic recipe to cut your smoking in half or more:
4 quarts Valvoline VR1 Straight 50w engine oil and 2 bottles of STP oil treatment.
http://www.jegs.com/i/Valvoline-Raci...oductId=761749
http://www.acehardware.com/product/i...LAID=326623475

This combo was recommended to me by a 30+ year rotary builder/former master Mazda technician. I have been using this for 3.5 years now on my burgundy NA that smoked just as bad as your car when I first got it. I have put 25k on the engine, car runs like a champ, and pulls strong. Smokes probably 25% of what it does with normal oil in it.

 

Thanks thats the answer im looking for, I was going to use some type of oil sealer that you add to your oil, but I think ill give your combo a try. Thanks!

 

Hey funkjaw, does it have to be Valvoline VR1 or are there other brands that would work as well?

I would like to try this before rebuilding my engine but I don't know if I can get that oil here, or if I can it will probably be ridiculously expensive.

Thanks,
Joe.

 

So, I tried this today immediately after my last post at. Did exactly what was said and used the same products, Valvoline and STP Oil Treatment.

It didn't do anything for me but I probably just have a serious problem. Hopefully it works for you if you try it,

Joe.

 

^ FDs are more prone to have blown engines and burning coolant.

 

Yes I know that but the car makes decent compression. So its not "blown".

And my coolant level has not dropped so I am convinced its not coolant.

And my symptoms were exactly the same as the OP. The car really doesn't smoke at all for the first minute or so of idle. Once the car warms up it starts to smoke, quite thick but with a blue haze and smells like oil.

Anyways, it was a worth a try, thanks for the info.

 

Try this test before you deem you need a rebuild, go though the same procedure with the oil filler cap off....it may be a crank case vent problem.

 

i just noticed today my car does this if i pull up to 8K in 1st or 2nd gear and let off. doesnt do it otherwise though.......guess it's to be expected on a 250,000KM engine :P


i would be concerned about adding ANYTHING to oil in a rotary considering it is being injected into the chamber all the time....unless you have a separate reservoir or you premix your gas/oil then i wouldn't do that...just go for a nice thick oil. i might try switching to a 50W instead of the 15-40 i've been using

 

Check for bubbles you mean?

 

no, just do the exact same thing you did for the video, but with the oil filler cap off. this may just be a problem with excessive crankcase vapors expanding and forcing oil past the seals.

 

sounds like your motor is no good...i think you blew an apex seal

 

That is exactly the same issue I had with my old 12a, and it is due to blown oil control rings. Mine smoked so bad that I actually shut down traffic on the freeway for a few minutes the first time it happened. It was caused by being an idiot, and putting too much oil in during an oil change, which resulted in blowing out the control rings. DOH!

I was able to reduce it by about 95%, and make it driveable again. The only time it would smoke noticeably was during autocrosses when I let off at very high rpms, and even then it wasn't much at all. I did this by running a quart of Lucas Heavy Duty Oil Stabilizer in place of one quart of oil. Even with my replacement motor (old one died at 213,000 miles when it coughed up an apex seal), I still use a quart of the Lucas with every oil change. I think it has real benefits....

 

I think this is what has happened to me. I definitely made that mistake and seem to be paying for it big time now.

 

wow this thread was a big help thanks guys. My 91 was smoking real bad and due minor color blind could not tell if smoke was blue but the smell is oil and the kid i got the car from definatley made big mistake overfilled oil and on top of that used synthetic in it bummer

 

I have that exact car's GP Sports front bumper sitting in my garage right now . haha, I drove 4 hours to look at this car but I didnt want to risk driving it back. So dude gave me the bumper just for ***** and giggles cause he was a dumbass.