Turbo Seals

[edamduke]

Yesterday I noticed lots of white smoke coming from my exhaust after idling for a good few minutes, so today I tested it again by driving a little harder and letting it idle for 10 mins. Again, white smoke came out, not loads and loads, just more than I'd expect. Also what seemed more sus is that the smoke only came once the rad fan came on and stopped when the fan turned off.

Everything appears to be fine and working correctly. I do however have a major issue with my coolant system as the previous owner's garage used plain water and now the coolant consists of a slush puppy of rust! I've been changing the water almost daily untill I can get back home with my tools and stuff to flush it several times.

I've been searching for info on turbos for hours now and can find very little. Could the seals have gone? What seals would they be? Is it serious? Do I need a recon? Again, I can find very little info on turbo recons.

[dawesy]

does the smoke smell oily? odd it seems linked with the fan.

if it does smell oily then yep it does sound like the seals are on their way out im afraid :(

if you need a turbo reconditioning then essex turbos are reccomended

[edamduke]

I'm pretty sure it is white and not blue and it doen't smell at all oily. If anything, a little like a BBQ. It definitley only comes on with the fan and nothing comes out when the fan is off. Just read that white smoke is the head? So now I'm very worried? Would a compression test show this? I was going to do it in 2 weeks when I take the charge cooler off.

How does the recon work? Do they just give you a recon turbo and take yours away or do you need to wait whilst they fix yours? Roughly how much do they cost. £300? £600?

[dawesy]

i would very much doubt that its the Head or Head Gasket as it is steel on the 205 and never go.

does the car overheat on boost or temp go above halfway?

if you need a recon tubby you can either send yours off or get a used one that needs rebuilding and send that off. cost is any where between £500 >£700 depending if you want it hybridised while your at it

[yellgt4]

it is unlikley the head or gasket gone, but the smoke what you describing does sound more water than oil.

maybe take it to a garage and ask them to run a block test. this should show if there is any exhaust fumes getting into the water system.

[Sketchy]

Personally I'd be a bit worried if it was running on just plain water it will more than likely have boiled causing air pockets, overheating and potentially a crack in the block most likely in the cylinder 2/3 wall.

It's much the same as the block cracking that modified 3s-gte experience which Fensport seem to have all but cured with their uprated cooling system.

In an modified engine it's due to the stock cooling system being overworked. Much the same as in your engine only the previous owner when the other way and made the cooling system less effective on a stock engine... :(

[dawesy]

im on the stock cooling system but running evans NPG R although i have another secret squirrel mod that seems to be holding the block together.

never see above 84 deg water temps now

[edamduke]

Cheers for the replies guys. I feel a little more at ease.

Ian Smith gave it the all clear 3 weeks ago (minus a blowing exhaust gasket)

I have just compression tested the cylinders and all came in within 3% at ~150PSI (inc. 3 repeats/pot) so I'm happy with that. Changed the plugs whilst I was there and have noticed a slight improvement.

As for the original problem. Temp. never goes above 2mm below half (if you understand what I mean). I'm still desperate to flush the system through. Only 3weeks to go now.