Butler

Hey I was wondering if someone could help to diagnase my problem from the following symptoms:

- rough idle on cold starts, smoothes out upon engine warming
- white smoke from tailpipe on cold starts (can be seen from rearview mirror)

From looking at the other threads on this topic I have come to the conclusion that I might need a new FPR or fuel damper, but am still not sure. Idle control valve is another possibity that I have considered.

Is white smoke a sign of running rich?

Is there any thing that I can check to find the problem

Thanks for any input

Cheers,

Chad

GOBOGIE

How long has this been going on & is it getting worse? Have you check for intermix and or underneath the oil cap (not always a true indicator though).

Butler

This is the second engine in the car, and the original had idle problems as well. As for the smoke, the first one was burning oil, so no white smoke, just blue/black.

Since the engine was installed it has had the rough start up, the problem has goton better since the engine has become more broken in.

Chad

Peckster

Classic head gasket. Sorry bud. This on top of Margaret Wente, eh?

Butler

no comment on that witch....oops I gues that was a comment.

Thanks for the input...how much is that going to cost me? Is it a difficult job?

M758

Yep, leaky headgasket.

If you do the work yourself figure $200 for parts.

If you have a shop do it figure $1000.

PeteL

Are you losing coolant? How is gas mileage? Having the same issue, see Headgasket? Got a bad feeing about this...Is it overheating?

PorscheDoc

Something to think about. This involves taking the timing belt off and pulling the head, so if you haven't done the timing belt recently, then add the cost of that into the job. I think about 450 bucks in parts for the waterpump, rollers, and belts, + about 70 for a headgasket (more for a widefire), To have a shop do all that, i would guess $1500-2000 by the time it is all said and done.

Bad FPR and Damper would have black smoke (running rich).

Butler

Don't seem to be looseing coolant, and not overheating. Not sure about gas mileage, but that mileage gage is always reading off the charts, and it did so with the previous engine as well.

I am a rookie to mechanic work, but this car is forcing me to take more if a interest in it. Engine is barely broken in, so the belts should be alright. Is pulling the Head doable by someone lacking experience, and if so what kind of tools are involved. Sorry if these are dumbass questions, but like I said "rookie".

Cheers,

Chad

PeteL

Go to Clark's Garage(http://www.clarks-garage.com) and see the procedure for cylinder head removal and installation in the Garage Shop Manual. Not too tough a job (I think).

Butler

Thanks that is a great link.

I bought this engine off of e-bay like this from Broadfoot racing, I am not impressed. Although it is probably too late to do anything about it now as I bought the engine over a year ago....I was told this would go away after the motor was broken in.....burn.

PorscheDoc

I would contact broadfoot racing. A headgasket should not go after a year of use.

Lonely Raven

Oh great, reading this thread and the other. I have basically the same issue, in very cold weather,
and my gas milage has slowly been creeping down. Though I don't see any loss of coolant or
oil/water mix.

Keep us posted Butler. I might be right behind you in this whole thing.

StupEd05

I'm gonna jump in here for a bit. A headgasket/timing belt job is not the BEST first mechanical step you should be taking (assuming you arent the slight bit mechanical). On my other cars I have been able to pull the head without having to worry about timing and just pushing the intake and exhaust manifolds off to the side, not a bad job. However, I would recommend driving it a bit longer and make SURE you are losing coolant. A headgasket job certainly isnt something you want to do just to find out it is something else, although I must say it does sound exactly like a bad headgasket. Also, keep in mind that a headgasket doesnt generally just randomly go bad. You would have had to have overheated at somepoint or something else would have had to have gone wrong. Another thing to keep in mind is that you should DEFINATELY have the head trued by a machine shop once it is off, it may look perfectly flat but I gaurentee it isnt or your headgasket probably would not have gone bad. I chose not to do this the last time I did a headgasket and ended up doing it all over again to have the head machined. All in all taking the head off should take about 2 hours (I'd plan on 4 hours if it is your first wrenching adventure) and putting it on about the same. I'd get a haynes (or Clarks Garage) or something to follow just as a guide. Thats about all the advice I can come up with right now so GOOD LUCK!!!

Charlotte944

Keep an eye on your coolant level and check the spark plugs.

If the head gasket is leaking you should see the coolant level drop and when the engine is hot the coolant hoses will be VERY firm. Also, if one of the spark plugs is significantly cleaner than the others, then that cylinder may be where the leak is.

On the other hand, the rough idle and smoke at start up could be an indication that one or more injectors are leaking down after the engine is shut down. The easy way to check this is to put a fuel pressure gage on the fuel rail, start the engine, shut the engine down, and then watch the pressure. If the pressure drops, then something is leaking, either an injector, or the check valve at the fuel pump.

I've owned 3 944's (two NAs and a 951), and all three have a rough cold idle with water vapor coming out of the exhaust when the weather is cold.

FYI: On cars with a CAT, one of the by-products of combustion is water vapor, and when the engine is shut down this vapor will condense in the CAT and muffler. When you start the engine this water gets blown out of the exhaust system and can at times look like a blown head gasket. In fact, I've actually seen some cars literally drip water from the exhaust while idling at a stop light.