Waterguy

Yes all cars have exhaust condensation when cold. What I experienced was much thicker condensation (white smoke, steam) than normal, and carrrying on much longer as the car warms up. I can't give a hard and fast rule. If you smell the exhaust condensation, though, the sweet smell of ethylene glycol is quite noticeable.

smkn951

hello everyone, returned from the field and immediately pulled all the plugs.
well, all plugs are dry and have the same coloration and amount of build up on it.
i haven't tried pressure testing it yet but the 'ol lady drove it while i was in the field and it drove fine, though she was afraid to get on the boost.
still smokes but soon as it warms up it diminishes significantly.
thanks everyone for all the inputs and ideas keep it coming.

hosrom_951

You could try two things before carrying out a pressure test:

1) On cold start up, do you notice any hesitation? a blown HG would cause the engine to run on 3 cylinders first, then all four fire.

2) Did you notice any loss of coolent but without any leaks? as well as running warmer (hotter) than usual?

Peckster

The plugs will look normal after the car's been running for a while.

Let it sit overnight, start and run it for 30 secs or so, then check the plugs. If you have a bad HG, coolant will often collect in a cylinder after the cars sits for a while. It takes a while to burn it off when you start it up, that's why it runs rough on start-up.

Chas

My car also stumbles the smallest amount when starting up cold. I'll record a sound clip and post it...

Ty

I don't know alot about the 951, but does anyone think it might be the turbo that has gone bad? If the seals or bearings leak then it might smoke because of the oil or coolant in the exhaust pipe on start up or under hard acceleration.

Peckster

Hearing it won't help as much as doing a plug check like I said. That will nail it.

smkn951

hosrom, there is hesitation upon start up, it takes about 5-10 min to run well, also when i try to give it gas w/in the 5-10 min mark it hesitates and when i let off the throttle, idle drops significantly enough for it to die.
here's another gremlin..... on idle the car would blow cold air and when the rpm reaches to about 2.5- 3k it warms up but soon as i let off the throttle it cools down again.
after operating the car for a while and i turn it off... wait bout 5-10 min, the temp guage is almost at the red mark, what would cause this?
thanks everyone

hosrom_951

Carl: I fear the HG needs to be replaced since you have the symptoms (rought running when cold and high temp). But a pressure test would be carried out, also how is the coolant level?

smkn951

car's in the shop for hg job. got the wf gasket set from lindsey racing.
part plus s&h 222.00
labor 800.00
the look on my friends face( mustang) after i get the hg done and up the boost to 16psi hmmm.
i hope i can pull it off
btw what is the peak boost level can i run on wf hg set?
tia everyone

smkn951

thanks everyone for the input, it was the hg. the mech replaced all the gaskets that came in the package plus a few hoses and missing nuts and bolts.
now that i have her, she is running rich according to the a/f guage. driving around town from light to light she seem to wanna stall it she did on a few occasions, the inside of the car also smells like fuel.
there is also a whinning sound which seems like the belts whch he also replaced and advised me to return after 2k for re-adjustment.
i also noticed that 3 of the 4 plug wires were cracked at the angle from the plug side.
other than that the car is really strong on the autobahn ,seems like it's got more pull, though i've been riding in a focus for bout a week.
tia

smkn951

bump
anyone?

ewainwright

My car had the same issue with the smell of fuel after I replaced my head gasket. Locate where the smell is coming from. My fear was standing at the side of the road with only my smallest member in hand to put out a fuel fire. It was surprising to find how much fuel can come out of those fuel line lines even though my fuel pressure gauge was stating zero psi.

When my head gasket was replaced I sent my head out for a “competition’ (three angle) valve job. I assumed that was the reason that my car ran lean after I finished

jaycm

don't you have a M3 to catch up with? do us proud carl.
oh.. if only we had a place like that over here...................
jay

smkn951

no more........well till i enough saved up again........
but one of my co workers just went to hockenheim, paid 13 euros and had about 15 min of track time.
i'll do all my racing there from now on.